We tend to forget so many things, yet it’s ingrained in our minds where we were when we learned the tragic news of 9/11. It’s hard to believe that 20 years have passed since the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001. In observance of this year’s Patriot Day, we gathered 20 facts about the devastating attacks in hopes of healing, remembrance, and reflection.
1. Aside from the two planes flown into the World Trade Center buildings, a third plane hit the Pentagon, and a fourth plane crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
2. Cleanup for the 1.8 million tons of debris took 3.1 million hours. It was finally finished on May 30, 2002.
3. The ages of the nearly 3,000 victims ranged from two to 85 years old. About 75-80% of the victims were men.
4. It is estimated that it cost $500,000 for operatives to carry out the 9/11 tragedy.
5. Only 12 survivors were pulled from the rubble after the collapse of the towers.
6. To take over the planes, the hijackers smuggled box-cutters and knives through security.
7. 9/11 was not the first attack on the World Trade Centers. In 1993, there was a bombing that killed 6 people and injured over 1,000.
8. After the attacks, it took firefighters 100 days to extinguish all the fires around Ground Zero.
9. $100 million worth of art was lost in the collapse of the towers, including a memorial piece for the victims of the ’93 bombing and paintings by Pablo Picasso.
10. During the destruction, a guide dog named Roselle led her blind owner down 78 flights of stairs to the safe home of a friend.
11. On a normal day at the towers, up to 50,000 employees worked in the buildings and an extra 40,000 passed through.
12. After the tragedy, there was a three-day flight ban over the United States.
13. When the National Guard went after Flight 93, the two pilots who took to the air didn’t have time to properly arm their jets. The pilots knew that if they intercepted a hijacked plane, they would have to fly their jets into the aircraft with no guarantee of their own ejection.
14. The 9/11 attack is the largest loss of life in a foreign attack on American soil, higher than even Pearl Harbor.
15. More than 1,100 people who worked or lived near the World Trade Centers during 9/11 have been diagnosed with cancer due to exposure to toxins from the site.
16. September 11, 2001, was Ben Sliney’s first day on the job as FAA National Operations Manager. Sliney ordered every plane in the air over the United States to land, approximately 4,200 planes.
17. Upon the first plane striking Tower 1, people in Tower 2 tried to evacuate but were urged to stay at their desks by an announcement. Some tried to leave anyway but were turned back by security.
18. Canada took in 255 diverted flights from the United States on 9/11. Upon receiving them, the Canadians fed the stranded passengers.
19. Over 100 search and rescue dogs were deployed to help find survivors in the rubble of the towers.
20. While workers were going through the debris, they found 65,000 items, including 437 watches and 144 wedding rings.
