OnSeptember 11, 2001 devastation overcame the people of America when fourairplanes were hijacked and crashed into important landmarks that representedthe United States of America. 19 members of Al-Qaeda, an Islamic extremistgroup, hijacked four different planes with a plan to cause destruction and painto the people of America. At 8:46 AM, many employees were hard at work at thetwin towers in New York City when United Airlines flight 11 crashed into thenorth tower of the World Trade Center.
This crash killed all 92 people aboardas well as hundreds of people inside the building. As people started toevacuate and help was on the way, United Airlines flight 175 crashed into theWorld Trade Center south tower, killing the 65 people on board as well as thehundreds of people nearby. All of the attention was on New York City, but at9:37 AM the pentagon in Washington DC was hit by the hijackers on flight 77.The 59 people aboard as well as 125 military and civilian personnel werekilled. The fourth plane, flight 93, was targeted for the White House, butthanks to the valiant efforts of the passengers and crew trying to regaincontrol, the plane crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, due tothe impact of the crash all passengers aboard the flight were found dead. Intotal, the 9/11 attacks resulted in 2,996 deaths as well as more than 6,000injuries from the planes’ impact, buildings collapsing, and waves of dust inthe surrounding areas. There would have been a lot morecasualties if it weren’t for the work of public health employees, civilians,and government action.
The federal aviation administration or FAA first tookaction when the hijacker on flight 11 accidentally made contact with groundcontrol when he was trying to speak with the people in the plane’s cabin. FAAcontacted the Northeast Air Defense Sector (NEADS) to alert them of thehijacked plane. The NEADS sent out two fighter planes, but flight 11 crashedinto the north tower before anything could be done. At this time, New York City’sfire and police departments took immediate action by helping the injured andevacuating the north tower. Citizens nearby and healthy evacuated employeeshelped the people who were injured and were able to escape the building. The Public-AddressSystem was used to tell the people in the south tower to begin to evacuate.
Hundreds were still inside when flight 175 hit the tower. The FAA decided toban all take off flights going to New York City, eventually leading to thefirst time in history that all flights over the United States were grounded.Local government vocalized the closing of all bridges, tunnels, and moststreets in the New York City area, unless they were authorized personnel. Atapproximately 9:30 AM President Bush went live to the public and told the peopleto stay calm and told them that more details would be later addressed.
Bushcalled the event an, “apparent terrorist attack on our country.” President Bushevacuated a large amount of high profile buildings and landmarks in the US toavoid more casualties and to be cautious. The firefighters, police, and medicalworkers, risked their lives to try and save as many people as they could,decreasing the number of casualties.
After these attacks, the United States AirForce, Navy, and other Military forces were on high alert and did everythingthey could to keep the people safe. President Bush spoke to the nation at theend of the night, declaring America would stay strong and, “stand together towin the war against terrorism.” AfterSeptember 11, 2001, the work still was not finish. For weeks after, many peopleworked hard to clean the up the debris and treat the injured. As a result ofthe attacks, airlines cracked down on security, and public health officialswere taught better ways to communicate to the public and handle similarsituations.
I believe with the circumstances provided, the United Stateshandled the situation to the best of their ability. After the incident, manyservices were provided to the people of America to help cope with the disasterand return to life before the attack. Everyone will remember 9/11 for the restof their lives. If it weren’t for the quick and persistent actions of thegovernment and public health officials, the outcome of this attack could have beena lot worse.
