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Rizal Indra Putra
  • 4/29/2025
9-11: The Day the World Stood Still (2025)
Transcript
02:00It began as a day like any other.
02:03The sun rose over New York City, casting its first light over a city in motion.
02:09A city of nearly nine million lives intertwined in a routine as familiar as breathing.
02:14The world was alive with routine, parents hurrying to get their kids ready for school, office workers making their way into towering buildings, travelers settling into seats, fastening seatbelts for flights that would carry them across the country.
02:33Here, people gathered their dreams and their futures, entwined in the tapestry of a city that never stopped moving.
02:42The morning light painted buildings and streets in warm hues.
02:56Lives intersected in the shadow of New York's iconic towers, reminders of the heights people could reach.
03:03Below them, the city's arteries pulsed with energy, a vibrant mosaic of languages, cultures, and stories woven together into the fabric of a place adored around the world.
03:14But this was no ordinary day.
03:18In a single moment, that rhythm would break and everything would change.
03:23This is the story of New York on that day, and the lives that were forever altered in its wake.
03:36It is 8 a.m. in Salisbury, North Carolina, 7 a.m. in Chicago, 5 a.m. in Calaveras County, California, where the news is being made on this Tuesday, September 11th.
03:44For the second time in two weeks, the U.S. has lost an unmanned spy plane over Iraq.
03:49A definite new look for you. What are you going for?
03:52What am I going for?
03:53The city of Congo. Three years, two and a half million dead. We thought you should know.
04:07We want to tell you what we know as we know it. We just got a report.
04:11He was absolutely the most amazing man that America has ever created, ever.
04:16Okay. I have got to interrupt you right now.
04:19Richard Hack, thank you very much. We appreciate the book is called Hughes.
04:22We want to go live right now and show you a picture of the World Trade Center, where I understand...
04:27Do we have it?
04:28No, we do not.
04:31We have a breaking story, though. We're going to come back with that in just a moment.
04:35First, this is today on NBC.
04:43American 11, Boston.
04:49American 11, the American on the frequency. How do you hear me?
04:52This is3 I turned American 20 left, and I was going to call him. He will not respond to me now.
05:05Looks like he's turning right.
05:06Yeah, I turned him 20 right.
05:07And he's only going to, I think, 29.
05:20Number three in the back.
05:22The cockpit's not answering.
05:23Somebody stabbed in business class.
05:25And I think there's mace that we can't breathe.
05:28I don't know.
05:29I think we're getting hijacked.
05:30Which flight are you on?
05:32Flight 12.
05:34Input seat are you in?
05:37Ma'am, are you there?
05:42Yes.
05:43What seat are you in?
05:48Ma'am, what seat are you in?
05:50We just left Boston.
05:52We're up in the air.
05:53We're supposed to go to L.A.
05:54And the cockpit's not answering their phone.
05:57Okay, but what seat are you sitting in?
05:58What's the number of your seat?
06:00Okay, I'm in my jump seat right now.
06:02Okay.
06:03At 3R.
06:05Okay, you're the flight attendant?
06:06I'm sorry.
06:11Did you say you're the flight attendant?
06:14Hello?
06:15Yes.
06:16What is your name?
06:18You're going to have to speak up.
06:19I can't hear you.
06:20Sure.
06:20What is your name?
06:21Okay, my name is Betty Ong.
06:23I'm number three on flight 11.
06:26Okay.
06:26And the cockpit is not answering their phone.
06:32And there's somebody stabbed in business class.
06:34And we can't breathe in business class.
06:36Somebody's got mace or something.
06:38Our number one has been stabbed.
06:39And our five has been stabbed.
06:43Can anybody get up to the cockpit?
06:45Can anybody get up to the cockpit?
06:46We can't even get into the cockpit.
06:51We don't know who's up there.
06:52Is anybody still there?
06:54Yes, we're still here.
06:55Okay.
06:57I'm staying on the line as well.
06:58Okay.
07:00Have you guys called anyone else?
07:03No.
07:04Somebody's calling medical, and we can't get a doctor.
07:11American Airlines emergency line.
07:13Please state your emergency.
07:15Hey, this is Nidia, American Airlines calling.
07:17I am monitoring a call in which flight 11, the flight attendant is advising our reps that
07:22the pilot, everyone's been stabbed.
07:24Starting man at 6-7 in front of us.
07:28Is that American 11 trying to call?
07:31Buddy.
07:32Buddy.
07:33We have some planes.
07:35Let's stay quiet, and you'll be okay.
07:37We're returning to the airport.
07:3915th subway, the phone are going to Hampton.
07:42And who's trying to call me here?
07:51American 11, are you trying to call?
07:53Nobody moves.
07:54Everything will be okay.
07:56If you try to make any moves, you'll danger yourself and the airplane.
08:01Let's stay quiet.
08:02Hi, Boston Center, TMU.
08:09We have a problem here.
08:10We have a hijacked aircraft headed towards New York, and we need you guys to, we need someone
08:16to scrambles to scramble to scramble to those 16s or something up to help us out.
08:26Holy shit!
08:27Oh shit!
08:29Kennedy Tower reports that there was a fire at the World Trade Center.
08:57And that's the area where we lost the airplane.
09:03Oh, shit!
09:05Oh, shit!
09:07Oh, shit!
09:11Oh, shit!
09:15Oh, shit!
09:17Oh, shit!
09:19Oh, shit!
09:23Oh, shit!
09:25Oh, shit!
09:35This just in, you were looking at obviously a very disturbing live shot there.
09:39That is the World Trade Center.
09:41Apparently a plane has crashed into the World Trade Center in New York.
09:578.46 a.m.
09:59Five hijackers deliberately crashed American Airlines Flight 11 into the World Trade Center's North Tower.
10:11Among them was 31-year-old Christopher Hanley, who made one of the first recorded calls to 911 emergency services that day.
10:27Yeah, hi.
10:31I'm on the 106th floor of the World Trade Center.
10:35We just had an explosion.
10:37The 106th floor?
10:38Yes.
10:39106th, okay.
10:41We have smoke and it's pretty bad.
10:45We can't get down the stairs.
10:47All right.
10:48We have about a hundred people up here.
10:49Do not leave, okay?
10:50There's a fire or an explosion or something in the building.
10:53All right, now watch this.
10:54Stay where you want.
10:55Yes.
10:56All right, we're there.
10:57We're coming up to get you.
10:58There's smoke coming up from outside the windows, definitely.
11:00All right, we're on the way.
11:02Just sit tight.
11:03All right, just sit tight.
11:04We're on the way.
11:05All right, please hurry.
11:06With no prior threat or government security intelligence warning, a terrorist attack was
11:15unexpected, so the common consensus both inside and on the ground was that an unexplained
11:20explosion had rocked the North Tower.
11:25The brutal truth was that American Airlines Flight 11, whilst traveling upwards of 460 miles
11:31per hour, had hit the north face of the building, creating a catastrophic chasm in the World
11:36Trade Center Tower between floors 93 and 99.
11:43Flight 11's trajectory reached the very center of the North Tower, cutting through the three
11:47blocks of staircases in the process.
11:51Above the impact point on floor 93, every person's route to safety was destroyed.
11:58The reality, 1,344 lives were in mortal jeopardy.
12:05The plane's tanks erupted with 90,000 liters of jet fuel upon impact with the North Tower,
12:11igniting a ferocious blaze that consumed the building's interior.
12:16Office materials fed the flames, creating an overwhelming inferno of searing heat, choking
12:22smoke and intense fire, rendering the environment uninhabitable for human life.
12:27Adding to the horror, now-damaged elevator shafts provided a lethal conduit for the burning jet fuel
12:34to rage through the floors of the building as far as the entrance lobby.
12:40An estimated 8,000 people who could evacuate from the floors below the 93rd-story point of impact
12:45were faced with a chaotic and frightening scenario.
12:50The World Trade Center towers were not designed to accommodate a large-scale evacuation.
12:57Each of the twin towers was equipped with only three narrow stairwells leading to the ground level.
13:03When the plane struck, the force of the impact caused the structures to shift, jamming doors in their frames
13:10and blocking stairwells with debris from shattered walls.
13:15This left dozens of people trapped in an increasingly desperate situation, particularly those on the floors near the impact zones.
13:24With escape routes destroyed, the intense flames, suffocating heat and thick black smoke created unbearable conditions inside the North Tower.
13:36In a heartbreaking attempt to escape the inferno, it is estimated that between 100 and 200 people chose to jump to their deaths,
13:43rather than succumb to the flames consuming the building.
13:47Have you seen any evidence, Elliot, of people being taken out of the building?
13:53You say that emergency vehicles are the concern is human loss.
13:57Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!
14:02Oh my God! Another plane has just hit!
14:04Oh, another one just hit!
14:08Holy shit, Mark!
14:10Oh!
14:11That's the other building! That's terrorists!
14:13Other building?
14:14That's terrorists, bro!
14:16That's fucking terrorists!
14:17Oh man!
14:31It was now clear that this was no accident.
14:34Initially, after the attack on the North Tower, workers, staff and visitors in the South Tower
14:39were told to stay where they were.
14:42After the second crash, a mass evacuation began in the South Tower, below the impact zone of stories 77 to 85.
14:52Confusion reigned.
14:53Even though one of the stairwells in the South Tower was undamaged as the plane had hit the building at an offset from the vertical center line,
15:00and could therefore be a route to safety, it was filled with choking black smoke, leading many to mistakenly make their way upwards towards the roof for a rescue that never materializes.
15:13Tragically, too, individuals heeded the instructions given by 911 telephone operators and earlier building-wide announcements to stay put.
15:26For those fortunate enough to be below the impact zones of the Twin Towers, escaping was a harrowing ordeal.
15:39They navigated through collapsed ceilings, shattered partitions, and cascading water from broken pipes.
15:57Fires and dense, suffocating smoke further obstructed their path, reducing visibility and increasing the peril.
16:08For those trapped above the impact zones, conditions were dire and rapidly deteriorating.
16:13The sealed windows of the World Trade Center, not designed to open, left many without access to fresh air.
16:20Some windows were shattered by the force of the plane impacts, while others were broken by occupants desperately seeking relief from the encroaching smoke and intense heat.
16:39One of the most haunting images from September 11th is the Falling Man, taken by photographer Richard Drew.
16:45The photo shows an unnamed man, believed to have fallen from the North Tower, in a striking pose resembling an arrow, almost serene in descent.
16:55While he didn't choose his fate, the image suggests a quiet acceptance, inviting reflection on human dignity and resilience in the face of unimaginable choices.
17:05Though efforts to identify him remain inconclusive, the photograph has become a symbol of individual tragedy amid collective loss, capturing a moment of grace within chaos.
17:16Initially controversial, it endures as a powerful reminder of the human cost of that day.
17:22The Twin Towers
17:39Upon their completion in 1973, the Twin Towers briefly held the title of the tallest buildings in the world,
17:45and by the time of the 2001 terrorist attacks, they remained among the top five tallest.
17:51Their collapse stunned the engineering community, as fire had never before caused a skyscraper to fail, and the towers had been designed to withstand the impact of an aircraft.
18:05John Skilling, the lead structural engineer for the World Trade Center, had speculated on such a scenario after the 1993 bombing.
18:14Reflecting on the potential consequences of a plane crash, he remarked,
18:18Our analysis indicated the biggest problem would be the fact that all the fuel from the airplane would dump into the building.
18:24There would be a horrendous fire, a lot of people would be killed, but the building structure would still be there.
18:31Tragically, his assumptions would be proven wrong just eight years later.
18:36His calculations had not accounted for the devastating effects of a jetliner flying at high speed,
18:42or the intense large-scale fires fueled by thousands of gallons of aviation fuel.
18:47No design had been prepared for such extraordinary circumstances.
18:51I don't think anybody expected this building to collapse, even after the structural damage on the top.
19:03These buildings were wrapped in steel, the way your foot is wrapped by a sock.
19:08The steel side structures were not holding up these floors.
19:11These floors were held up by pinions, one between each floor.
19:15And so when the first two floors gave way, the weight of that was sufficient to collapse every pinion in every floor,
19:24you know, straight down to the bottom.
19:27Jack Tagliarcio, a news cameraman, captured the moment the first tower fell.
19:32.
19:51.
19:57.
20:01They really did it.
20:27A massive global audience watched in shock as the Twin Towers were destroyed.
20:34Their collapse broadcast live on television and radio.
20:40When the deafening roar of the falling towers subsided, dense clouds of grey-white pulverized concrete and gypsum surged through the streets of Manhattan.
20:49Initially, many believed a new explosion or impact had caused the billowing smoke and debris that obscured the South Tower.
20:56But as the winds cleared the haze, the grim reality emerged. The towering structure was gone.
21:07This video was captured by the Naudet brothers from inside the North Tower as the South fell.
21:14The North Tower's gypsum-lined stairwells had been obliterated on impact, leaving no one above floors 93 to 99 able to escape.
21:32Though the smoke and flames told part of the story from the outside, the harrowing calls from within revealed the unseen reality, an essential window into the anguish and courage of those trapped inside.
21:53Mom, it's Steven.
21:55My plane, my building got hit by a plane.
22:00And right now, I think I'm okay, I'm safe now, but it's smoky.
22:04I just want to say how much I love you, and I will quote you when I'm safe.
22:11Okay, Mom? Bye.
22:12Jimmy?
22:13Yeah.
22:14Just hang in there.
22:15Just breathe slowly through the tower.
22:16Are you breathing through the tower?
22:17I'm fine.
22:18Okay, it's fine.
22:19Everybody's fine.
22:20Everybody's very calm.
22:21Everything's going to be fine.
22:22You have to stay calm.
22:23Everybody here is calm.
22:24I promise you.
22:25We girls don't even know what was during school.
22:39Your parents are here, but they're very calm.
22:42Just keep your head straight.
22:44Okay, do you see smoke by the window?
22:46The fire department wants to know.
22:48No smoke by the window.
22:49No smoke by the window.
22:50No smoke by the window.
22:51No smoke by the window.
22:53No smoke by the window.
22:54smoke by the window listen carefully as a last resort break the window as small as possible just
22:59to get a little air in okay you follow yeah okay how's that they said the last resort we should
23:05open the window just a little bit to get some air in can you open can you open the window or you
23:09have to break it yeah just break it yeah okay chillin chillin break the window break the window as little
23:17if possible just get a little air just get a little air thank you but you're running out of here we
23:24should do that okay okay
23:39it's too tired all right sit tight we'll get to you as soon as we can
23:42yeah he's setting up the smoke's really bad man that's all we can do we do it
23:47where are you what's where are you guys up to we're getting there we're getting there
23:50there's a few like it man i got young kids i understand that sir
23:54there's lots of people up here i know you go out in the building
23:58but we're on the floor we're in the window
24:03and then we have to be in greenhorn can't see okay just try to hang it there i'm gonna break it
24:13so you're in an air-conditioned building
24:16it's really good it's black it's iron
24:29we're young men we're not ready to die
24:31hello hello we're looking at all we're looking at financial center
24:42two three of us two broken windows
24:50at 11 a.m mayor rudolph giuliani ordered the evacuation of lower manhattan south of canal
25:17street affecting over one million residents workers and tourists
25:21meanwhile rescue efforts at the world trade center site continued throughout the afternoon
25:26in a desperate search for survivors i feel terrible for the people that we lost some of
25:30whom i talked to just 15 minutes before we lost them and uh the city is going to survive we're going
25:37to get through it it's going to be very very difficult time i i don't think we yet know the
25:43pain that we're going to feel when we find out who we lost but the thing we have to focus on now is
25:48getting the city through this and surviving and being stronger for it
25:56it's difficult to find the words to describe the feeling in new york city today new york city is in
26:02shop one of its most famous landmarks destroyed thousands dead and america is under siege
26:22i thought i felt horrified because it's like you don't know what's coming they kept saying
26:26there's another plane coming and all you hear was just rumbling people was crying people were jumping
26:32out the window they was waving like trying to like say help me like you see their arms and then you
26:37saw the man jump down and he just everybody was jumping it was it was crazy standing down uh on sixth
26:44avenue earlier and i i watched uh the flames coming out of the trade center and i saw it collapse and it
26:50was just uh the most horrible thing i've ever seen in my life unbelievable i didn't think something like
26:55this is going to happen especially in new york makes you wonder what our intelligence community is
27:00doing you know to have something like this happen how can this happen this is uh world-reaching it's
27:05not just the city it's around the world it's gonna i don't think anything will ever be the same again
27:12prior to september 11 2001 the united states was not officially engaged in any wars
27:18islamic extremism al-qaeda and osama bin laden were largely unfamiliar to the general public and isis
27:27had yet to emerge the events of that day marked a pivotal moment in history a clear divide between
27:34the world as it existed before the attacks and the profoundly changed reality that followed
27:49the shock and devastation of september 11 2001 extended far beyond the immediate aftermath
27:56leaving a profound and lasting impact on american life and global consciousness
28:04what once seemed inconceivable a large-scale attack on u.s soil became a grim new reality
28:11the unthinkable possibility of future attacks potentially involving biological or nuclear weapons
28:17turned into a shared and persistent fear
28:27this sense of vulnerability and uncertainty did not just ripple through new york city but reverberated across
28:33the nation and the world
29:03when we sit down at our dinner table we have an empty chair we get together for holidays we have an empty
29:33place to chair we can't move on there's no closure there is no closure there is no closure
29:39what i'm thinking is i have to look down and see that this is no longer here he's no longer here
29:46and everyone else thinks that this is just okay and it's fine and we can move on we can't
29:52firefighters from the new york city fire department rushed to the world trade center minutes after the
29:57first plane struck the north tower chief joseph pfeiffer and his crew with battalion one were among the
30:02first on the scene i just got to work uh in the office and for some reason uh it was early and
30:09somebody had a tv on watching the news and this whole thing started on live tv so we started uh we had a
30:17meeting and about 8 30 i got activated through fema for the response initially the team focused on the
30:24rescue and evacuation of the building's occupants which involved sending firefighters up to assist
30:29people who were trapped in elevators and elsewhere as well as ensuring all floors were completely evacuated
30:37many of the evacuees commented afterwards that the bravery of these firefighters was immeasurable
30:42the look on their faces was one of steadfast determination they were aware of the dangers
30:48they would face yet continued on hour upon hour regardless of their own safety and well-being
30:58problems with radio communication also caused further problems as commanders lost contact with
31:03many of the firefighters in the buildings
31:05coupled with this as the news of the attack spread many off-duty firefighters arrived at the
31:13scene eager to help but without their radios as a result firefighters encountered difficulties
31:21reporting on their progress and location and were unable to hear evacuation orders sometimes with tragic
31:27consequences
31:27orio palmer was one such brave firefighter who lost his life in his quest to save others
31:38without thought for his own safety he rushed from the north tower to the south at 9 0 3 a.m
31:45on the stairwells he realized that some firefighters could not communicate with each other so worked
31:50quickly to rectify the problem with the radio receivers then although most elevators had been rendered
31:57non-operational palmer single-handedly fixed one and took it to the 41st floor which was halfway
32:03to the impact zone which spanned the 77th to the 85th floors
32:17climbing on foot he was a very fit man so he was able to make it where others might not have been able to
32:22he ascended 12 floors in 10 minutes wearing all the bunker gear weighing in at a crippling 50 to 60 pounds
32:34those fortunate enough to have survived the initial impact of the crash on the 78th floor
32:38hoped to take an elevator to comparative safety on the 41st but it failed to work
32:43palmer did the unthinkable and reached the 78th floor to save them
32:57it is clear he is in a race for time saving his oxygen and energy
33:19he discovered the south stairwell was safe to the impact zone and beyond
33:23and for the hundreds trapped there this stairwell was an escape route
33:28what's going on here are we going on
33:30south town south tower
33:35we got close outside of the pocket supplier
33:38we should be able to knock it down with two lines
33:40where are you going on here 78th floor and it's no one's 1045 cohorn
33:44four 78th floor
33:48we're going to have two engines up here
33:52all right 34th floor we're on our way
33:56after such herculean efforts on his part tragically the impact of the crash was so strong
34:01that the south tower collapsed killing him and many others
34:05all i can all i can tell you is that just put yourself in that position it was your family member
34:16every one of these firefighters in here are our brothers every one of these police officers in here
34:20are our brothers and the civilians that are in here are the people that we're sworn to protect
34:23that's our job that's what we do and as far as i'm concerned i treat every person in there as my
34:29personal family and every firefighter does the same thing our job is to go in and do what we have to
34:33do we tell them the rest they do get their rest we tell them to sit down we have guys lined up over
34:40there thousands of firefighters and fire officers lined up over there with police officers
34:44waiting for the opportunity to go in we have to hold them back because we don't want to create a
34:48situation where because of the structural defects etc where they're going to be put further
34:53in danger and maybe during the recovery process we wind up endangering someone else
34:57that's our worst fear right now
34:59volunteers quickly descended on ground zero to help in the rescue and recovery efforts
35:07at jacob javits convention center thousands showed up and registered with the authorities
35:13construction projects around the city came to a halt as workers walked off jobs to help at ground zero
35:20the amount of of rubble and uh we were actually what we were trying to do was dig out a fire truck
35:28that was on the street buried i really thought i was gonna just die yesterday like i just thought
35:33i was gonna stop breathing i was thinking of leaving and then i saw these guys you know coming back
35:39that are supposed to take an hour and a half shifts and they're not coming back because they refuse to
35:43give up and uh and then i thought like these guys are staying and they need medical attention i mean these
35:50firemen and these police officers and and if they could stay i could stay you know just droves and
35:58droves of firefighters and ems people and city workers you know mta workers and verizon people and
36:06you know just a lot of people who look dog tired and you know working hard hours trying to do whatever
36:13they can to clear people out and um find whoever might still be alive there was i think one gentleman
36:19they were still in touch with on a cell phone who was was buried in a car that they were trying to
36:24get to so we kept digging and as we were digging it was a big explosion a bang you know and uh within
36:3110 minutes we kept digging and they started pulling everybody out believe me after going in there we're
36:36still standing it doesn't look like it it looks like everything's down everything's gone but we are
36:41still standing you got to see these people like there's no such thing as having one hero anymore
36:45search and rescue efforts and making the site of the twin towers safe in the immediate aftermath of 9-11
36:54involved iron workers structural engineers asbestos workers boilermakers carpenters cement masons
37:01construction managers electricians insulators machinists plumbers and pipe fitters amongst other
37:07professions 400 working dogs were also deployed in the quest to find survivors their presence brought
37:14comfort hope and healing during a time of immense grief and trauma showcasing the deep bond between
37:20humans and animals these brave dogs and their handlers remain a symbol of resilience and compassion
37:29you spoke to him then while he was watching the first and what was what was that like he said it was
37:35really chaotic he said a plane just went through the building he said rachel i just watched somebody jump or get
37:42pushed or fall right out of the building out of one world trade he's like it's chaotic here and i work for
37:48bloomberg news so i said can i get anyone on the phone to talk about what you're seeing and it's like you
37:53don't understand it's chaotic it's chaotic and none of them ever knew that it was a terrorist attack they
37:59all thought it was an accident they all were they no one ever knew and they were all still on the phone
38:05right before the second plane crashed if i think about it they had no time to get out they had no
38:12time to run but i still of course keeping hope and was he on the phone to you when the second plane
38:20he was on the phone to me about two minutes before the second plane went in you never heard him again
38:25after that i called back and his phones were dead i don't know what else to do i'm just going from place
38:30to place this is my fiancee i have i plan my whole future out with this person if i don't find him i have to
38:38start all over again it's taken me my entire life to find him and i don't know what i will do without him
38:50please please help me find him
39:00the day after the attack then mayor rudy giuliani told reporters that they were receiving mobile
39:08phone calls from people trapped in the debris but there was little hope for most congress quickly
39:14established an extensive compensation program in the aftermath to compensate the victims and families
39:20of victims of the 9-11 attack with tremendous amounts also raised by the public americans have many
39:28questions tonight americans are asking who attacked our country the evidence we have gathered all points
39:39to a collection of loosely affiliated terrorist organizations known as al-qaeda
39:47our message to them is clear no matter how long it takes america will find you and we will bring you to
39:53justice
40:05rallying around the populist phrase united we stand americans were determined to be resilient in the
40:11face of this unprecedented and devastating attack on their homeland
40:15president bush and the federal government found widespread support for their response to the attacks
40:25and seemingly a need for retribution
40:32nearly 3 000 people in new york virginia and pennsylvania lost their lives on 9-11
40:37after terrorists orchestrated by osama bin laden hijacked airplanes as weapons
40:50as the years pass suffering continues alongside the memorializing among those who lost loved ones
40:57and by survivors who sustained injuries or who were forever changed by the horrific events
41:02even as the country and the world changes
41:10my name is stan honda i'm a former afp photographer and i was here on 9-11 photographing the trade center
41:17attempt well that morning i got a phone call from one of the other uh afp photo stringers and who
41:24want he watches the early morning news and he said there's a plane that crashed in the world trade center
41:29i live near the number six subway train and i think i was on the last train that was running
41:34that ended up at the city hall brooklyn bridge stop we're on fulton right near broadway and i think
41:40i was around this area photographing the the people running from the trade center site and also
41:47the first tower as it was collapsing this you could see this cloud of dust and debris and smoke
41:54uh coming coming uh coming between the buildings through the streets and and toward where i was
41:59standing so so that was pretty frightening i think this is the area where i had come out of the
42:04building after the first tower had collapsed and the whole area was covered with this white and gray dust
42:11so it really looked like it had snow the sidewalks people were covered the vehicles cars and everything
42:17were just covered with this dust the picture of the woman of marcy borders uh i i took into she
42:24actually came into the lobby of the building that i that i went into after the first tower had collapsed
42:30hi my name is marcy borders i'm from bayonne new jersey um i became famous from working in the north
42:37tower on the 81st floor my image is known all over the world as the dust lady morning of 9 11 my supervisor
42:44had thought maybe you know a small jet plane might have nipped us but at that time we had no idea
42:49what was going on um so then i began to panic you know so they you know sat me down told me to you know
42:57relax take deep breaths but um the way the building was shaking it was just i couldn't sit there you
43:05know you just heard people screaming stay away from the glass stay away from the glass you saw um injured
43:11i saw people with objects in them uh burnt skulls it was it was crazy compared to what i just left my
43:18stairwell was normal that's when you just hear firemen scream and run and don't look back then
43:24i took chase you know from this cloud of dust smoke that's just following me and once it caught me it
43:32like threw me on you know my hands and my knees you know every time i inhaled my mouth just filled up with
43:38it i was choking i couldn't see my hand in front of my face i was just like you know saying to myself
43:44and saying out loud that i didn't want to die i didn't want to die and a stranger he i i remember
43:51clearly say he didn't have a shirt on and um he he grabbed me and you know with so much going on i was
44:00kind of afraid of him so i was asking him um what are you gonna do where are you taking me what are
44:06you gonna do and um he was like to safety i guess that's where this picture was taken and um
44:13i'm known all over the dust lady we're used to big building fires and disasters like airplane crashes
44:22but this was this seemed like something that was way beyond what any of us had ever seen it's
44:27it's really an honor i think to have the photographs in the in the museum there the
44:31the two pictures the one of marcy and ed got a pretty huge amount of media attention i was pretty
44:37surprised and i think after a while i i realized that that they're pictures of people and i think that
44:43a lot of people could identify with these two individuals and the struggle that they were going
44:48through i think to make it through the day and i think that's probably one of maybe one of the
44:52reasons that the the pictures themselves became fairly well well known and well used
45:07the site of the new york city attacks is now home to one world trade center
45:11the tallest building in the western hemisphere
45:17plans for rebuilding the world trade center began in july 2002
45:21under the guidance of the lower manhattan development corporation
45:25the process was marked by debates among the public
45:28architects and political leaders about what the new world trade center should represent
45:34with so much significance tied to the project it had to be just right
45:44completed in 2014 the inspiring structure stands as a powerful symbol of resilience
45:50in the face of unimaginable tragedy
46:05surrounding two vast memorial pools situated where the twin towers once stood
46:10are bronze panels etched with the names of every person who lost their life in the attacks
46:15nearby the survivor tree a calorie pear tree that miraculously withstood the devastation at ground zero
46:32thrives as a living testament to strength and recovery
46:34every year seedlings from this tree are gifted by the 9 11 memorial to communities affected by their
46:44own tragedies spreading hope and resilience far and wide
46:47for those who lived through it the memory of that tuesday morning remains vivid
47:10people remember exactly where they were when news broke that an airplane had struck one of the twin towers
47:16it was a defining moment that brought americans closer as neighbors became like family
47:22stepping up to donate time money and resources to aid those affected by the disaster
47:35even after all these years the events of 9 11 remain etched in our hearts
47:44a reminder of both the fragility of life and the enduring strength of the human spirit
47:56the fear of being so much the limit so it could be that they could be biodiesel and respect the
48:07power of staying at the center of the human being their own and lets them know the world
48:09and the purpose of having a deep in the future and for you as of being said
48:10or if you will wear other wystas in the garden
48:13the emperor king and the shepherd's space so that it is not the benefit of getting down
48:15the victory of the and the envy of the frishing of the day
48:17was the first time of protecting world war with the city's first time
48:19and the hope of the peace of the day
48:20has been rooted in the lives and the environment
48:21so that we had been different between ndromicants to the heart