9/11 FAQS

Some frequently asked questions about the terrible attacks on September 11, 2001

How many people died altogether?
According the the official story, 2,977 victims and 19 hijackers were killed in the attacks on September 11, 2001. This only includes those killed on the day of September 11th itself. Victims who have dies later as a result of health consequences are not included in this total. The number of victims killed breaks down like this:

-246 passengers, crew and hijackers abroad Flights 11, 175, 77, and 93
-1,366 people that were at or above the impact floors in the North Tower
-About 600 people at or above the impact floors in the South Tower
-About 200 people at street level killed by falling debris or bodies
-343 firefighters
-125 workers at the Pentagon
-23 NYC police officers
-37 Port Authority Police Officers
-15 EMTs

The single company or entity that lost the most member was Cantor Fitzgerald L.P., an investment bank with offices on floors 101-105 North Tower (1 WTC) at the time of the attack. Cantor Fitzgerald lost 658 employees, two-thirds of its entire company.

What airlines did the hijackers use?
American Airlines (Flight 11 & Flight 77); United Airlines (Flight 175 & Flight 93)

How long did it take for the Twin Towers to fall after being hit?
The South Tower (the second one to be hit) fell after burning 56 minutes when United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the 77-85th floors. The North Tower burned for 1 hour and 42 minutes after being struck by Flight 11.

Why didn't Norad do something?
Norad did, in fact, scramble planes to intercept but due to confusion and the fact that the hijackers switched off their transponders, the fighters arrived too late to intercept.

Who knew the planes had been hijacked?
The reservations desk at American Airlines were the first to know the plane was hijacked when Flight Attendant Betty Ong called at 8:19 am. Soon after, the FAA confirms the plane as likely hijacked as it has deviated from flight course and is no longer responsive. NORAD is notified no later than 8:34.

Did people call from the hijacked planes?
Yes. There were a number of calls made from all of the planes. Two calls are known from Flight 11, several calls were made by two passengers (Brian Sweeney and Peter Hanson) on Flight 175, at least one passenger (Barbara Olson) and one Flight Attendant (Renee May) made calls from Flight 77, and on Flight 93 a whopping 10 passengers and 2 flight crew made calls. The reason for the large number on Flight 93 was likely due to an intense battle for the cockpit when the hijackers first took cointrol that would have gained more attention from the passengers than the other, relatively smooth takeovers (evidence suggests on other planes some passengers barely even knew something was wrong), and the fact that relatives of the passengers already knew about the events at the WTC and were able to relay this information to people on the plane were it circulated quickly.

How do we know who performed the hijacking?
Several reasons. For one Betty Ong identified the seats that the hijackers were sitting in. Other information was gained through a bag that was checked but did not make it aboard Flight 11 (it was going to be relayed ahead on another plane, which is fairly common practice), as well as some personal effects that were recovered from the crash site (including passports and other I.D.).

Is there really any truth to the possibility there was a conspiracy?
There are a number of strange occurrences and odd facts about the events of September 11, 2001. It is impossible to know whether some of these oddities are simply the result of a unique event that bears no precedence or that they are evidence of some conspiracy. Panels of independent scientists have agreed with the official story. There is also a large number of engineers and scientists that have questions. A global study in 2008 found that about 15% firmly believed the U.S. government was behind the attack. A much larger percent, however, admitted they have "questions" about the official story. The truth behind the truth, unfortunately, is something that we may never know.