Exactly 19 years ago today, 11 of September, Islamic terrorist group al Qaeda launched a series of four coordinated attacks against the United States (US).
Here’s what you need to know about #9/11:
📌 Facts
1.) Nineteen men hijacked four fuel-loaded American commerical airplanes which were off to west coast desitnations.
2.) A total of 2,977 individuals died in the country’s capital Washington DC, New York City, and outside of Shanskville, Pennsylvania.
3.) It was al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden who orchastrated the attacks.
📌 The Victims
1.) A total of 2,753 people were killed when hijacked American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 crashed intentionally, or as a result of the crashes, into the North and South towers of the World Trade Center (WTC) site in Lower Manhattan, New York City.
2.) Among those who were killed during the initial attacks and the subsequent collapses of the towers were 343 New York City fire personnel, 23 New York City police officers and 37 Port Authority staff.
3.) Approximately 75-80% of the casualties were men.
4.) The victims ranged in age two to 85 years.
5.) One hundred and eighty-four were killed when hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon in Washington DC.
6.) Forty passengers and crew members aboard United Airlines Flight 93 died when the plane crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.It is believed that the hijackers crashed the plane in that location rather than their unknown target after the passengers and crew attempted to retake control of the flight deck.
📌 Timeline
1.) 8:46 a.m. ET – American Airlines Flight 11 (traveling from Boston, Massachusetts to Los Angeles, California) struck the north tower of the WTC.
2.) 9:03 a.m. ET – United Airlines Flight 175 (traveling from Boston to Los Angeles) struck the south tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.
3.) 9:37 a.m. ET – American Airlines Flight 77 (traveling from Dulles, Virginia to Los Angeles) struck the Pentagon.
4.) 9:59 a.m. ET – WTC’s South Tower collapsed in approximately 10 seconds.
5.) 10:03 a.m. ET – United Airlines Flight 93 (traveling from Newark, New Jersey to San Francisco, California) crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
6.)10:28 a.m. ET – North tower of WTC collapses. One hundred and two minutes is the time between the first attack and the collapse of both WTC’s towers .
7.) Dec. 13, 2001 – The US government released a tape in which Osama bin Laden took responsibility for the attacks.
8.) Dec. 18, 2001 – Congress approves a bill to allow the President to designate Sept. 11 as “Patriot Day” on each anniversary of the attacks.
9.) Dec. 2001-June 15, 2004 – The original Victims Compensation Fund processed death and injury claims from families and relatives of the Sept. 11 victims. Families of those killed had until Dec. 22, 2003 to apply for compensation. The fund reopened in 2011.
10.) May 24, 2007 – Dr. Charles Hirsch, chief medical examiner of New York City, ruled that the death of Felicia Dunn-Jones in 2002 from dust exposure was directly linked to the 9/11 attacks and therefore a homicide.
11.) July 19, 2007 – The New York City Medical Examiner’s Office announced that the remains of three more people were positively identified.
12.) Jan. 2009 – The medical examiner’s office ruled that Leon Heyward, who died the previous year due to lymphoma and lung disease, is a homicide victim as he was caught in the toxic dust cloud just after the TWC towers collapsed.
13.) Jan. 2, 2011 – President Barack Obama signed James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010, reopening and expanding the scope of the Victim Compensation Fund.
14.) June 17, 2011 – The New York City Medical Examiner’s Office ruled that Jerry Borg’s death on Dec. 15, 2010 is a result of inhaling toxic substances from the dust cloud generated by the collapsing twin towers.
15.) May 10, 2014 – The unidentified remains of those killed in the attacks were returned to the WTC site where they will be kept in a repository under the jurisdiction of the Office of Chief Medical Examiner of the City of New York.
16.) Aug. 7, 2017 – The New York City Medical Examiner’s Office announced that the remains of a man killed at the WTC were positively identified due to the availability of more sophisticated DNA testing .
2019 – The remains of three victims were identified by the The New York City Medical Examiner’s Office through DNA testing.
📌 September 11th Victim Compensation Fund
1.) The original fund operated from Dec. 2001 to June 2004.
2.) The initial fund received 7,408 applications for both death claims and personal injury claims.
3.) The fund made awards in 5,560 of those cases.
4.) The reopened and expanded fund has operated since Jan. 2, 2011.
5.) Families who agreed to receive compensation from the federal fund agreed not to sue the airlines.
📌 Economic Impact
1.) $500,000 – Estimated amount it cost to plan and execute the 9/11 attacks.
2.) $123 billion – Estimated economic loss during the first two to four weeks following the collapse of the WTC towers , as well as decline in airline travel over the next few years.
3.) $60 billion – Estimated cost of the WTC site damage, including damage to surrounding buildings, infrastructure and subway facilities.
4.) $40 billion – Amount of the emergency anti-terrorism package approved by the US Congress on Sept. 14, 2001.
5.) $15 billion – Aid package passed by Congress to bail out the airlines.
6) $9.3 billion – Amount of insurance claims arising from the 9/11 attacks.
📌 Cleanup at Ground Zero
1.) May 30, 2002 – Cleanup at Ground Zero officially ended.
2.) It took 3.1 million hours of labor to clean up 1.8 million tons of debris.
3.) The total cost of cleanup was $750 million.
📌 Homeland Security
1.) The Department of Homeland Security was formed in response to 9/11.
2.) Twenty-two government agencies were merged into one.
3.) Through the Container Security Initiative, over 80% of imported maritime containerized cargo was prescreened before entering the US.
4.) March 12, 2002 – The Homeland Security Advisory System was introduced.
5.) April 20, 2011 – The National Terrorism Advisory System replaced the color-coded Homeland Security Advisory System.
Source: CNN Editorial Research
Via Joseph Diamanse/PN
#PanayNews #9/11 #19thAnniversary
