The Most Critical 17 Minutes Of 9/11

It’s a clear, still Tuesday morning in New York City. The autumn sky is bright blue and the two World Trade Centres mark the highest points of the Manhattan skyline.  At 8:30am the business district is bustling. Workers are making their way into elevators or stopping for a quick coffee. Their minds are on their morning meeting or the kids they just dropped off at school. Most don’t notice the plane flying too low, far too low, until they hear it. A terrible sound pierces through one of the biggest cities in the world, as a passenger plane flies directly into the north tower. Within minutes, the story will go live across the globe.  What they don’t know is that in 17 minutes, a second plane will collide with the south tower. This isn’t an accident. It’s an attack.  On September 11, 2001, 2,976 people were killed as a result of four hijacked commercial airliners. Two crashed into the World Trade Centers, a third targeted the Pentagon, with a fourth aiming for the U.S. Capitol building but brought down in a field by several brave passengers.  Five men have been charged with these acts of terrorism, and the case is the largest criminal prosecution in U.S. history in terms of the number of victims.  But this episode is not about the men responsible.  It’s about how that day truly unfolded, and the nearly 3000 victims who did not know those early hours of September 11 would be their last. CREDITS Guest: Garrett Graff, author of The Only Plane In The Sky Host: Jessie Stephens Producer: Gia Moylan Audio Producer: Rhiannon Mooney & Ian Camilleri CONTACT US Tell us what you think of the show via email at [email protected]   Join our closed Facebook community to discuss this episode. Just search True Crime Conversations on Facebook or follow this link https://bit.ly/tcc-group  If any of the contents in this episode have caused distress, know that there is help available via Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. Just by reading or listening to our content, you’re helping to fund girls in schools in some of the most disadvantaged countries in the world - through our partnership with Room to Read. We’re currently funding 300 girls in school every day and our aim is to get to 1,000. Find out more about Mamamia at mamamia.com.au Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.