World Trade Center Attack

September 11, 2001

Our prayers and deepest sympathy to everyone involved in this attack.

Photos

Our Brooklyn office was across the river from Manhattan, and has a full view of the World Trade Center. The following pictures were taken consecutively throughout the morning.

A shot of the beautiful, full Manhattan skyline several months before the attack:

appx. 8:45am, Sept. 11 Shortly after the first attack:

appx. 9:05am, Sept. 11 About a minute after the second attack:

appx. 10:45am, Sept. 11 Shortly after the first tower collapsed:

appx. 12:00pm, Sept. 11 After both towers have fallen and the rubble is beginning to clear:

6:15pm, Sept. 11 The view of the scene has changed very little. Smoke has overtaken most of lower Manhattan and the fumes and residue from the fires has traveled at least as far as Park Slope, Brooklyn.

11:45am, Sept. 13 After two days (fifty-one hours after the first attack), the smoke continues to billow in the empty space that once held the twin towers of the World Trade Center:

6:00pm, Sept. 13 After fifty-seven hours, the smoke is just starting to clear:

Summary of Events

The events on September 11, 2001, chronologically, are:

Airplane hits North tower, at about 8:45am
Airplane hits South tower, at about 9:05am
The South tower collapses, at roughly 10:30am (not clear as to whether the entire tower is leveled or only the top-half -- we cannot see through the rubble)
The North tower collapses, at roughly 11:00am (again, not clear as to how much of the tower, if any, remains standing)
World Trade Center Building #7 collapes, at roughly 6:00pm (building 7 is a 57-story building that caught on fire as a result of the attack)

According to CNN, the planes that were used in the attack were American Airlines Flight 11 (a Boeing 767 carrying 92 people) and United Airlines Flight 175. Flight 11 hit the north tower, and flight 175 hit the south tower.

I personally witnessed the attack on the second tower. I was awestruck by the event, but it did not appear to be a passenger jet to me. It appeared to be a large, black, airplane. (6:15pm, 9/11 update: After seeing the impact several times on CBS news, it became apparent to me that the plane appeared black because it was pitched slightly up and to the left as it hit the building. I saw the underside of the airplane, which was not lit by the sun.) It flew across the sky, and directly into the middle of the South tower. Several floors exploded into flames after the crash (see pictures above). Words cannot express the horror that was felt by all those witnessing the second attack, and the later collapse of each of the buildings. The impact was audible on the Brooklyn side of the river, but was not overly load or explosive. At this point, it appears that neither of the planes carried any explosives.

We've been plastered to the 1010 WINS (1010AM) news in New York. Radio reports say that there are several inches of dust and ash all throughout the WTC area. Many NYC-based workers are leaving their jobs, walking home to the outer boroughs (Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens). Limited train and ferry service is starting up again (as of 1:15pm) for people leaving Manhattan. It appears as if all bridges to Manhattan are open for outgoing, foot traffic only.

All New York City public schools are closed tomorrow, September 12, as are the financial markets worldwide (NYSE, NASDAQ, London, Japan, Germany). All business south of 14th street in Manhattan are closed. Mayor Guilliani has urged all citizens that work in Manhattan not to go to work tomorrow unless they absolutely have to.

How can you help?

If you are a business in the tri-state area, you can donate your extra office space to effected businesses. NYSIA Industry Assistance is the site of the New York Software Industry Association (NYSIA). NYSIA has setup a system for area business to donate office space to those companies directly effected by the disaster. If you have space that you can donate, please look at this site.
You can give blood. You are encouraged to donate blood in order to keep the area's blood supplies high. You can go to any hospital in the city to donate blood. Type O- (O-negative) blood is in very high demand.
The major news outlets are advising all medical professionals to help in any way they can. No word yet on the casualties, but help is needed. Calls have been made out to plastic surgery and burn specialists.
All NYC Fire Department employees on- and off-duty have been commanded to report to their posts.

Commentary

This is the worst terrorist attack on the United States that has ever occurred. Thousands of innocent civilians have been injured or killed. Including the Pennsylvania and Washington, DC incidents, four American planes were hijacked and all passengers on those planes are presumed dead. This amounts to an unprecedented terrorist attack.

The United States will not allow this to go without retaliation. The USA has a well publized zero-tolerance policy against terrorist activity. Retaliation will be swift, and it will be severe. The retaliation may result in full-blown war, a fact that few American citizens are prepared for. This is not the end, it is only the beginning.

The events that transpired across America today have changed the world. Today will live in infamy.

More Information

For more information, look at the following links:

Or, call the following numbers (partial source: MSNBC):

Justice Department Hotline: (800) 331-0075
Relatives of American Airlines passengers seeking information about relatives may call 1-800-245-0999.
United Airlines said friends or family members seeking information on flights may call 1-800-932-8555. United also said it would post any information it has on its Web site, United.com
Morgan Stanley, the largest tenant in the World Trade Center, established an emergency contact phone number for employees and their families: 1-888-883-4391.
Port Authority: Hotline for relatives of PA employees looking to contact them: (973) 565-5505, 565-5506, and 565-5507

Jaron Rubenstein @ Rubenstein Technology Group (formerly Logicept) (jaron-wtc@rubensteintech.com)

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The information provided on this page is for informational purposes only.
The contents and photos on this page are Copyright © 2001, Jaron J. Rubenstein. All rights reserved.

NOTE: This site was updated on June 23, 2005 to reflect its new home at http://www.rubensteintech.com/resources/wtc/. No other details or images have been changed since this site was originally posted.