The September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks - Essay Example The "four buildings" that did not collapse instantaneously sustained extensive damage from the rubbles and were finally demolished. At the same time, a different grouping of the same terrorist crashed "American Airlines Flight 77" into the "Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia" (Cable News Network, 2006). The fourth Airline, United Airline Flight 93, crashed into a field near the "town of Shankville in Somerset County, Pennsylvania" (Cable News Network, 2006). Besides the "nineteen hijackers" in the four separate incidences, "two thousand nine hundred and four" other individuals died immediately due to the direct attacks (Cable News Network, 2006). Moreover, the death of not less than one person was reported as a result of the "exposure to the dust" that resulted from the World Trade Centre. Moreover, another twenty persons are missing and assumed dead (Cable News Network, 2007). According to National Commission on Terrorist Attacks, chapter 5, the victims of this incidence were mo stly civilians. According to National Institute of Standards and Technology (2005) som... One building collapsed as a result of the impact of the rubble from the "twin towers" (National Institute of Standards and Technology, June 2004). The terrorists took control of the airplanes using "box-cutter knives and knives" where they killed flight attendants, pilot and the passenger s (National Institute of Standards and Technology, June 2004). They used "tear gas" or "pepper spray" to keep passengers out of the "first-class" cabin (Mike, 2004). Bomb threats were made on three of the aircraft, but not on American 77. According to the 9/11 Commission Report, the 'bombs" were probably fake. The 9/11 Commission further established that two of the hijackers had recently purchased "multi-function hand tools." The media as well as individuals gave "contradictory and unconfirmed" information (Michael, 2006). Out of the "two thousand nine hundred and seventy four" fatalities, 246 were aboard the plane, 125 were at the pentagon and 2, 603 were from New York. (Cable News Network, 2006). The 9/11 Commission reported that hundreds were killed instantaneously by the impact while others were trapped in the towers and died after it collapsed. According to the commission, about "eighteen people" managed to escape form the tower before it collapsed. Some people jumped from the "burning towers" and landed on the streets and rooftops of adjoining building many feet below (Dennis and Moore, 2002). Moreover, some people in the tower climbed to the roof in hope of rescue but there were no plan for a helicopter rescue. The doors leading to the roof were locked and severe heat as well as thick smoke engulfed the whole area such that it would have been impossible for a "helicopter to land" (CBS, 2004).