
Timeline of Events of Sept. 11th 2001
7:58 a.m. - United Airlines Flight 175 departs Boston for Los Angeles carrying 56 passengers, two pilots, and seven flight attendants.
The Boeing 767 is hijacked after takeoff and diverted to New York.
7:59 a.m. - American Airlines Flight 11 departs Boston for Los Angeles, carrying 81 passengers, two pilots, and nine flight attendants. This Boeing 767 is also hijacked and diverted to New York.
8:01 a.m. - United Airlines Flight 93, a Boeing 757 carrying 38 passengers, two pilots,
and five flight attendants, leaves Newark, N.J., for San Francisco.
8:10 a.m. - American Airlines Flight 77 departs Washington's Dulles International Airport for Los Angeles, carrying 58 passengers, two pilots, and four flight attendants. The Boeing 757 is hijacked after takeoff.
8:46 a.m. - American Flight 11 from Boston crashes into the North Tower at the World Trade Center.
9 a.m. - President Bush arrives at Sarasota, Fla., school for speech. White House chief of staff Andrew Card tells him a plane has crashed into the World Trade Center.
9:03 a.m. - United Flight 175 from Boston crashes into the South Tower at the World Trade Center.
- U.S. Federal Aviation Administration shuts down all New York area airports.
9:05 a.m. - President Bush is visiting a second-grade class when Card whispers to him that a second plane has struck the towers. President delays plans to address the tragedy, deciding to get more information first.
9:21 a.m. - Bridges and tunnels leading into New York City are closed.
9:25 a.m. - All domestic flights are grounded by U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.
9:30 a.m. - President Bush meets privately with National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, who briefs him.
He delivers first remarks on the tragedy and asks for a moment of silence for the victims and their families.
9:45 a.m. - American Flight 77 crashes into The Pentagon.
10 a.m. - Aboard Air Force One en route to Louisiana, President Bush calls Vice President Dick Cheney and puts America's military on a high alert status. Sifts through reports from staff, including erroneous report that a car bomb had struck the State Department.
Gets news that a plane has crashed near Pittsburgh.
10:05 a.m. - The South Tower at the World Trade Center collapses.
10:05 a.m. - The White House is evacuated.
10:10 a.m. - A large section of one side of The Pentagon collapses.
10:10 a.m. - United Flight 93 crashes in a wooded area in Pennsylvania, after passengers confront hijackers. One passenger, Todd Beamer calls his wife on a cell phone and tells her of the plan to overpower the hijackers. The connection remains open after Beamer puts the phone down. Lisa Beamer hears her husband tell the other passengers “Let’s roll†signaling the start of the attack.
10:28 a.m. - The North Tower at the World Trade Center collapses.
11:40 a.m. - President Bush arrives at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., where he makes series of telephone calls from a general's conference room. Tells Cheney in telephone call, "It's the faceless coward that attacks." He also talks to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and New York Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.
1 p.m. - President Bush speaks to the country from a briefing room at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. (text below)
“I want to reassure the American people that the full resources of the federal government are working to assist local authorities to save lives and to help the victims of these attacks. Make no mistake: The United States will hunt down and punish those responsible for these cowardly acts.I've been in regular contact with the Vice President, the Secretary of Defense, the national security team and my Cabinet. We have taken all appropriate security precautions to protect the American people.
Our military at home and around the world is on high alert status, and we have taken the necessary security precautions to continue the functions of your government.
We have been in touch with the leaders of Congress and with world leaders to assure them that we will do whatever is necessary to protect America and Americans.
I ask the American people to join me in saying a thanks for all the folks who have been fighting hard to rescue our fellow citizens and to join me in saying a prayer for the victims and their families. The resolve of our great nation is being tested. But make no mistake: We will show the world that we will pass this test. God bless.â€
1:15 p.m. - President Bush departs conference room for Air Force One in a camouflaged Humvee.