What's going on? World Trade Center, Pentagon, Old Executive Office Bldg
Bill Stewart
bill.stewart at pobox.com
Tue Sep 11 07:56:18 PDT 2001
At 10:48 AM 09/11/2001 -0400, Greg Newby wrote:
>Everything's just slashdotted. Forget the Internet, this
>is television's game, or try the radio (shortwave or
>domestic).
even Akamai is slashdotted.... Here's the SF article printer-friendly version;
sorry about the formatting.
Planes crash into World Trade Center, creating horrifying scene; no word on
casualties
Tuesday, September 11, 2001
)2001 Associated Press
URL:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2001/09/11/national0920EDT0530.DTL
(09-11) 06:39 PDT (AP) --
AP National Writer
NEW YORK (AP) -- Two planes crashed into the upper floors of both World
Trade Center towers minutes apart Tuesday in what the President Bush said
was an apparent terrorist attack, blasting fiery, gaping holes in the
110-story buildings. There was no immediate word on deaths or injuries.
The president ordered a full-scale investigation to "hunt down the folks
who committed this act"
The twin disasters which happened shortly before 9 a.m. and then right
around 9 a.m.
In Washington, officials said the FBI was investigating reports of a plane
hijacking before the crashes.
Heavy black smoke billowed into the sky above the gaping holes in the side
of the 110-story twin towers, one of New York City's most famous landmarks,
and debris rained down upon the street, one of the city's busiest work
areas. When the second plane hit, a fireball of flame and smoke erupted,
leaving a huge hole in the glass and steel tower.
"Today we've had a national tragedy," Bush said. He called it "an apparent
terrorist attack."
Ira Furber, former NTSB spokesman, discounted likelihood of accident.
"I don't think this is an accident," he said on CNN. "You've got incredibly
good visibility. No pilot is going to be relying on navigational equipment."
"It's just not possible in the daytime," he added. "A second occurrence is
just beyond belief."
The towers were struck by terrorist bombers in February 1993, killing six
people and injuring more than 1,000 others.
All New York City-area airports were shut down, and several subway lines
were immediately shut down. Trading on Wall Street was suspended.
"The plane was coming in low and ... it looked like it hit at a slight
angle," said Sean Murtagh, a CNN vice president, the network reported.
"I was watching TV and heard a sonic boom," Jeanne Yurman told CNN. "The
side of the World Trade Center exploded. Debris is falling like leaflets. I
hear ambulances. The northern tower seems to be on fire."
Thousands of pieces of what appeared to be office paper came drifting over
Brooklyn, about three miles from the tower.
A senior government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the
agency is pursuing reports that one or both of the planes were hijacked and
that the crashes may have been the result of a suicide mission.
The source stressed that the reports are preliminary and officials do not
know the cause of the crashes.
"It certainly doesn't look like an accident," said a second government
official, also speaking on condition of anonymity.
In 1945, an Army Air Corps B-25, a twin-engine bomber, crashed into the
79th floor of the Empire State Building in dense fog.
In Sarasota, Fla., Bush was reading to children in a classroom at 9:05 a.m.
when his chief of staff, Andrew Card, whispered into his ear. The president
briefly turned somber before he resumed reading. He addressed the tragedy
about a half-hour later.
)2001 Associated Press
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