“Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our greatest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundations of America. These acts broke steel, but they cannot shake the steel of American Resolve. –President George W. Bush. On September 11, 2001, America was hit by one of the largest terrorist attacks in history. Four different acts of terror were launched against America that day, but the damage was worse than anyone could imagine. This series of four terrorist attacks was organized by the Islamic terrorist group “Al-Qaeda”. This day in history will never be forgotten by any American. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Four planes were hijacked during the September 11 attacks. The first of four commercial planes to take off was American Airlines Flight 11. This flight was making its daily flight from Boston to Los Angeles and carried 81 passengers, in 158 seats. The second commercial flight to take off was United Airlines Flight 175. It was scheduled to fly from Boston to Los Angeles and could accommodate 65 passengers in 168 seats. The third plane to take to the skies was American Airlines Flight 77. This plane was flying from Dulles to Los Angeles, and it carried 64 passengers in 176 seats. The fourth and final 9/11 plane to take off was United Airlines Flight 93. Coming from New Jersey, bound for San Francisco, it carried only 44 passengers in 182 seats. The hijackers took planes flying across the country because they had most of the jet fuel left in the event of an impact. The nineteen hijackers were taking commercial flights four months before the attacks themselves. These nineteen being; Mohamed Atta, Abdulaziz al-Omari, Wail al-Shehri, Satam al-Suqami (American Airlines Flight 11), Marwan al-Shehhi, Fisent Banihammad, Mohand al-Shehri, Hamza al-Ghamdi, Ahmed al-Ghamdi (flight United Airlines 175), Hani Hanjour, Khalid al-Mihdhar, Majed Moqed, Nawaf al-Hazmi, Salem al-Hazmi (American Airlines Flight 77), Ziad Jarrah, Ahmed al-Haznawi, Ahmed al-Nami and Saeed al- Ghamdi (United Airlines). Airlines Flight 93). These hijackers were conducting commercial flights to study how American aircraft operated and flew. They noted when the seat belt signs came on and off. They would also take note if and when the cockpit was guarded. All nineteen hijackers managed to get past airport security and all carried knives. Before September 11, a passenger could bring on board a knife measuring up to four inches. Other items permitted at the time included baseball bats, darts, box cutters, scissors and knitting needles. These elements were not considered threatening. All of these items were banned either right after the attack or shortly after. To be able to hijack the planes, the men stabbed numerous flight attendants and pilots, using knives that were apparently "non-threatening." At 9:37 a.m., American Flight 77 landed at the Pentagon. This plane came at 530 miles per hour and hit the Pentagon on the first floor. The plane reached 350 feet in the building, which corresponded to the three outermost rings of the five that the building had. The impact created a breech 2 stories high and 70 feet wide. This accident killed everyone on board, and 125 people were in the building, 92 on the first floor and 41 on the second. Thirty-three minutes after the attack, the west wall collapsed from top to bottom. For United Airlines Flight 93, it was another.