what happened on september 11 2001

On September 11, 2001, nineteen terrorists affiliated with the Islamist extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial airplanes in a coordinated suicide attack against the United States. Two planes, American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, were flown into the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City at 8:46 a.m. and 9:03 a.m., respectively. Both towers caught fire and collapsed within less than two hours, causing massive destruction and loss of life. A third plane, American Airlines Flight 77, crashed into the Pentagon, the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense in Arlington, Virginia, at 9:37 a.m., causing partial collapse and significant damage. The fourth plane, United Airlines Flight 93, was headed toward a target in Washington, D.C. (believed to be either the U.S. Capitol or the White House), but passengers fought back against the hijackers, forcing the plane to crash into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, at 10:03 a.m. The attacks killed 2,977 people, including passengers on the planes, civilians in the buildings, firefighters, law enforcement officers, and military personnel. It was the deadliest terrorist attack in history and caused extensive damage, including the complete destruction of the World Trade Center complex and severe damage to the Pentagon. The attacks prompted the U.S. to launch the global War on Terror, including the invasion of Afghanistan to dismantle al-Qaeda and remove the Taliban from power. The Federal Aviation Administration grounded all civilian aircraft in U.S. airspace, and international flights were diverted to Canada and Mexico. The attacks had profound and lasting impacts on U.S. and global security policies, economies, and societies