On September 11, 2001, at approximately 8:50 a.m., terrorists hijacked American Airlines flight 11 and flew it into One World Trade Center, the northern tower in New York City, NY. Eighty-seven innocent passengers and crew aboard the airliner (not counting the terrorists involved) were killed. Moments later, at approximately 9:04 a.m., terrorists flew United Airlines flight 175 into Two World Trade Center, the southern tower. Again, 60 innocent passengers and crew lost their lives.

At approximately 10:00 a.m., the southern tower collapsed, enveloping lower Manhattan in a cloud of dust, ash, and debris.  Thirty minutes later, the northern tower fell.  The collapse of the buildings caused a cloud of dust so large that it was seen from space.

Tragically, more than 2,800 innocent people lost their lives at the site of the World Trade Centers, including the brave firefighters, police officers, and other emergency personnel who responded to the attacks.

	New York City firefighters amidst the aftermath of the collapse of the World Trade Center.
The Soldiers of the 249th Engineer Battalion traveled to New York City to help restore power to lower Manhattan and conduct site assessments in the city's financial district.
	Search and rescue teams examine portions of the collapsed subway station beneath the World Trade Center rubble.
BG Rhoades (left), LTG Flowers, and MG Griffin confer on the day's events.
	The Corps of Engineers deployed Emergency Command and Control vehicles (ECCV) from the Mobile District to Ground Zero to serve as communication centers for relief operations.
USACE emergency operations personnel, accompanied by representatives from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, survey the damage at the  World Trade Center site.
	USACE Urban Search & Rescue Structures Specialist Thomas R. Niedernhofer (orange helmet) briefs Sec. of the Army Thomas White, left, LTG Flowers, right, and BG Rhoades, second from right, near Ground Zero.
USACE Structures Specialist Gary Lee, St. Louis District (orange helmet), briefs Sec. Army White, center, and LTG Flowers, right, on Corps operations at Ground Zero near the site of Tower 2.
	The first ten (of fifteen) USACE Structures Specialists deployed to Ground Zero were flown via Army jet to NJ for in-processing. At the time, that USACE jet was the only aircraft flying in the country.
The Corps of Engineers sent several of its patrol boats from the Cape Cod Canal, including the Wampanoag, to help ferry people and supplies around New York harbor.
	An aircraft filled with 101st Airborne Division soldiers en route to Afghanistan circled the WTC site in Lower Manhattan to remind the troops why they were deploying.  It was the first time since Sept. 11th that the FAA allowed a commercial plane to fly over the site.  The pilot radioed ahead to coordinate the maneuver and the air traffic controllers were "moved by the request," the pilot said.
In the hours following the World Trade Center attacks, seven Corps ves sels ferried  more than 3,000 people from south Manhattan and brought many emergency  personnel and relief supplies into the city on return trips.