September 11, 2001 attacks - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

September 11, 2001 attacks

Overview

The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation. The name is frequently used in British as well as American English usage even though the dating conventions differ: "9/11" in British English would normally refer to 9 November.) were a series of four coordinated suicide attack

Suicide attack

A suicide attack is a type of attack in which the attacker expects or intends to die in the process.- Historical :...

s upon the United States in New York City and the Washington, D.C., area on September 11, 2001.

Quotations

Should terrorists launch new attacks, we believe their preferred targets will be U.S. Government facilities and national symbols, financial and transportation infrastructure nodes, or public gathering places. Civil aviation remains a particularly attractive target in light of the fear and publicity that the downing on an airline would evoke.

National Intelligence Estimate (1995), contained in the 9/11 Commission Report|9/11 Commission Report (2004) p.54

Nobody move please, we are going back to the airport, don't try to make any stupid moves.

Mohamed Atta, at 08:33, as quoted in Guardian Unlimited (17 October 2001)

We may have a hijack. We have some problems over here right now.

Air traffic controller, at 08:53, as quoted in Guardian Unlimited (17 October 2001)

Something is wrong. We are in a rapid descent... we are all over the place. ... I see water. I see buildings. We are flying low. We are flying very, very low. We are flying way too low. ... Oh my God, we are way too low... Oh my God! Oh my God.

Flight attendant Madeline Amy Sweeney|Madeline Amy Sweeney, at the end of her phone call to a supervisor describing the hijacking of American Airlines Flight 11|American Airlines Flight 11.

What do I tell the pilots to do?

CNN commentator Barbara Olson|Barbara Olson, passenger on American Airlines Flight 77|American Airlines Flight 77, cell phone call to her husband, Solicitor General of the United States|Solicitor General Theodore Olson|Theodore Olson.

Are you guys ready? Let's roll.

Todd Beamer|Todd Beamer, passenger on United Airlines Flight 93|United Airlines Flight 93, last reported words from his cell phone call to Lisa D. Jefferson|Lisa D. Jefferson, a GTC telephone switchboard operator