TRUE CRIME INVESTIGATION: SEPTEMBER 11, 2001
SECTION 1: THE DAY THAT CHANGED THE WORLD
PROLOGUE: A NORMAL DAY—UNTIL IT WASN’T
The morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001, began like any other.
New Yorkers flooded the streets, briefcases in hand, rushing to work in the heart of global finance. The skyline, dominated by the twin giants of the World Trade Center, stood against a backdrop of a perfect blue sky—one of the clearest days of the year.
Across the country, airports bustled with travelers—businessmen, tourists, families. Among them were nineteen men, boarding four separate flights. To the casual observer, they were just passengers. But within hours, their names would be etched into history as the alleged masterminds behind the deadliest attack on American soil.
At 8:14 AM, Flight 11—the first of four hijacked planes—veered off course.
At 8:46 AM, the world changed forever.
By the time the sun set on September 11, 2,977 people were dead, the Twin Towers were gone, the Pentagon lay in flames, and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, held the remains of United Airlines Flight 93.
The U.S. would never be the same again.
But in the chaos, destruction, and national grief, a deeper story lurked—one of unanswered questions, inconsistencies, and motives hidden behind smoke and rubble.
This is the true crime investigation of September 11, 2001.
THE MORNING OF THE ATTACK: A MINUTE-BY-MINUTE BREAKDOWN
⏳ 6:00 AM - 7:59 AM | The Calm Before the Storm
While most of America was waking up, nineteen men were already in position.
📌 6:00 AM | Portland, Maine
Mohamed Atta (the alleged ringleader) and Abdulaziz al-Omari boarded a commuter flight to Boston Logan International Airport.
Their final destination: American Airlines Flight 11 to Los Angeles.
📌 7:35 AM | Boston Logan International Airport
Atta and Omari arrived, passed through security without issue, and boarded Flight 11.
Unknown to the world, five other men had already taken their seats.
📌 7:59 AM | The Last Normal Minute
American Airlines Flight 11 took off from Boston Logan.
It was supposed to be a routine flight to Los Angeles. It never made it.
At 8:14 AM, United Airlines Flight 175—which would later strike the South Tower—also took off.
At 8:20 AM, American Airlines Flight 77 departed Washington Dulles Airport, carrying the men who would later target the Pentagon.
At 8:42 AM, United Airlines Flight 93 left Newark Airport—bound for San Francisco but destined for a field in Pennsylvania.
The stage was set. Four planes, four targets.
⏳ 8:14 AM - 8:45 AM | THE HIJACKINGS BEGIN
At precisely 8:14 AM, something went wrong on Flight 11.
📌 8:14 AM | Boston Air Traffic Control
Flight controllers attempted to communicate with Flight 11.
The cockpit did not respond.
This was the moment of the hijacking.
📌 8:19 AM | The First Distress Call
Flight attendant Betty Ong used an in-flight phone to contact American Airlines.
Her voice, calm yet strained, relayed the unthinkable:
"The cockpit is not answering. We can’t get in. Somebody’s been stabbed in business class."
Another flight attendant, Madeline Sweeney, sent a chilling final message:
"We are flying way too low. Oh my God, we are way too low!"
⏳ 8:46 AM | THE FIRST STRIKE - THE NORTH TOWER HIT
Without warning, a Boeing 767 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center at 490 mph.
📌 8:46 AM | Ground Zero
The impact was devastating, instantly killing hundreds of people in the upper floors.
The fireball exploded out of the building, sending flaming debris raining onto the streets below.
Firefighters, paramedics, and police officers scrambled into action.
At first, many assumed it was a tragic accident—a pilot error or a mechanical failure.
Then, seventeen minutes later, everything changed.
⏳ 9:03 AM | THE SECOND STRIKE - THE SOUTH TOWER HIT
As news cameras broadcasted live footage of the burning North Tower, another Boeing 767 appeared in the sky.
It was Flight 175.
In full view of millions of horrified viewers, it slammed into the South Tower at 590 mph, exploding on impact.
📌 9:03 AM | The Moment America Knew It Was Under Attack
A fireball erupted from floors 77 to 85, sending glass, metal, and human remains onto the streets below.
People on the upper floors were trapped.
Many made a heartbreaking choice—some jumped from the burning skyscraper rather than be consumed by fire.
By 9:05 AM, the entire world understood:
This was no accident. This was war.
⏳ 9:37 AM | THE PENTAGON ATTACK
While chaos unfolded in New York City, another aircraft was barreling toward Washington, D.C.
At 9:37 AM, Flight 77 crashed into the western side of the Pentagon.
📌 9:37 AM | The Military HQ in Flames
A fireball erupted from the Pentagon’s outer ring.
The explosion killed 125 military personnel and civilians instantly.
Smoke billowed into the sky, a black column rising above the nation’s capital.
⏳ 10:03 AM | THE LAST FLIGHT - FLIGHT 93 CRASHES IN SHANKSVILLE
The final plane—Flight 93—never reached its target.
📌 9:57 AM | The Passenger Revolt Begins
Passengers on Flight 93 had learned about the other hijacked planes.
A desperate struggle broke out in the cockpit.
The hijackers responded by crashing the plane into a field in Pennsylvania.
By 10:30 AM, the Twin Towers had collapsed.
By midday, America was in shock.
THE AFTERMATH: THE WORLD FOREVER CHANGED
By the evening of September 11, 2001:
✔️ 2,977 innocent people were dead.
✔️ Firefighters and first responders searched for survivors in the rubble.
✔️ The world demanded justice.
But beneath the horror, grief, and chaos lay unanswered questions—questions that would shape the next two decades.
Because this wasn’t just a terrorist attack.
This was something bigger, something orchestrated, something far more sinister.
And the truth?
It was buried beneath the rubble.
⏩ NEXT: SECTION 2 – THE WORLD TRADE CENTER COLLAPSES: ACCIDENT OR CONTROLLED DEMOLITION?