Friday September 11, 2020, marks 19 years since the World Trade Center in New York City was attacked by terrorists, who flew two planes into the towers, killing thousands of people.
The most deadly foreign attack on the United States since the Pearl Harbour bombings in December 1941 when 2,403 Americans were killed, 9/11 remains one of the worst terrorist attacks in the world to this day.
A total of 2,977 people were killed in four coordinated attacks. The four tragic events saw two planes flown into each of the World Trade Center towers, one into the Pentagon in Washington and one into a field outside of Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
The location of the fourth crash in Pennsylvania is believed not to have been the intended final target of the hijackers.
That day, 40 passengers and crew members died aboard United Airlines Flight 93 after it is thought the passengers and crew fought back to try and retake control of the flight deck from the terrorists, resulting in the plane’s fatal crash.
The majority of 9/11 victims – 2,753 people – were killed when the hijacked American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 were intentionally flown into the north and south towers.
United Airlines Flight 175 hit the south tower just over 15 minutes later at 9:03 a.m ET (2.03pm UK time)
The hijacked third plane then collided with the Pentagon at 9.37am (2.37pm) and the fourth plane later crashed in Pennsylvania at 10.03am (3.03pm).
The South tower of the World Trade Center collapsed at 9.59am and the North tower fell at 10.28am.
There were just 102 minutes between the time of the first attack and the collapse of both the towers.
Today, the 9/11 Memorial Museum can be found at the former World Trade Center (WTC) site in Lower Manhattan.
The Memorial, designed by architect Michael Arad and landscape architect Peter Walker, opened on September 11, 2011 – 10 years after the 9/11 attacks.
Describing the design, the Memorial Museum say: ‘Located on eight acres of the 16-acre World Trade Center complex, the 9/11 Memorial is a place of remembrance and contemplation within the bustle of lower Manhattan.
‘[The design] honours the victims, spoke to the needs of families who had lost loved ones, and provided a space for healing and reflection.’
The design features deep, twin waterfall pools located at the site of each of the towers.
The waterfall pools are surrounded by bronze parapets that list the names of the victims of the 9/11 attacks and the victims of 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
There are also over 400 swamp white oak trees covering the site. This particular tree was chosen because it is hardy and also native to the areas of all three 9/11 crash sites.
One Callery pear tree can also be found in the Memorial Plaza, the story of which is told by the Memorial Museum:
‘In October 2001, recovery workers discovered the severely damaged tree at Ground Zero. Members of the New York City Parks and Recreation Department removed it from the site and nursed it back to health.
‘Having survived the events of 9/11, the tree became known as the Survivor Tree. It was returned to the World Trade Center site in 2010 and now stands on the plaza as a symbol of resilience and perseverance.’
