American Airlines Flight 11

This American Airlines morning flight from Logan Airport near Boston, Massachusetts to Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, (LAX) took off at 8:02 EDT on September 11 2001. The plane is believed to have been hijacked at 8:14. At around that time, when the plane stopped responding to queries from air traffic control, the FAA believed the plane had been hijacked. By 8:25, there was no doubt.

There were five hijackers believed to have participated in this. Mohammed Atta, the ringleader and suicide pilot, was in seat 8D. Satam al-Suqami, who had paid in cash that day, sat in seat 10B. Waleed al-Shehri sat in seat 2B. Wail al-Shehri sat in seat 2A. Abdulaziz al-Omari, who had earlier flown with Atta to Logan Airport from Portland, also was on this flight.

Some information about what had happened on board was sent by stewardesses on the plane. According to stewardesses Madeline Amy Sweeney and Betty Ong, three people–two stewardesses and a passenger–were stabbed or had their throats slashed by the hijackers. The passenger, Daniel Lewin, had previously served as an officer in the Israeli military in an elite unit called Sayeret Matkal. It is suspected that Lewin may have been killed by Satam al-Suqami for attempting to stop the hijacking.

The first-class area had been sequestered by the surviving crew, and the rest of the passengers had been led to believe that a medical emergency was taking place in the first class area. The hijackers also used mace, pepper-spray, or some other aerosol irritant to discourage entry into the first class area and the cockpit. Betty Ong reported that her eyes were burning and that she was having trouble breathing. The hijackers claimed to have a bomb, although there is no evidence they actually had an explosive device.

At 8:46 AM EDT the Boeing 767-223ER, N334AA, was deliberately crashed into the north side of the north tower of the World Trade Center approximately between the 94 and 98 floors. This was the first crash in the attacks of the day. The plane was carrying 81 passengers (including the 5 hijackers) and 11 crew. All on board along with many hundreds in the building were killed, and the tower later collapsed, killing hundreds more.

Although the impact itself caused extensive structural damage, it was the long-lasting fire, starting with burning jet fuel, which is blamed for the structural failure of the north tower. Many have speculated that this is why the hijackers choose to use this fully fueled trans-continental flight. The centralized-support design (in the center core and exterior walls, instead of through-out) of the towers also contributed to the collapse (see WTC-The Twin Towers). In a later recording, Osama bin Ladin seemed to take credit for the attack, and admitted that no one knew the towers would collapse.

The flight route designation, or flight number, for future flights on the same route at the same takeoff time, was later changed from Flight 11 to Flight 25 to disassociate other planes with the one used in the attack and out of respect for those who had died in the attack.

American Airlines Flight 11

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