An American fairy tale about a plane crashing into the Pentagon. Who really blew up the Twin Towers in New York? Who carried out the September 11 terrorist attack

September 11, 2016 marks 15 years since the terrorist attacks, unprecedented in world history, were committed in the United States. The tragedy claimed the lives of almost three thousand people.

19 terrorists are Egyptian citizens, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Lebanon - hijacked 4 passenger airliners. Two planes were sent to the skyscrapers of the World shopping center in New York, a third airliner crashed into the Pentagon. The fourth plane crashed into a field in Pennsylvania - its passengers and crew tried to take control of the airliner from terrorists.

The victims of the terrorist attacks were 2,977 people from 92 countries: 246 passengers and crew members of aircraft, 2,606 people in New York, in the World Trade Center buildings and on the ground (of which 341 firefighters and 2 paramedics of the New York Fire Department, 60 police officers and 8 employees "ambulance"), 125 people - in the Pentagon building.

As a result of the attacks, the 110-story twin towers collapsed. Work to clear the World Trade Center site lasted more than eight months. Burning and smoldering in the rubble at the site of the collapsed Twin Towers continued for 99 days before the fire was completely extinguished.

Chronicle of the 9/11 tragedy

The moment the first plane collides with a shopping center skyscraper. Video: Youtube

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Video: Youtube

Passersby on the streets of New York point to the World Trade Center complex. September 11, 2001
People look out of the windows of the North Tower. September 11, 2001
The President of the United States is introduced to schoolchildren, after which George W. Bush begins to read to them the book “The Pet Goat.” At this moment, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card approaches him and reports: “The second plane crashed into the second tower. America is under attack." September 11, 2001
People watch the collapse of one of the World Trade Center towers. September 11, 2001
Rescuers carry a mortally wounded man from the destroyed World Trade Center building. September 11, 2001
Burning World Trade Center towers. September 11, 2001
A helicopter circles the burning Pentagon after one of the hijacked planes crashes into the building. September 11, 2001
A group of firefighters among the rubble of the World Trade Center complex. September 11, 2001
A helicopter circles near one of the World Trade Center towers. September 11, 2001
In the background is the smoldering World Trade Center building. September 11, 2001
Medical staff at St. Vincent's Hospital in New York await victims. September 11, 2001
A firefighter walks among the rubble at the foot of the destroyed World Trade Center complex. September 11, 2001
The damaged wing of the Pentagon. September 11, 2001
A fireman calls for help at the ruins of the World Trade Center. September 11, 2001
Firefighters clear the rubble of the World Trade Center. September 11, 2001
Car wrecks near the World Trade Center complex. September 11, 2001
US President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney at the Presidential Emergency Operations Center in Washington, September 11, 2001
US President George W. Bush speaks at the wreckage of the World Trade Center. September 14, 2001

Survivor Stories

Fred Eichler

On September 11, 2001, 54-year-old insurance agent Fred Eichler walked into his office on the 83rd floor of the World Trade Center North Tower at 8:15 a.m. At 8:40 Fred went to the restroom, but on the way he met four colleagues and they stopped to chat. Through the window they saw a plane flying towards their building. At 8.46 the airliner crashed into a skyscraper, destroying everything in its path. The shock wave threw Fred and his colleagues several tens of meters away. After regaining consciousness, the man called 911 and then called home to talk to his wife, daughters and parents. He was sure that he would never see them again.

Fred walked into the meeting room and was joined by three strangers. The floor was gradually filled with smoke, and streams of water from broken pipes rushed through the corridors and staircases. Those gathered stuffed wet rugs and towels into the crack under the door, trying to stop the smoke. After consulting, they decided not to open the windows, fearing that the air would fan the flames.

At 9.02 there was a second blow: the plane crashed into the neighboring South Tower. Fred and the others decided to try the fire escape. But when they got to the door, the lights in the building went out. They returned to the meeting room and hid under the tables.

At 9:30 Fred saw the light of a flashlight. A firefighter reached their floor. He was able to save the people he found, but he himself died. The rescuer led the survivors to the stairs and advised them to go to another staircase on the 78th floor and go down it. On the 20th floor they heard another impact sound. The whole building shook: it was the South Tower that collapsed. The northern one began to tremble - elevators fell into shafts, stairs swayed. When Fred got outside, he asked someone for a phone and dialed his wife's number. She screamed into the phone: “Run, run, run!” The firefighters and police shouted the same thing. A few minutes later the North Tower collapsed.

Michael Wright

Michael Wright, 30, was on the 81st floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center when the plane crashed into the building.

At that moment, Michael was in the men's room, where they were just installing a sign asking for the cleanliness of the room. The building shook. When Wright looked out of the toilet into the corridor, he saw fire and heard a woman screaming - his colleague Alicia could not get out of the burning women's toilet. The men broke down the door and were able to pull the woman out.

There was a huge crack in the hallway floor, the hallway near the elevator was completely destroyed, and there was smoke everywhere. Michael began to lead his colleagues to the stairs, people descended as if during a fire drill - in two rows.

“What helped me stay calm on the stairs was the thought of the unreality of what was happening; it seemed like the building couldn’t collapse. Once we had climbed a few floors, we relaxed a little. We knew something bad had happened, but once the fire was thirty floors above, it wasn’t as much of a concern,” Wright recalls. According to him, people passed some floors quickly, others within 10 minutes.

On the 40th floor, Michael and his colleagues met firefighters who advised them to continue going down, assuring them that it was safe there. Having descended below the level of the 20th floor, Wright found himself on the site of the South Tower and realized the seriousness of what was happening: there were corpses everywhere, dozens of bodies.

When the building began to collapse, Wright and his colleagues were at the escalator at one of the exits from the building. A cloud of debris and dust rose, and the air seemed to turn black. Michael tore off his shirt and covered her nose and mouth. Seeing no direction, he crawled, trying to find a way out.

Michael was lucky - he came across a fireman who was able to take him out through the surviving bookstore building.

Reaching the phone, Michael called his wife Jenny.

“I said, ‘Jenny, it’s me.’ There was a groan on the other end of the phone. I said: “I’m alive.” I'm alive. I love you. I love you". We cried and cried. Then the connection was lost,” says Michael Wright.

Frank Razzano

On the morning of September 11, the famous American lawyer Frank Razzano was sleeping in his room on the 19th floor of the Marriott Hotel, located at the foot of the twin towers of the World Trade Center. He woke up from the sound of the first blow, saw papers flying outside the window and returned to bed. A few minutes later a second blow was heard. The plane crashed into the South Tower, which Frank's windows overlooked. Razzano turned on the TV and heard the news. He still thought that there was nothing to worry about, because all the problems were 60 floors above. The firefighters will arrive and everything will be okay.

Frank took a shower, got dressed, packed his things and suddenly felt as if the hotel was being shelled by heavy artillery: the South Tower began to fall apart. Through the window, the lawyer saw mountains of concrete and steel falling from the sky, as if in slow motion. He ran to the opposite side of the room and pressed himself against the wall.

Suddenly the roar stopped. Razzano looked out into the corridor and shouted: “Is anyone alive?” Someone replied: “Come here.” The firefighter directed Razzano to the stairs. While falling, the tower broke the hotel in the middle, but the far staircase remained intact. Razzano followed it to the third floor, and there, together with a group of people, climbed through an opening in the wall to the second floor. A few minutes later, the North Tower collapsed and buried the remains of the hotel. Several lower floors remained intact.

That's where Razzano was. There was nothing to breathe: the air seemed to consist of nothing but dirt and dust. People still managed to find an opening in the destroyed wall of the building, and with the help of a carpet they went down to the mountain of rubble. There, the police helped Razzano get to the doctors.

Pascal Bazzeli

43-year-old design engineer Pascal Bazzeli was in the elevator of the North Tower when the first blow was heard. The elevator stopped on the 44th floor, and Pascal saw people panicking, but decided to go up to his office on the 64th floor. He called his pregnant wife and asked her to turn on the TV and find out what was going on. When she told him what was happening, Buzzelli and his colleagues surrounded the office television and saw the plane fly into a nearby tower. They rushed to the stairs and managed to go down to the 22nd floor when the building began to fall.

Bazzeli turned out to be an incredibly lucky man - curled up in a ball, he rolled down the rubble 15 floors down, like a surfer on a huge wave and, most amazingly, survived with a broken leg. All his colleagues died.

On the way down, Bazzeli lost consciousness and came to his senses three hours later in the ruins of the seventh floor.

Ron DiFrancesco

On the morning of September 11, 37-year-old broker Ron DiFrancesco was working in his office on the 84th floor of the South Tower. At this time, a plane crashed into the North Tower. Seeing the smoke, DiFrancesco decided to get out of the building and left the office. A few minutes after he left, the plane also crashed into the South Tower, between the 77th and 85th floors.

Going down, DiFrancesco met a group of people who began to persuade him to go to the roof - they said that the fire below was too strong, and there should be fresh air above.

Ron tried to go up several floors, but all the doors were closed or locked. The panic intensified, it became more and more difficult to breathe, and DiFrancesco finally decided to go down. He reached the pad in the impact zone and lay on the floor among other gasping people. Panic began to seize him. But some voice in his head, Ron claims, ordered him to run downstairs. Covering his face with his hands, he ran to the first floor, where the guard sent him to another exit and, already running out of the door, DiFrancesco heard a deafening roar above - the building began to collapse.

Seeing the explosion, the broker lost consciousness and woke up in the hospital with burns and a broken spine.

Officials said he was the last person to leave the building before the collapse and one of four surviving Americans who worked above the 81st floor but were able to escape.

John McLaughlin, last of those rescued

When the plane crashed into the South Tower, Sergeant John McLaughlin was several miles from the mall, patrolling the bus terminal in Manhattan. Like many, he headed to the towers that day to help the victims.

Arriving at the scene of the tragedy and not yet knowing the extent of the damage to the World Trade Center, McLaughlin assembled a team of four people - three police officers Antonio Rodriguez, Chris Amoroso, Dominic Petzullo, as well as rookie Will Gimeno.

They were on the ground floor connecting the buildings of the World Trade Center complex when the South Tower collapsed. The police were covered in debris.

“At first I thought I died. I didn’t feel anything: I didn’t see, I didn’t smell, I didn’t hear. There was a ringing silence all around,” recalls John McLaughlin.

Officers Amoroso and Rodriguez were killed immediately. McLaughlin and the two remaining members of his team were trapped. Dominic Petzullo managed to free himself from the rubble and tried to save his colleagues when the North Tower collapsed and was mortally wounded by debris.

McLaughlin and Will Gimeno, lying under the rubble, heard the voices of rescuers and firefighters.

“I heard screams and shouted too, but it was useless. I said then: “I don’t think they will look for us. There's too much going on up there. They’re already busy,” McLaughlin recalls.

He reached for the radio and left a last message for his family, as well as for Will's wife, who was seven months pregnant.

“I think the moment when Will asked to tell his wife to name their unborn daughter Olivia was the worst. I think that’s when we kind of accepted that we were going to die here,” says Sgt.

The men spent more than 10 hours under the rubble before help arrived. Rescuers were able to pull Jimeno out around 11 p.m. Firefighters reached McLaughlin only on the morning of September 12 - he had to wait another 8 hours for rescue.

The sergeant was sent to the hospital, where doctors at first did not believe that he would survive - the injuries were very serious. Doctors put John in a coma for 6 weeks, and he underwent about 30 operations, including skin grafts on his legs. After several years of therapy, he was able to return to a normal life.

John McLaughlin was the last person to be pulled from the rubble of the World Trade Center that collapsed as a result of the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001.

Causes and culprits of the tragedy

The al-Qaeda group claimed responsibility for the attack. The large-scale terrorist attack was a consequence of the declared jihad against Jews and Americans; the American policy of supporting Israel, aggression against Iraq, and the presence of American troops in Saudi Arabia were also cited as reasons. Al-Qaeda accused America of “plundering” the region, oppressing people by supporting totalitarian regimes, and controlling the policies of the legitimate rulers of Arab countries.

The identities of all the suicide bombers were established - they were citizens of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Lebanon. It turned out that the men were in the United States legally, and some were trained in American flight schools. Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden admitted in a video message that he directly supervised the actions of 19 terrorists.

On May 2, 2011, in north-west Pakistan, US intelligence agencies identified “terrorist number one”. The operation to kill bin Laden was watched live by US President Barack Obama and his team.

US President Barack Obama and his team are monitoring the progress of the operation to kill Osama bin Laden. Photo: White House press service

In May 2012, the trial of the mastermind and main organizer of the terrorist attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was detained in 2003 in Pakistan, began at the Guantanamo Bay base. The verdict is still pending.

The terrorist attack that changed the world

In October 2001, the United States and Great Britain launched a military operation in Afghanistan with the aim of destroying the bases of al-Qaeda and its leader Osama bin Laden. The operation lasted 13 years - most of the American military and NATO forces left this country only at the end of 2014, but about 8 thousand US Army troops still remain in Afghanistan - to “maintain peace and order.”

9/11 served as a pretext for yet another military conflict. A year after the terrorist attack on the United States, the American government accused Iraq and Saddam Hussein's regime of resuming the development of weapons of mass destruction and collaborating with al-Qaeda. On February 5, 2003, US Secretary of State Colin Powell spoke at a special meeting of the UN Security Council with his famous report. In his speech, Powell said Iraq was working on biological and chemical weapons programs and had two of the three necessary components to produce nuclear weapons.

In 2004, Powell admitted that the data he released was largely inaccurate and sometimes falsified. But it was too late - on March 20, 2003, the United States and its allies invaded Iraq in violation of the UN Charter, and the war was already in full swing. Saddam Hussein was executed in 2006, but coalition forces left Iraq only in 2011.

These wars became one of the reasons for the radicalization of Islamists in the Middle East. After the destruction of bin Laden, al-Qaeda is limited to the tactics of declarative statements, which, as a rule, are not associated with specific terrorist attacks. But one of the group's branches, Al-Qaeda in Iraq, eventually turned into the terrorist organization Islamic State. It was the Islamic State group that captured parts of Libya, Iraq and Syria and declared a caliphate on the occupied lands. And it is the Islamic State that is responsible for the high-profile terrorist attacks of recent years.

The material was prepared based on open sources

On September 11, 2001, three planes flown by terrorists crashed into the skyscrapers of the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York and the Pentagon building. The fourth crashed in Pennsylvania. The attacks killed those in the buildings and on the hijacked planes. In addition, the disaster claimed the lives of firefighters and police officers, thanks to whose efforts it was possible to save about 30 thousand people. On weekdays, over 55 thousand people worked at the World Trade Center; the daily number of visitors and tourists reached 150 thousand. On July 15, 2002, the search for the remains of victims of the terrorist attacks was officially completed.

On August 20, 2002, the first official list of those killed in New York as a result of the World Trade Center collapse was published. It includes 2,819 people from 80 countries, including three Russians. A total of 157 people were killed on the two planes that crashed into the World Trade Center skyscrapers. 343 firefighters died. 1,102 people were identified by relatives or using DNA analysis. According to statistics, of the ten people who died in New York, eight were men; the average age of the dead was forty years. Mostly these were employees engaged in mental work: from developers software to bank employees and insurance company employees. Many were at the peak of their careers. About ten people were executives, founders or presidents of companies. At least 59 people served as vice presidents. Of the identified victims, fifteen were under twenty-one years of age, including three three-year-old children.

As a result of the terrorist attack in Washington, when a plane crashed into the Pentagon building, 184 people were killed: 120 employees and 64 passengers and crew members. 44 people died on a plane that was hijacked by terrorists but crashed in Pennsylvania before reaching Washington. The total number of deaths was more than three thousand people, about six thousand were injured. On September 12, 2001, US President George W. Bush made a televised address to the nation in connection with the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. He said he had ordered the use of “all intelligence and law enforcement resources” of the United States to find and punish the masterminds of the attacks. The head of the White House said that the perpetrators of the terrorist attacks carried out an “act of mass murder.” According to him, terrorists sought to create chaos in America, but they failed to do so.

On September 15, the US President, in his weekly radio address to the country, said that the US was planning a “comprehensive offensive” against terrorism. The US is planning a "broad and sustained campaign to defend our country and destroy the evil of terrorism." George W. Bush warned Americans that they would need patience because the coming “conflict will not be short,” as well as determination because “the conflict will not be easy.” Bush called the terrorists' actions "barbaric." He said that the United States will work together with other countries of the world, including Russia, India, and Pakistan, to punish the perpetrators and organizers of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.

(average: 4,94 out of 5)

This September 11, 2001 in the USA(in the West simply 9/11) is considered the bloodiest in all of world history. Most Covered by Media mass media event of all times.

10 years ago, three planes flown by terrorists crashed into the Pentagon building, located near Washington, and into the 110-story skyscrapers of the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York, causing them to collapse. Terrorist attacks killed 2,977 citizens from 92 countries.

By official version, responsibility for these attacks lies with the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda. Subsequently official version the incident was criticized by a number of journalists, scientists and witnesses to the tragedy.

Independent investigations were carried out, some of which were dismissed documentaries. According to one version, the attack on the Twin Towers was only a diversionary maneuver, and the customers should be looked for not among Afghan terrorists or in the lair of Osama bin Laden, but much closer - in the circle of the US President.

The events of September 11, 2001 developed like this. At approximately the same time, terrorists hijacked 4 airliners some time after takeoff.

1. Statue of Liberty. Manhattan is shrouded in smoke from the collapse of the World Trade Center skyscrapers. Photo taken September 15, 2001. (Photo by Dan Loh | AP):

At 08:45 am first The Boeing 767-200 crashed into the North Tower of the 110-story World Trade Center skyscrapers at approximately 94-98 floors. 18 minutes later at 9:03 second plane The Boeing 767-200 crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center approximately at the 77-85 floor level.

2. “One second before.” Second plane approaches the South Tower of the World Trade Center, New York, 9:02, September 11, 2001. (Photo by Sean Adair | Reuters):

3. Second plane Boeing 767-200 Flight 175 crashes into the World Trade Center South Tower on floors 77-85, 9:03 a.m., September 11, 2001. (Photo by Sean Adair | Reuters):

4. On board the 175th flight there were 56 passengers (including 5 terrorists) and 9 crew members. (Photo by Spencer Platt | Getty Images):

5. Almost 35 tons of aviation fuel explodes on impact. (Photo by Richard Drew | AP):

6. Hole in the North Tower of the World Trade Center where the first one crashed, New York, September 11, 2001. (Photo by Richard Drew | AP):

After the capture, some passengers were able to report what was happening using satellite phones. According to their reports, the terrorists used bladed weapons (possibly knives), as a result of which several flight attendants and crew members were killed.

7. The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center after 2 airliners crashed into them. Ahead - Empire State Building, New York, Tuesday, September 11, 2001. (Photo by Marty Lederhandler | AP):

8. Satellite view of the burning skyscrapers of the World Trade Center in New York, 9:30, September 11, 2001. (USGS Photo | AP):

9. People on the top floors of skyscrapers. They are trapped by fire on the lower floors where the planes crashed. (Photo by Jose Jimenez | Primera Hora | Getty Images):

10. At least 200 of those trapped on the upper floors of the World Trade Center towers jumped down, preferring such a death to death by fire. (Photo by Jose Jimenez | Primera Hora | Getty Images):

11. Their fall was observed by numerous witnesses. (Photo by Richard Drew | AP):

12. Some tried to get to the roofs of the towers, hoping for evacuation by helicopters, but the evacuation did not take place: the smoke and heat from the fire made it impossible to use helicopters. (Photo by Richard Drew | AP):

13. Third plane American Airlines Flight 77, a Boeing 757-200, crashed into the Pentagon at 9:37 am. This is a photo from a surveillance camera. (AP Photo):

14. Fire in the Pentagon building after crashing into it. 125 people in the building and 60 passengers on board the Boeing died. (Photo by Will Morris | AP):

16. Part of the Pentagon building collapsed. (Photo by Kevin Lamarque | Reuters):

18. The target of the 4th plane The Boeing 757-200 may have been the Capitol. According to the Flight 93 voice recorder transcript, the plane's crew and passengers attempted to regain control of the airliner after learning from cell phones that other hijacked planes had crashed into the World Trade Center towers. It is likely that the terrorists, losing the fight, decided to send the plane into the ground, where it crashed. The Boeing crashed into a field in southwestern Pennsylvania, near Shanksville, at 10:03 a.m. (Photo by Jason Cohn | Reuters):

19. The site of the crash of the 4th plane in the southwestern part of Pennsylvania, near the city of Shanksville. (FBI Photo | AP):

20. But we return to the burning skyscrapers of the World Trade Center. The main events took place there. (Photo by Mario Tama | Getty Images):

According to the official version, about an hour after the airliners crashed into the skyscrapers, buildings began to collapse as a result of fire and melting of supporting steel structures by burning aviation fuel.

The official version has been criticized by many experts who believe that the use of aviation fuel to melt 200,000 tons of steel (the amount of steel in one Tower) is an amazing discovery.

Other theories They doubt that the nature of the collapse of the WTC towers corresponds to that which could have been caused by aircraft hits and fires. It is argued that the destruction of the towers is more like a controlled demolition. It has also been suggested that the attacks of September 11, 2001 were planned and carried out not by the al-Qaeda organization, but by American intelligence agencies.

International opinion, according to a survey conducted in 17 countries, gives this picture. Overall, 46% of respondents place the main responsibility on al-Qaeda, 15% on the US government, 7% on Israel, and another 7% name other culprits. We won't go deeper into this topic. Those interested in these events can find materials on the Internet.

21. 56 minutes after South Tower the second plane crashed at 9:59 am it begins to collapse, September 11, 2001. (Photo by Gulnara Samoilova | AP):

22. (Photo by Richard Drew | AP):

23. Collapse of the 110-story South Tower World Trade Center. View from the street, September 9, 2001. (Photo by Doug Kanter | AFP | Getty Images):

24. As in from dust and debris. (Photo by Gulnara Samoilova | AP):

25. 102 minutes after North Tower the first plane crashed at 10:28 am it begins to collapse, September 11, 2001. (Photo by Diane Bondareff | AP):

26. (Photo by Primera Hora | Getty Images):

27. Collapse of the 110-story World Trade Center skyscrapers, September 11, 2001. (Photo by Greg Semendinger | AP):

28. A total of 2,606 people died at the World Trade Center. (Photo by Shannon Stapleton | Reuters):

29. 1366 people on the upper floors died North Tower World Trade Center, many of whom died when the plane collided with the tower, and the rest due to fire and collapse. IN South Tower At least 600 people died on the upper floors. At least 200 of those trapped on the upper floors of the towers jumped down and died. (Photo by Greg Semendinger | AP):

30. On the streets of New York during the destruction of the World Trade Center towers, September 11, 2001. (Photo by Suzanne Plunkett | AP):

31. Clouds of smoke, dust and debris spread throughout Manhattan. (Photo by Ray Stubblebine | Reuters):

32. (Photo by Gulnara Samoilova | AP):

33. (Photo by Gulnara Samoilova | AP):

34. (Photo by Daniel Shanken | AP):

35. The fire killed 341 firefighters, 60 police officers, and 8 ambulance workers. (Photo by Mario Tama | Getty Images):

36. In total, about 18 people were able to leave the impact zone in the South Tower and escape. (Photo by Gulnara Samiolava | AP):

In New York, more than 1,600 bodies were identified, but about 1,100 people could not be identified. It was reported that “about 10,000 fragments of bones and tissues were found at the site of the tragedy, which is incomparable with the number of victims.”

38. The streets of Manhattan after the collapse of the “twin” World Trade Center, September 11, 2001. (Photo by Boudicon One | AP):

39. At the site of the former 110-story World Trade Center, September 15, 2001. (Reuters Photo):

40. The landing gear of one of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center buildings, September 11, 2001. (Photo by Shannon Stapleton | Reuters):

41. Search for possible survivors of the World Trade Center "twin" crash, September 11, 2001. (Photo by Matt Moyer | AP):

42. Fire still burning at the site of the former World Trade Center, September 12, 2001, one day after. (Photo by Baldwin | AP):

45. In addition to the destruction of the two 110-story WTC towers, other buildings were seriously damaged or destroyed. As a result of skyscraper collapses, about 1.5 kilometers of New York subway lines were damaged. AP Photo):

46. ​​Rescue workers work underground in the collapsed World Trade Center, September 14, 2011. (Photo by U.S. Navy | Reuters):

The events that took place caused chaos throughout the United States. All commercial flights were canceled and aircraft landing in the United States was prohibited. Planes arriving from other countries were diverted back to their departure airports or diverted to airports in Canada and Mexico. Above major cities US Air Force fighters were patrolling.

47. Ruins of the World Trade Center, September 11, 2001. (Photo by Doug Kanter | AFP | Getty Images):

The victims of September 11, 2001 were 2,977 people (not including 19 terrorists): 246 passengers and crew members of aircraft, 2,606 people in New York, in the World Trade Center buildings and on the ground, 125 in the Pentagon building. Citizens of the United States and 91 other countries were killed, including 96 citizens of Russia and the CIS.

When the World Trade Center skyscrapers were destroyed, about 16,000 people were saved who were in the towers below the plane's impact zone. Most of them survived, having been evacuated before the buildings were destroyed.

Built on the site of the collapsed Twin Towers memorial Complex. The complex is currently undergoing reconstruction, which is planned to be completed by 2012.

May 25, 2017, 11:11

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has released for the first time 27 photographs of the Pentagon taken on September 11, 2001, after a hijacked plane crashed into the department.

According to the official version, that day four groups of al-Qaeda members hijacked four scheduled passenger planes. Five terrorists took control of American Airlines Flight 77, flying from Washington to Los Angeles - at that moment the plane was over Eastern Kentucky. The airliner was turned back to Washington and attacked the Pentagon military department. As a result of this disaster, about 200 people were injured, and almost 3,000 were injured from all the September 11 attacks.

The wreckage of American Airlines Flight 77.

Today, most people understand what a plane crash site should look like. The crash site should be densely strewn with airplane debris, from empennage to the engine. However, the site of the 9/11 plane crash is quite unlike anything else. In fact, nothing at all, except for some small debris, indicates that it was a plane that crashed here.

The following is a transcript of conversations between a CNN reporter who arrived at the site of the Flight 77 crash at the Pentagon a few minutes after the incident: “A close examination of the alleged crash site indicates that no debris was found near the Pentagon. The only sign is a huge hole in the building, however, as I said, there are no fragments - only small pieces that can be picked up in your hand. There are no large fragments of the tail of the plane, the wings, the fuselage, nothing indicates that an entire plane crashed into the Pentagon.”

Firefighters extinguish the fire.

Removing rubble using heavy equipment.

A hole in the wall that appears to be caused by explosive decompression.

Side view of the hole.

Workers inspect the damage.

Chemical protection team.

Workers with an American flag against the backdrop of a destroyed building.

In the Pentagon building.

Top view of the Pentagon.

The official version is that the intense heat from the collision vaporized the entire aircraft, even the engines, despite the fact that they are made of an alloy of steel and titanium and measure 2.75 meters in diameter, 3.65 meters in length and weigh six tons each. Could the engines have broken into tiny pieces due to the collision?

Is it possible that an airplane made of duralumin alloys and with a carbon fiber front fuselage fairing could penetrate through three huge buildings made of reinforced concrete and brick?

So what really happened at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001? The reality is that we will likely never know what really happened at the Pentagon that morning. Like the World Trade Center towers, all evidence was quickly bulldozed away. And even if they were left, we would still not know what secrets were buried under the rubble. We are talking, after all, about the Pentagon, and this is not a place where a truly independent researcher could go and look around.

To date, about 150 witness reports have been released, and about a third of those witnesses claim to have seen something crash into the Pentagon. Most of the evidence does not exactly match the official version. In fact, what may be most surprising about the eyewitness accounts of the Pentagon attack is that there are not many of them, given the scale of the event.

However, even through the fog, one very obvious conclusion can be drawn: it was not the Boeing 757 passenger plane that caused the destruction at the Pentagon on the morning of September 11, 2001. After all, what evidence supports the official version? A small number of eyewitness accounts, but they are contradicted by other evidence, as well as almost all photographic evidence. In addition to eyewitness accounts, there is extremely questionable and unverifiable forensic identification of the passengers. And then there is the official report of the destruction, which is supposed to support the official version, but in fact it lists destruction that could not have been caused in any way by passenger plane. The only remaining aspects of evidence that support the official story are the notorious cut-off lampposts and widely shown photographs purporting to show aircraft debris inside and outside the Pentagon.

So what crashed into the Pentagon that morning? Did American Airlines Flight 77, missing from radar screens for half an hour and undetected by America's state-of-the-art air defense system, suddenly and inexplicably appear in the skies over Washington? Did he then perform a high-speed maneuver usually beyond the capabilities of a Boeing 757 (according to some eyewitnesses) and began approaching the Pentagon at high speed and at such a ridiculous speed? low altitude that cut off the car antenna? Did he really carefully twist five sturdy steel lampposts and slam one of his wings into a large generator and still maintain an arrow-straight and perfectly stable approach to the Pentagon? And did it really then crash into the Pentagon with such enormous force that it was able to penetrate more than 300 feet of reinforced concrete obstacles standing at an angle? And he did all this without anyone capturing a single frame on film or videotape?

The chronology of the events of September 11, 2001 states that the events at the Pentagon occurred between the attacks on the Twin Towers and their collapse, namely:

8:46 - strike on the north tower of WTC,

9:03 - strike on the south tower of WTC,

9:37 - strike on the Pentagon,

9:42 - ABC report about a fire in the White House (in the EOP building),

9:59 - WTC south tower collapses,

10:10 - collapse of part of the Pentagon buildings,

10:28 - collapse north tower WTC

10:37 - Flight 93 crashes over Pennsylvania,

17:20 - collapse of the WTC7 building,

18:00 - CNN and BBC report on explosions and shootings in Kabul,

19:30 - The US government denies any involvement in the explosions in Kabul and

20:30 - blames Osama bin Laden.

For those who have just joined us, I remind you that it is night in Kabul; who, why and in what way destroys government buildings there remains unclear. But the world's attention is focused on the events in New York and Washington.

The official version of events says that the attack on the Pentagon was carried out by a Boeing 757-200 passenger plane belonging to American Airlines; approximately here such.

At 8:20 he took off from Dulles Airport on the route Washington - Los Angeles (flight 77), and at 8:50 he was allegedly captured in the air by terrorists who threatened either with paper knives or with the presence on board bombs.

Immediately after this, the plane allegedly turned around over Ohio to return to Washington to attack the Pentagon. But since by that time the plane's transponder (the answering machine for communicating with radars) was turned off, air traffic controllers lost it, so 36 minutes, undetected by anyone, Flight 77 allegedly flew towards Washington.

At 9:32 a.m., air traffic control at Dulles Airport notices a large, unidentified aircraft, and at 9:34 a.m. the order is issued to evacuate. The White house. At 9:35, Vice President Dick Cheney, according to him, is picked up by burly guys from the Secret Service and literally forcibly taken into an underground tunnel.

But this strange, large, incredibly fast and maneuverable plane, later identified as Flight 77, changes direction and crashes into the Pentagon building, precisely into the wing where repairs are being carried out and there are practically no personnel.

64 passengers on Flight 77 and 125 people in the Pentagon building are believed to have died as a result of this event.

To further the story, we need to briefly outline some technical data.

The Boeing 757 aircraft has the following characteristics:

Width (diameter) of the fuselage - 3.7 m;

Height (including rear vertical tail) - 13.56 m;

Fuselage length - 47 m;

Wing span - 38 m;

Total take-off weight - up to 123 tons;

Empty weight of the aircraft - 58 tons;

The power plant is two turbofan engines under the wings weighing 5 tons each.

In general, this is a large passenger aircraft. If it flies past you at a distance of up to several kilometers, it is impossible to confuse it with anything else, except perhaps a different make or model of aircraft.

The Pentagon is the main headquarters of the US military department, the largest administrative building in the world. Located in the suburbs of Washington, on the banks of the Potomac River. Pentagon building is a huge equilateral pentagon, the length of the side side is 281 m, and the height (of five above-ground floors) is 23.5 m.

A simple geometric calculation shows that the ratio of the horizontal and vertical dimensions of this structure is 1:18.4.

Pentagon building represents five separate concentric pentagonal structures with transitions at the corners, which merge into larger structures on some internal faces. But since the attack hit the “classical” location of this complex, we are wondering what the internal structure of these rings is.

The construction dates of the Pentagon, falling during the Second World War, mark only the first stage in the creation of this superstructure. In the years cold war this complex of buildings at least twice underwent serious modernization and strengthening, which were also designed to counter the damaging factors of nuclear explosions in the event of a war with the USSR.

In this photos the side cut of the first outer ring is clearly visible. This five-story building consists of small rooms, separated by very thick brick walls and reinforced concrete floors.

If the Los Angeles Times is correct, the Pentagon, as part of its modernization, was reinforced with "a grid of steel columns and beams to withstand bomb blasts." Apparently they mean something like this columns.

And so, the official version claims that the Boeing-757 passenger plane,

hitting into the lower part of the outer ring, pierced three Pentagon rings through and through ring C

like this outlet, wherein

practically without damaging the facade and without leaving a single fragment of an airplane or human bodies either inside or outside the building.

I don’t know about you, dear reader, but this version only reminds me of the stories of Baron Munchausen.

Naturally, such an absurd story about the events in the Pentagon immediately caused a flurry of objections from skeptics and an entire army of independent researchers. All their arguments against the official version can be boiled down to three main considerations.

Firstly, what will poor America do if it suddenly begins to be attacked by some potential enemy, whose missiles and aircraft are not equipped with transponders with answering machines tuned to the FAA radar system? And after all, no one will give 36 minutes of time to build up and search for each such threat... In other words, the “loss” of a huge aircraft in airspace east coast The US during the crisis in 2001 seems incredible.

Secondly, The method of hitting the Pentagon building with a hypothetical passenger plane is impossible from an aerobatic point of view. There is no way an aircraft like Boeing-757 could reach the target with such accuracy and speed (about 900 km/h) at almost zero altitude in conditions big city. In short, passenger aircraft They don’t fly like that in principle, and even less so when piloted by some incompetent terrorists.

And finally Thirdly, an aircraft made of duralumin alloys and a carbon fiber front fuselage fairing does not penetrate through three huge buildings made of reinforced concrete and brick. Moreover, weapons that could do this do not exist in nature. Destroy any building to hell - that's welcome, but cut right through three powerful buildings, simultaneously causing a huge fire- this is not about our modern weapons...

These three main considerations have given rise to many books, articles, and films from hundreds and thousands of independent researchers and organizations. Their argument seems logical, complete and comprehensive.

As in the case assassination of President Kennedy, in the story of the attack on the Pentagon there is a number of contradictory testimonies that, even if one wants to, cannot be fit into a single logical hypothesis, remaining within the framework of the concepts of traditional physics.

For example, the first media reports about the explosions in the Pentagon were accompanied by such different assumptions that it was time to suspect that different witnesses saw different events.

Unlike the version that a plane hit the Pentagon (which was not announced immediately, but later became the main, official one), in the first minutes after the attack there was information that the attack was carried out either by a helicopter, or a cruise missile, or either a truck filled with explosives, or some explosions simply occurred in the Pentagon (in the form of a “brazen attack” according to US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld).

In any case, none of the witnesses in the first minutes after the explosion spoke about the plane. To top it all off, there was serious panic on S. Washington Blvd when just before the explosion something several lamp posts were knocked down, flying over the heads of stunned drivers so low that, according to some witnesses, it even cut off the antenna on the jeep.

I do not accept the irony of some researchers regarding the fact that the lamp posts were later pulled out and thrown onto the roadway to create the actual base for the aircraft version for the simple reason that in this case there would have to be a large army of witnesses to how and when this was done. But there are no such facts. After all, while the Pentagon was burning, heads turned in that direction automatically.

In addition, the highway was not closed to traffic, but only a ban was announced on filming the burning Pentagon, allegedly in order to preserve military secrets. The most resourceful witnesses captured precisely these fallen pillars, including in the background almost intact burning facade of the Pentagon building, on mobile phones and cameras immediately after the disaster.

After these pillars, on the way to the facade of the Pentagon, our object managed to destroy and at the same time set fire to transformer booth, located behind a small mesh fence.

Honest researchers rightly note that after such two additional collisions - with poles and a transformer - any aircraft, even a special cruise missile for fighting bunkers, must completely or partially destroy its aerodynamic planes, while losing at least part of its speed or altitude, which was already almost zero.

And further, at this zero altitude the object was able to penetrate through the three rings of the Pentagon at an angle of approximately 60 degrees relative to the plane of the facade, making rings C in the wall like this outlet.

On the way inside the rings E, D and C this object was able to make

Here such destruction,

and then - disappear in the courtyard between rings C and B.

I consider the surviving glass on the windows of the inner wall of ring C to be a very indicative fact for my hypothesis, a couple of meters from which something broke through a thick brick wall reinforced with reinforced concrete, the reinforcement from which sticks out in the hole. hole.

There is also such a moment in the official chronology of events.

At 10:10, i.e. at the same time with collapse of part of the outer ring The Pentagon, the eastern sector of US air defense prohibits its fighters from opening fire.

An interesting fact is the impressions of Dallas airport controllers, who, after a large unidentified mark appeared on their radar screens, first decided that “ this is one of those guys sent to protect our president", referring to a military fighter or interceptor.

But then, based on the size of the mark, they identified the object as a large passenger plane, which, however, cannot fly at such a high speed at such a low altitude, nor can it make such sharp turns. They were confused...

These are the basic facts. Let's now give the floor to David McGowan to pose the right questions:

« So what crashed into the Pentagon that morning? Did American Airlines Flight 77, missing from radar screens for half an hour and undetected by America's state-of-the-art air defense system, suddenly and inexplicably appear in the skies over Washington?

Did it then perform a high-speed maneuver typically beyond the capabilities of a Boeing 757 (according to some eyewitnesses) and begin approaching the Pentagon at high speed and at such a ridiculously low altitude that it cut off a car antenna?

Did he really carefully twist five sturdy steel lampposts and slam one of his wings into a large generator and still maintain an arrow-straight and perfectly stable approach to the Pentagon?

And did it really then crash into the Pentagon with such enormous force that it was able to penetrate more than 300 feet (91 meters - stand.NET ) reinforced concrete obstacles standing at an angle? And he did all this without anyone capturing a single frame on film or videotape?

Or did something else crash into the Pentagon? Can we say with certainty that something actually crashed into the Pentagon? Was it all done with explosives planted inside and possibly outside the building? If so, what tore those lampposts out?

Can we hope to find answers to all the outstanding questions surrounding the attack on the Pentagon? Or was this barrier built in such a way that it could not be taken? »

 

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