A series of terrible terrorist attacks rocked the United States and the entire world on September 11, 2001. It was on that fateful day that two planes run by al-Qaeda terrorists crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York. In the same way, the Pentagon was attacked, and the fourth plane under the control of suicide bombers fell to the ground in Pennsylvania.
The terrible disaster claimed the lives of almost 3 thousand people (excluding 19 terrorists). It united people around the world, since among the victims of the terrorist attack were not only Americans, but also citizens of 91 countries.
Even after 17 years, new facts about the 9/11 terrorist attack appear. collected 10 of the most amazing of them.
Not the first terrorist attack
The World Trade Center Towers have been subject to terrorist attacks in the past. On February 26, 1993, a car with explosives crashed into the World Trade Center building. It exploded in the underground garage of the North Tower and set off a powerful blast wave. Six people became victims of the accident, and another 50 thousand employees and visitors experienced difficulties due to the lack of oxygen in the building. The crashed truck was driven by Ramzi Yusefs, who later fled to Pakistan. He was soon found in Islamabad and extradited to the United States for trial. In 1997, Józefs was sentenced to life in prison.
Coincidence or not?
Four years before the attack, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) published the book Emergency Response to Terrorism. The cover of the collection features a photo of the northern tower under a telescopic sight. It was at the place indicated in the photo that the first plane under the control of the terrorists crashed.
Ominous number 11
The name of New York City has 11 letters, just like the word Afghanistan. Also, one of the hijacked planes had 92 passengers (9 + 2 \u003d 11), and another - 65 passengers (6 + 5 \u003d 11). Terrorists staged an attack in New York on September 11, or 09/11 (1 + 1 + 9 \u003d 11). Ramsin Yuseb (the perpetrator of the 1993 Twin Towers attack) has 11 letters, as does George W Bush.
Most frightening, however, is another fact. One of the most famous symbols of the United States of America is the eagle.
In the main holy book of Muslims - the Koran - the following verse is written at number 9.11:
"And it is written that the son of Arabia will awaken the formidable Eagle.
All the lands of Allah will feel the wrath of the Eagle,
And while some people tremble in despair
Many will rejoice: as the Eagle's wrath will purify the lands of Allah
And peace will come. "
Conspiracy theory and radio-controlled aircraft
Many Americans are of the opinion that al-Qaeda members did not hijack the planes. In their opinion, the attack on Manhattan was planned by the US authorities in order to later explain the military intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as explain several laws passed, which, among other things, allow the special services to have access to the privacy of Americans.
But this theory is questionable due to certain difficulties. Boeing's remote control technology, which could be used to direct airplanes, does exist, but it is extremely difficult to do. It would require airline staff to coordinate and four remote control teams (one for each hijacked aircraft). And this is already a lot of people who would be privy to the government's plan.
World Trade Center Rentals
At the end of June 2001, the WTC twin towers were leased (one might say bought) for $ 3.2 billion by entrepreneur Larry Silverstein for 99 years. On the day of the tragedy, he was in one of the towers. However, Silverstein's wife called him to remind him of an appointment with a dermatologist. So, he left the World Trade Center and saved his life.
Photo of George W. Bush after the tragedy
US President George W. Bush said that the terrorists staged an attack on the Twin Towers because of their hatred of freedom and democracy. It wasn't until 2015 that images emerged from the emergency response center in Washington DC after a couple of hours of the attack. The photographs show the American leader, US Vice President Dick Cheney, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, and senior staff. Note that Cheney is watching the news of the tragedy in a very interesting position.
99 days of fire
The fire at the site of the ruins of the World Trade Center lasted 99 days, and the cleanup took 261 days. All this time, tens of thousands of people were engaged in garbage removal, of which 18 tons were collected. The building's steel structures, taken to the landfill, were later sold to China and India. The Chinese firm Baosteel bought 50,000 tons of steel at a price of $ 120 per ton.
The youngest victim of a terrorist attack
The terrorist attack killed Christine Hanson, who was flying with her parents to Disneyland. The girl was two years old. In total, three children under the age of five died as a result of the tragedy. More than three thousand children on September 11 were left without one or two parents. During this period, a record number of psychologists worked with children.
Depression of Americans
70% of Americans fell into depression after the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. More than 33,000 New Yorkers have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is commonly diagnosed for people who have come from hot spots. In addition, alcohol use in Manhattan increased by a quarter, while tobacco and marijuana consumption increased by 10%.
Barack Obama and the elimination of Osama bin Laden
All the terrorists who carried out the attack were identified. It turned out that they were legally in America, and many of them were trained in US flight schools. Later, in a video message, the leader of al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, admitted that it was he who oversaw the work of 19 terrorists on four planes. Ten years after the bloody terrorist attack, the American special services liquidated Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. This was watched live by then US President Barack Obama, along with his team.
In 2011, a World Trade Center memorial was built in place of the destroyed Twin Towers in New York. In 2018 in New York, 9/11 survivors and relatives of the victims will come to the Ground Zero site. Two beams of light will be projected into the sky in memory of the victims. Also, the Pentagon will arrange special services for the families of the victims.
On September 11, 2001, a series of terrorist attacks were carried out in the United States, which resulted in the death of 2,977 people. According to the official version, the destructive attacks were carried out by members of the Al-Qaeda group *, but there are facts that can refute the generally accepted point of view.
Quick version
The official version of what happened is as follows. In the early morning of September 11, 2001, four passenger Boeings were captured in the air by Arab terrorists. The hijackers were armed only with stationery knives and gas cans. Two aircraft attacked the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, located in southern Manhattan, a third plane was sent to the Pentagon, a fourth did not reach the Capitol and crashed in the middle of a field in Pennsylvania.
This version was formed just a few days after the tragedy and the American government did not change it again. Such hasty conclusions suggest that Washington was preparing for this in advance.
We have already faced a situation when the White House "knew for sure" that Saddam Hussein was developing weapons of mass destruction, Muammar Gaddafi was sponsoring international terrorism, and Bashar al-Assad was using chemical weapons.
None of these allegations have ever been confirmed. However, these suspicions became a pretext for the use of armed forces in Iraq, Libya and Syria sanctioned by the US authorities. It is expected that after the events of September 11, the Americans stepped up military operations in Afghanistan.
Immediately after the explosions, the head of Al Qaeda * Osama bin Laden declared his innocence in the attacks. Unusual behavior for a person who always gladly took responsibility for terrorist attacks that were carried out with his participation. Later, bin Laden nevertheless admitted to involvement in the events of September 11, however, according to some, this was a person only similar to the leader of Al Qaeda *.
Strange destruction
Probably not everyone knows that during the attack on New York, three buildings of the World Trade Center (WTC) collapsed. In addition to the well-known twin towers No. 1 and No. 2, there was also a skyscraper No. 7. The government commission, set up to investigate the events of September 11, chose to remain silent about this fact. House number 7 is a 47-storey high-rise that is noticeably inferior to its twin brothers in height.
In particular, it housed the New York branch of the CIA headquarters. This building escaped being hit by the plane, but by 5 pm it collapsed in the same way as the twin towers.
The building collapsed because of the burning fragments that fell on it from crumbling skyscrapers, as well as the fire that followed, authorities said. However, much closer to the towers were the WTC buildings numbered 3, 4, 5 and 6, and they all survived. Maybe there was another reason for the fall of the 7th house?
As for the Twin Towers, researchers are still concerned with an interesting question: why did not only the upper floors of the building collapse, but also the lower ones? The official version is unforgiving: when the building was destroyed, the top carried away the rest of it.
However, a problem arises here. Parts of the tower structure did not fall in different directions, but folded right under the base, like a house of cards.
The designers of the World Trade Center all as one declare that during the construction of high-rise buildings the possible hit of an airplane was taken into account, as is the case with all skyscrapers. If a catastrophic scenario does occur, then, according to them, it cannot lead to devastating consequences of this magnitude.
The disaster footage clearly shows that the planes crash into buildings in completely different ways: the liner entered the northern tower right in the center, into the southern tower at an acute angle, chopping off the edge of the skyscraper. At the same time, the destruction of the towers was surprisingly uniform and symmetrical, as in a prepared explosion. And then a strange thing happens: the south tower, which was less damaged by the explosion, collapses first, and only half an hour later the northern one falls, where the consequences of the disaster should have been more impressive.
Experts analyzed the video of the collapse of the towers and almost unanimously stated that this is how the industrial demolition of buildings occurs. Indeed, if you look closely at the slow motion footage of the catastrophe, you can see how blast waves run across the entire height of the building at equal distances - as if a pre-laid charge had detonated.
Here are two more facts that will make you think. Shortly before the terrorist attack, the floors into which the planes subsequently flew were closed for repairs. And a few weeks before the tragedy, the owner of the twin towers Larry Silverstein insured them for $ 3 billion, and insurance against terrorist attacks was spelled out as a separate item.
Selective fire
If you believe the official conclusions, then in a monstrous fire, hundreds of thousands of tons of steel structures were melted, and hundreds of tons of concrete were rubbed into dust.
Is it possible that the ignited aviation kerosene, the combustion temperature of which is less than 1000 ° C, made the hardened steel “tremble”, which melts at no less than 2000 ° C. At the same time, there was a critical loss of strength of 50 massive load-bearing beams at once, which is possible only if the fuel is evenly spread over all floor areas.
As a result of the explosions, charred and unidentifiable body particles remained from the passengers of both Boeings. Meanwhile, the passport of Mohammed Atta, one of the hijackers of the plane, which became one of the main pieces of evidence in favor of the guilt of Al Qaeda *, was completely unharmed. According to the commission, the document miraculously survived a powerful explosion, fell out of the plane and landed safely near the building.
The US government was in such a hurry to come to the right conclusion that it was not even going to pay attention to such incidents. Further more.
The Investigative Commission announced the identification of some of the passengers and crew members of the aircraft by "DNA remnants." And this is after the fire almost completely destroyed the hull of the liner, made of high-temperature resistant aircraft aluminum.
It is curious that despite the fantastically preserved "remnants of DNA", the black boxes were declared completely destroyed by fire. Looking at this, all that remains is to believe that fire acted selectively, completely not being guided by the laws of the physical world.
No trace
The third hijacked Boeing on American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon, according to official figures. To inflict the most sensitive damage to buildings and people, the terrorists sent the liner along the lowest possible trajectory. It is known that the height of the Boeing 757 is 13 meters, the Pentagon is 24 meters.
Based on this, the final kilometers of the plane's flight had to pass at an altitude of only a few meters above the ground, which is an almost impossible task for pilots who have just completed express courses.
Moreover, such a maneuver was absolutely unjustified, since, in the opinion of many experts, it would not have led to such damage as if it fell at an angle. It would be difficult even for an inexperienced pilot to miss in this case, given the impressive area of \u200b\u200bthe Pentagon - 117 363 sq. M. It turns out that the terrorists, who carefully planned the terrorist attack, chose a more complicated and less effective path.
However, the main incident lies ahead. Independent researchers studying the photos of the crash were alarmed by the fact that the Boeing, when it hit a building, did not leave traces of its wings. No debris was found nearby. Moreover, there were no hints of aircraft fragments inside the destroyed section of the building. According to the official conclusions, all of them were destroyed by a powerful explosion and fire, which is very doubtful.
All of the above facts suggest another reason for the destruction at the Pentagon - a planned explosion. But if we assume that the Boeing 757 did not crash into the Pentagon, where did the car itself with the passengers and crew of this ill-fated flight disappear?
As for the fourth Boeing, which did not make it to the Capitol and fell in the fields of Pennsylvania, there are fewer questions for him. However, there are still inconsistencies. The authorities claim that the death was caused by the impact on the ground, but they failed to find any significant number of aircraft fragments at the alleged crash site. Eyewitnesses say the debris was scattered for miles. According to researchers who do not share the official point of view, the airliner could have been hit in the air by a missile launched from a fighter jet.
The official version reads: passengers, having contacted their relatives by mobile phones, learned that two planes had already crashed into buildings in Manhattan and decided to prevent the hijackers' plans. It was as a result of the struggle that ensued on board that the plane went off course and went into a steep dive. However, experts say that the opportunity to use cellular communications in flight has appeared only since 2005.
Avoid misunderstandings
Everything in this story is alarming, including the behavior of top American officials. Thus, President George W. Bush long ignored the invitation to address the Congress, but when he agreed to the meeting, he put forward, at first glance, conditions that defy logical explanation. He insisted on limiting the conversation in time - no more than an hour and a mandatory invitation to the event, Vice President Dick Cheney. At the request of the head of the White House from the commission investigating the tragedy, only two people were to be present.
After a lengthy debate, it was still possible to agree on the participation of 10 commission members and remove the time limit. During the meeting, everyone expected to hear from the president exhaustive, and most importantly, reliable information about what had happened, but everything turned out to be much more complicated. Bush did not allow video filming, audio recording, or even transcription of the meeting. In addition, Bush and Cheney refused to take an oath that could reassure listeners of the truth of what was said.
In April 2004, the performance finally took place. However, to this day it is not known what Bush and Cheney said to the Congressmen. Many people pay attention to the absurdity of this situation. It looks as if one witness agreed to appear in court only in the presence of another witness. Why is this needed? Probably in order to avoid inconsistency in the testimony.
Every year there is a growing conviction in the world that the terrorist attacks were planned by the US special services in order to justify the actions of the American military in the Middle East. But it is too early to draw final conclusions. So far, we can only say with certainty the following: if the US authorities did not organize the attacks themselves, then at least they did not interfere with their planning.
* Al-Qaeda is a terrorist group banned on the territory of the Russian Federation
The September 11, 2001 (or 9/11) attacks are a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks against the United States by an Islamic terrorist group Al-Qaeda in New York and Washington. They took place on Tuesday 11 September 2001.
Four terrorist groups, each with a trained pilot, hijacked passenger planes and sent them to targets - the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon. The fourth plane crashed in a deserted area in Pennsylvania before reaching Washington. The US government said the organizers of the attack belonged to the al-Qaeda group. During these attacks, about 3,000 people died. Most of them were citizens of the United States, but about 300 were from the UK, India, Canada and other countries.
Planes that became instruments of terrorist attacks
The first of four aircraft hijacked was American Airlines Flight 11 (Boeing 767-200ER). He made daily flights between Boston and Los Angeles. When hijacked at 7:59 am on September 11, 2001, there were 81 passengers on board (out of 158 seats). Forty-seven minutes later, this plane crashed into the North Tower of the New York World Trade Center at 94-98 floors, at 440 mph, carrying 9,717 gallons of jet fuel. (A US gallon is equal to 3.78541178 liters.)
The second was United Airlines Flight 175, also a Boeing 767-200ER, also flying from Boston to Los Angeles. It took off at 8:14 am on September 11 and carried 56 passengers (out of 168 seats). Captured by terrorists, he crashed into the South Tower of the mall at 9:03 am, at 540 mph, with 9,118 gallons of fuel in his tanks.
The third terrorist hijacked American Airlines Flight 77, Boeing 757-200. It flew from Washington to Los Angeles at 8:20 am on September 11, 2001. The plane was two-thirds empty (58 passengers out of 176). It crashed into the Pentagon at 9:37 am at 530 mph with 4,000 gallons of fuel in its tanks.
The fourth aircraft used by terrorists was United Airlines Flight 93, a Boeing 757-200. He was captured 42 minutes after his 8am flight from Newark to San Francisco. There were only 37 passengers on board and just over 7,000 gallons of fuel. It crashed at 560 mph in an empty field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania at 10:03 am.
Victims and destruction
All 246 people on four planes, as well as 19 hijackers, were killed in the attacks. Both of the attacked World Trade Center towers caught fire. The South Tower (WTC-2) burned for 56 minutes before falling and destroying. The North Tower (WTC-1) burned for 102 minutes, then it also fell. During the collapse, parts of the towers fell into other neighboring buildings. Due to this damage, the third tower, No. 7, of the World Trade Center (WTC-7) fell at 5:20 pm. Many other buildings nearby were so badly damaged that they had to be demolished. 2602 people died at the World Trade Center.
The plane crashed into the Pentagon from the west. He damaged three of the five "rings" that make up the Pentagon. At the same time, 125 people died at the Pentagon.
The United States government paid an average of $ 1.8 million to the families of the victims of the attacks.
In total, 2996 people died from the events of September 11, 2001, including firefighters and police officers who tried to save other people.
It is believed to be the first major foreign terrorist attack on the United States. In 1941, when Japanese aircraft attacked a US naval base in Pearl HarborHawaii was not yet part of the United States. There have been several major attacks against American targets in the past, but most of them have taken place outside the United States (for example, in a Lebanese Marine camp).
When investigating the causes of the attacks, "conspiracy theories" were also put forward, according to which some people in the US government knew about the impending attacks in advance or even organized them.
After the attacks of September 11, 2001, the President of the United States Bush declared the so-called "war on terrorism". It expressed itself first in strengthening security measures within the United States, and then in real wars on the territory Afghanistan and Iraq... Regimes were overthrown during these wars Taliban and Saddam Hussein... In May 2011, US special forces killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan.
Al-Qaeda and Taliban groups are recognized as terrorist in the Russian Federation and are prohibited by law.
It was widely reported in the American media that the buildings of the World Trade Center in Manhattan, erected in 1970, brought colossal losses to the owner of Port Authority. Millions of dollars went down the drain every year just because of the costs of electricity, water and heating. In the 1980s, materials used in the decoration and construction of buildings were recognized as hazardous to health.
Repair was required, for which it was necessary to pay at least $ 20 million, but no one wanted to get involved in this business. The authorities were even going to demolish the skyscrapers, but canceled the decision, as carcinogenic asbestos dust could envelop the whole of Manhattan.
Then entrepreneur Larry Silverstein showed up, who laid out $ 3.2 billion for problematic high-rises. The deal was completed a month and a half before the attacks, but the new owner of the buildings made the last payment just on the eve of the tragedy. He insured his acquisition for a considerable $ 3.6 billion, and prescribed insurance in the event of a terrorist attack as a separate paragraph.
It is curious that after the events of September 11, Silverstein tried to beg the insurance company for an amount of 7.2 billion, evaluating the incident as a double terrorist attack. In the end, they agreed on compensation of $ 4.6 billion.
Researchers later found out that in the basements of one of the buildings of the World Trade Center were stored gold bars of various trade and financial corporations worth at least $ 160 billion. According to the mayor of New York Rudolph Giuliani, only $ 230 million was extracted from the rubble. Where are the rest? Many do not doubt that Larry Silverstein had a hand in this.
As a result of the collapse of the WTC skyscraper, which was kept silent for a long time, over 500 tons of carcinogenic asbestos were thrown into the air, as well as lead, mercury and other highly toxic substances, which subsequently led to an increase in the incidence of cancer among people living or working in the vicinity. By the way, Silverstein also received insurance for this house.
The plane did not crash into this house. Then what caused the building to collapse? Silverstein once blurted out in one of his interviews: “I remember how the commander of the fire department called me and said that he was not sure that he would be able to contain the flame. I replied that we already had so many victims, so the most reasonable thing would be to demolish it. And we decided to demolish it. Then we all saw the building collapse. "
September 11 is a day of mourning in the United States of America, when as a result of four terrorist attacks, the responsibility of which is attributed to al-Qaeda, 2,977 people died and 24 others were missing. Most of those killed were civilians.
Al-Qaeda is one of the largest terrorist organizations of the Wahhabi branch of Islam.
On the morning of September 11, 2001, nineteen members of a terrorist group hijacked four passenger planes with people on board, two of which were sent to the north and south towers of the World Trade Center, located in South Manhattan, New York. The third plane was directed by terrorists to the Pentagon building, located near Washington, where the US Department of Defense is located, and the fourth crashed into a field in Pennsylvania when passengers and crew of the plane tried to take over control of the plane.
Cm. .
Construction at the site of the collapse of the World Trade Center in New York, USA, seven years after the terrorist attack.
Workers take photographs of the flag that is being erected at the site of the memorial and museum seven years after the terrible tragedy of September 11, 2001.
Builders at the site of the destroyed twin towers on September 2, 2008 in New York.
The World Trade Center opened on April 4, 1973 in New York (USA) and consisted of seven buildings, two of which stood out for their dimensions - these are the north and south towers, each with 110 floors. These towers were the targets of the al-Qaeda terrorist attack. The rest of the hulls were seriously damaged by the collapse of the twin towers.
Photo taken by the International Space Station on September 11, 2001. A plume of smoke rises from Manhattan, New York, to an altitude of 250 km.
A man stands on the ruins of the recently fallen World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 in New York.
Top view of the falling twin towers.
Streets of Manhattan after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack.
Thousands of tons of toxic waste (carcinogens) were formed in the air as a result of the collapse of the towers. This led to an increase in the incidence, especially among those who helped to clear the rubble and look for victims - people were directly exposed to harmful fumes. In this regard, in 2007, several people died from cancer, some died from pulmonary failure. Their names are also immortalized on a memorial plaque.
Firefighters make their way through the rubble of the Twin Towers, which were destroyed in a major terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 in the United States.
Aerial view (3,300 feet) of the site where the Shopping Center stood 12 days ago.
This is how the crash site looked after 7 years.
View of the part of Manhattan where the Twin Towers collapsed on September 11, 2001.
Construction of the Freedom Tower at the site of the Intercity Trade Center, September 5, 2008.
Workers install reinforcement bars for concrete pouring at the construction site for Freedom Tower, New York.
A large banner hangs in front of the Freedom Tower under construction. It features a 1,776-foot tower and listed building, a planned construction in Manhattan, USA, with 500 people working on it.
On the tenth anniversary of the attacks, a national memorial was unveiled - two pools on the site of two destroyed twin towers. The museum, located under the pools, is scheduled to open in September 2013.
Construction of the Freedom Tower in New York.
After the terrorist attacks, a large-scale operation began to search for survivors, which continued around the clock for a whole week. It took a very long time to dismantle the debris, in which smoldering lasted for 99 days. The complete clearing of the territory from the destroyed buildings was completed only by March 2002. Several funds were created to help the victims and families of the victims, where they provided not only psychological, but also financial assistance.
The staircase is the only surviving part of the Mall, which helped to save many people from the crumbling building. It will be placed in a national memorial, a museum.
On August 24, 2008, a cross made of steel from the North Tower of the Mall was erected. It was erected in memory of the dead firefighters and volunteers who are directly involved in extinguishing fires and clearing debris.
Memorial erected at General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport, near Boston, Massachusetts. Installed in memory of the dead crew and passengers.
Stewardesses at a memorial at the international airport to commemorate those killed on September 11, 2001. They miraculously did not board one of those American airliners ...
Every year on September 11, two blue beams of light rush into the sky from the scene of the tragedy - in memory of those who died on that fateful day.
