25 Years After 9/11: Four Planes, 19 Hijackers and the Attack That Changed America and the World

September 11, 2001. At 8:46 a.m., an ordinary morning in New York suddenly turned into one of the darkest moments in modern history.

American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Within hours, four passenger planes had been hijacked, the Twin Towers and Pentagon had been attacked, and another aircraft had crashed in Pennsylvania.

Twenty-five years later, the September 11 attacks remain one of the defining events of the 21st century. The attacks transformed America’s security policy and foreign relations while reshaping global counterterrorism efforts, aviation security and the political debate surrounding Muslims and Islam.

Four planes, 19 hijackers: A timeline of 9/11

Four commercial aircraft were hijacked on the morning of September 11. Each had a different destination, but all four became weapons in an unprecedented terrorist attack.

7:59 a.m.: American Airlines Flight 11 departed Boston Logan International Airport with 76 passengers, 11 crew members and five hijackers.

8:15 a.m.: United Airlines Flight 175 departed from the same airport with 51 passengers, nine crew members and five hijackers.

8:20 a.m.: American Airlines Flight 77 took off from Washington Dulles International Airport with 53 passengers, six crew members and five hijackers.

8:42 a.m.: United Airlines Flight 93 departed Newark Liberty International Airport with 33 passengers, seven crew members and four hijackers.

Then the attacks unfolded within minutes.

8:46 a.m.: Flight 11 struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

9:03 a.m.: Flight 175 crashed into the South Tower.

9:37 a.m.: Flight 77 struck the Pentagon.

9:59 a.m.: The South Tower collapsed.

10:03 a.m.: Flight 93 crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

10:28 a.m.: The North Tower collapsed.

Flight 93 was believed to have been heading toward a major government target in Washington, potentially the U.S. Capitol or the White House. Passengers and crew members attempted to fight back against the hijackers, preventing the aircraft from reaching its intended target.

The human cost was devastating

A total of 2,977 people were killed in the September 11 attacks, excluding the 19 hijackers. The victims included civilians, office workers, airline passengers, firefighters and law-enforcement officers from around 90 countries.

New York suffered the largest number of deaths, with 2,753 people killed. Another 184 died at the Pentagon, while 40 people aboard Flight 93 were killed when the aircraft crashed in Pennsylvania.

Among those who died were 343 firefighters and more than 60 law-enforcement officers who responded to the attacks.

The destruction at the World Trade Center extended beyond the Twin Towers, damaging and destroying several surrounding buildings. The massive cleanup operation continued for months, with the final piece of steel officially removed from Ground Zero in May 2002.

The World Trade Center had been attacked before

The September 11 attacks were not the first attack on the World Trade Center.

In 1993, a bomb exploded in a van parked beneath the complex. Six people were killed and hundreds were injured.

The scale of the 2001 attacks, however, was unprecedented. They became the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil and one of the most consequential attacks in modern history.

The long-term health consequences

The impact of 9/11 did not end when the towers collapsed.

Toxic dust and debris spread across Lower Manhattan after the destruction of the World Trade Center. Thousands of firefighters, rescue workers, police officers, volunteers and residents were exposed.

In the years that followed, many developed respiratory illnesses, cancers and other long-term health problems associated with exposure to the toxic environment at Ground Zero.

The human cost of 9/11 therefore extends far beyond the number of people who died on September 11 itself.

Major security failures

The hijackers used small weapons, including box cutters, to take control of the aircraft. Aviation security at the time was significantly different from the system passengers know today.

Airport screening, cockpit security and information-sharing between intelligence agencies all had weaknesses.

The 9/11 Commission later concluded that warning signs and intelligence information had not been effectively connected and acted upon.

The attacks led to sweeping changes in airport security, intelligence coordination and counterterrorism policy in the United States.

The role of al-Qaeda

The attacks were planned and carried out by members of al-Qaeda, the militant organization that emerged in Afghanistan during the 1980s Soviet-Afghan war.

The organization later developed into a global terrorist network and carried out attacks against American and Western targets.

The 9/11 operation involved extensive planning, reconnaissance, flight training and preparation inside the United States.

Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and his senior associates played central roles in the planning and execution of the attacks.

A darker chapter for Muslims in America

The attacks also had profound consequences for Muslim and Arab communities in the United States.

In the aftermath of 9/11, mosques and Muslim institutions faced vandalism and threats, while many Muslims and people perceived to be Muslim or Arab experienced harassment and hate crimes.

FBI statistics showed a dramatic increase in reported anti-Muslim hate crimes in 2001 compared with the previous year.

Then-President George W. Bush also spoke against anti-Muslim hatred shortly after the attacks. He visited an Islamic center in Washington and stressed that terrorism should not be equated with Islam.

Despite such statements, suspicion, discrimination and Islamophobia remained major issues in American public life for years.

Islamophobia and politics

Over time, fear surrounding Islam and Muslims became part of political debates in the United States, particularly around elections, immigration and national security.

During Barack Obama’s presidency, false claims circulated about his birthplace and religion. Some conspiracy theories attempted to portray him as secretly Muslim despite the fact that he is a Christian.

Anti-Muslim rhetoric also became prominent during the 2016 presidential campaign. Donald Trump proposed restrictions on Muslim entry into the United States, and his administration later introduced travel restrictions affecting citizens of several predominantly Muslim countries.

The policy faced legal challenges, and a revised version was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018. President Joe Biden later revoked the restrictions in 2021.

Muslim representation continued to grow

Despite discrimination and political hostility, Muslim representation in American public life increased.

Keith Ellison became the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Congress in 2006. In 2018, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib became the first two Muslim women elected to Congress.

The Muslim population in the United States has also grown significantly over the past several decades, alongside the number of mosques and Muslim community institutions.

The claim that Israeli intelligence knew beforehand

Twenty-five years after 9/11, controversial claims about the attacks continue to circulate.

One recent claim has been promoted by American political commentator Tucker Carlson, who has argued that Israeli intelligence may have had prior knowledge of the attacks.

Carlson has discussed the issue in interviews and documentary-style programming, including claims surrounding the so-called “Israeli art students” who were detained in the United States around the time of the attacks.

According to Carlson’s account, some of these individuals behaved suspiciously before 9/11 and may have had advance knowledge of the attacks.

However, these remain allegations and disputed claims. They have not been established as evidence that Israeli intelligence planned or knowingly facilitated the 9/11 attacks. They should therefore be presented as claims rather than established historical facts.

The “War on Terror” and its global consequences

In the aftermath of 9/11, President George W. Bush launched what became known as the “War on Terror.”

The United States began military operations in Afghanistan in October 2001. Although the Taliban government was removed from power, the war continued for nearly two decades.

In 2003, the United States also invaded Iraq. At home, Washington expanded surveillance and intelligence powers through legislation including the USA PATRIOT Act.

The consequences extended far beyond American borders. Countries around the world strengthened counterterrorism laws, increased border surveillance and expanded intelligence cooperation.

A huge economic cost

The attacks also caused enormous economic damage.

New York suffered major losses across finance, tourism, aviation, insurance and employment. The destruction of the World Trade Center and the disruption of economic activity affected thousands of businesses and workers.

The cleanup of Ground Zero cost hundreds of millions of dollars, while compensation funds provided billions in support to victims and their families.

The death of Osama bin Laden

After nearly a decade in hiding, Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. Navy SEALs during a raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in 2011.

His death was seen by the United States as a major symbolic victory in the fight against al-Qaeda.

But terrorism did not disappear. Violent extremist organizations continued to emerge and operate in different parts of the world.

What did 9/11 leave behind?

Twenty-five years later, the impact of September 11 remains visible.

The attacks changed American national security, international relations, airport security, intelligence cooperation and the global debate over terrorism.

They also raised difficult questions about the balance between security and civil liberties. The wars that followed 9/11 reshaped Afghanistan and Iraq and had wider consequences across the Middle East.

For Muslims living in the West, the attacks also marked the beginning of a prolonged period in which religious identity was often viewed through the lens of terrorism and national security.

The history of 9/11 is therefore more than the story of four hijacked planes. It is a story of loss, security, war, politics, Islamophobia, migration, civil liberties and the transformation of global power.

Twenty-five years later, one question still remains: How did the attacks happen—and where did the world go after them?