American Airlines Flight 11 facts for kids
AAL11 flight path from Boston to New York City
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| Hijacking summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | Tuesday, September 11, 2001 |
| Summary | Terrorist suicide hijacking |
| Place | North Tower of the World Trade Center, New York City, U.S. 40°42′43.63″N 74°0′47.48″W / 40.7121194°N 74.0131889°W |
| Passengers | 81 (including 5 hijackers) |
| Crew | 11 |
| Fatalities | 92 (all; including 5 hijackers) |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 767-223ER |
| Airline/user | American Airlines |
| Registration | N334AA |
| Flew from | Logan International Airport, Boston |
| Flying to | Los Angeles International Airport |
American Airlines Flight 11 was a domestic passenger flight that was hijacked by five al-Qaeda members on September 11, 2001, as part of the September 11 attacks. Mohamed Atta deliberately crashed the plane into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing all 92 people aboard and an unknown number in the building's impact zone.
The aircraft involved, a Boeing 767-223ER, registration was flying American Airlines' daily scheduled morning transcontinental service from Logan International Airport in Boston to Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles.
Fifteen minutes into the flight, the hijackers injured at least three people, forcibly breached the cockpit, and overpowered the captain and first officer. Atta, an al-Qaeda member and licensed commercial pilot, took over the controls.
Air-traffic controllers noticed the flight was in distress when the crew was no longer responding. They realized the flight had been hijacked when Mohamed Atta's announcements for passengers were transmitted to air traffic control.
On board, flight attendants Amy Sweeney and Betty Ong contacted American Airlines, and provided information about the hijackers and injuries to passengers and crew.
The aircraft crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center at 08:46:40 local time. Countless people in the streets of New York City witnessed the strike, but few video recordings captured the moment. Documentary film maker Jules Naudet captured the only known footage of the initial impact from start to finish.
The impact and following fire caused the North Tower to collapse 102 minutes after the crash, resulting in hundreds of additional casualties. During the recovery effort at the World Trade Center site, workers recovered and identified dozens of remains from Flight 11 victims.
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The American Airlines Flight 11 aircraft was a Boeing 767-223ER delivered in 1987, registration number N334AA. The capacity of the aircraft was 158 passengers, but the September 11 flight carried 81 passengers and 11 crew members. This was a light load at 58.2 percent capacity.
All 92 people on board were killed, including David Angell (the creator and executive producer of the television sitcom Frasier), his wife Lynn Angell, and actress Berry Berenson, the widow of Anthony Perkins.
Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane had been scheduled to be on the flight but arrived at the airport late. Actor Mark Wahlberg was also scheduled to be on the flight but canceled his ticket at the last minute. Actress Leighanne Littrell, wife of Backstreet Boys singer Brian Littrell, had also previously been booked on the flight but, like Wahlberg, changed her plans at the last minute.
Boarding
Mohamed Atta, a member of terrorist group al-Qaeda and leader of the attacks, and another hijacker, Abdulaziz al-Omari, flew together from Portland, Maine to Boston early on September 11, 2001. Both hijackers had first class tickets for a flight to Los Angeles, California. Three other hijackers, Waleed al-Shehri, Wail al-Shehri and Satam al-Suqami arrived at Logan International Airport by car. All five checked in and by 07:40, were aboard the aircraft which was supposed to leave at 07:45.
Mohamed Atta sat in business class with Abdulaziz al-Omari and Suqami. Waleed al-Shehri and Wail al-Shehri sat in first class. The aircraft taxied away from Gate 26 and departed Logan International Airport at 07:59 from runway 4R after a 14-minute delay.
Hijacking
It is thought that the highjacking of the plane started at 08:14. This was when the pilot and first officer stopped talking with air traffic control at Boston. Two minutes later, the aircraft stopped flying along the route it was supposed to. No more radio replies came from the aircraft and the system in the aircraft used to avoid crashing into other aircraft was also switched off.
Flight attendants Ong and Sweeney contacted American Airlines with AT&T airphones during the hijack. They said the hijackers had hurt two of the other attendants and killed an Israeli passenger. During the long four-minute call, Ong told the airline which seats the hijackers were sitting in and said no-one could get into the cockpit.
At 08:23:38, Atta tried to talk to the passengers from the cockpit but he pressed the wrong button and sent the message to air traffic control. He said that "[They] have some planes, just stay quiet and you'll be okay. We are returning to the airport." A minute later he said, "Nobody move. Everything will be okay. If you try to make any moves, you'll endanger yourself and the airplane. Just stay quiet."
Air traffic control realized the aircraft had been hijacked and they called the Federal Aviation Administration. Soon after, Atta announced "Nobody move please, we are going back to the airport, don't try to make any stupid moves." Five minutes later Boston air traffic control called North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
NORAD ordered two F-15fighter aircraft to catch the flight, but it was too late—AA 11 had already made its last turn towards Manhattan and crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center more than six minutes before the fighter aircraft had taken off.
Crash
At 08:46:40, the hijackers crashed Flight 11 into the northern side of the North Tower (Tower 1) of the World Trade Center. The aircraft, traveling at about 466 miles per hour (750 km/h) and carrying about 10,000 U.S. gallons of flammable fuel, hit between the 93rd and 99th floors of the North Tower. In all, 92 people on board were killed.
Because the North Tower was so damaged, people could not escape from above where the aircraft had crashed. All stairs and elevators from the 92nd floor and up were blocked, trapping 1,344 people. Hundreds were killed right away by the impact.
The rest either were trapped and died from the fire and smoke or the collapse of the tower. Some died after they jumped from the building. More than one elevator shaft carried burning fuel downward, exploding on the way down.
Jules Naudet, a French cameraman filmed the crash. A webcam set up at an art exhibition in Brooklyn to take pictures of Lower Manhattan every four seconds also filmed Flight 11 crashing into the North Tower.
News organizations first reported an explosion at the World Trade Center. CNN interrupted a commercial at 08:49 with the headline that read "World Trade Center Disaster."
President George W. Bush was arriving at an elementary school in Sarasota, Florida when he was told about the crash. The president said, "This is pilot error. It's unbelievable that somebody would do this. The guy must have had a heart attack." The first news reports believed that the crash had been an accident until Flight 175 crashed into the South Tower at 09:03.
After the crash
After the crash, the North Tower burned and collapsed. Although the crash caused much damage, the fire caused by jet fuel was blamed for the damage and collapse of the tower. Hundreds of rescue workers also died when the tower collapsed.
In a video recording found months later in Afghanistan, al-Qaeda's leader, Osama bin Laden, seemed to say he planned the attack. He said he believed part of towers would collapse. The flight recorders, or tapes that record useful flight data, for Flight 11 and Flight 175 were never found.
After the attacks, the flight number for flights on the same route at the same takeoff time was changed to American Airlines Flight 25, and a Boeing 757 was used instead of a Boeing 767. An American flag was flown on the jet bridge from which Flight 11 departed from Logan Airport.
Related pages
Images for kids
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Jules Naudet filmed the impact of Flight 11 as it crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
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Wreckage at museum
See also
In Spanish: Vuelo 11 de American Airlines para niños
