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(CNN) - On September 11, 2001, nineteen men hijacked four American commercial airplanes loaded with fuel that were heading to several west coast destinations. In total 2,977 people were killed in New York City, Washington and outside of Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
The attack was orchestrated by al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
- READ: Luis Álvarez, first lifeguard on September 11, died at age 53
This is what the twin towers of the World Trade Center looked like on September 11, 2001 when two planes crashed into them in the deadliest terrorist attacks in the country's history. (Credit: Spencer Platt / Getty Images)
The victims
At the World Trade Center (WTC) in lower Manhattan, 2,753 people died when the hijacked flights, 11 of American Airlines and 175 of United Airlines, were intentionally crashed into the north and south towers, or died as a result of the attacks .
Of those who died during the initial attacks and subsequent collapse of the towers, 343 were New York firefighters, 23 were city police officers and 37 were agents of the Port Authority.
The victims were between two and 85 years old. Approximately 75-80% of the victims were men.
At the Pentagon in Washington, 184 people died when American Airlines flight 77, which had been hijacked, crashed into the building.
Near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, 40 passengers and crew members aboard United Airlines Flight 93 died when the plane crashed into a field. It is believed that the hijackers crashed the plane in that place, instead of their unknown target, after the passengers and the crew tried to regain control of the flight deck.
As of July 2019, 1,644 (60%) of the 2,753 remains of WTC victims have been identified, according to the coroner's office.
- READ: Solemn image: Eagle joins the tribute of some firefighters on the anniversary of September 11
Chronology of the facts
September 11, 2001 (ET time)
- 8:46 am - American Airlines flight 11 (traveling from Boston to Los Angeles) hits the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.
- 9:03 am - United Airlines flight 175 (traveling from Boston to Los Angeles) hits the south tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.
- 9:37 am - American Airlines flight 77 (which travels from Dulles, Virginia, to Los Angeles) hits the Pentagon building in Washington.
- 9:59 am - The south tower of the WTC collapses in about 10 seconds.
- 10:03 am - United Airlines flight 93 (traveling from Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco) crashes in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
- 10:28 am - The north tower of the WTC collapses. The time between the first attack and the collapse of both towers of the World Trade Center is 102 minutes.
December 13, 2001 - The United States government publishes a video in which Osama bin Laden is responsible for the attacks.
December 18, 2001 - Congress approves a measure to allow the president to designate September 11 as "Patriot Day" on each anniversary of the attacks.
December 2001 to June 15, 2004 - The original Victim Compensation Fund processes the death and injury claims of family members of the victims of September 11. The families of the dead had until December 22, 2003 to request compensation. The fund is reopened in 2011.
May 24, 2007 - The chief coroner of New York, Dr. Charles S. Hirsch, rules that Felicia Dunn-Jones's death in 2002, due to dust exposure, is directly related to the 9/11 attack and by So it is a homicide.
July 19, 2007 - The New York coroner's office announces that the remains of three more people were identified. 1,133 victims, 41% of the total, remain unidentified.
January 2009 - The coroner's office rules that Leon Heyward, who died the previous year of lymphoma and lung disease, is a victim of homicide because he was trapped in the cloud of toxic dust just after the collapse of the towers.
January 2, 2011 - President Barack Obama signs the James Zadroga Health and Compensation Act of September 11, 2010, reopening and expanding the reach of the Victim Compensation Fund.
June 17, 2011 - The New York coroner says that the death of Jerry Borg on December 15, 2010, is the result of the inhalation of toxic substances from the dust cloud generated by the collapse of the twin towers.
May 10, 2014 - Unidentified remains of those killed in the attacks are returned to the World Trade Center site, where they will be stored in a warehouse under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Chief Forensic Physician of the City of New York.
August 7, 2017 - The New York City coroner's office announces that the remains of a man killed in the World Trade Center are positively identified due to the availability of more sophisticated DNA tests.
Compensation Fund for Victims of September 11: The original fund worked from December 2001 to June 2004.
The initial Victim Compensation Fund received 7,408 applications for death and personal injury claims.
The fund granted indeminations in 5,560 of those cases.
The reopened and expanded fund has been operating since January 2, 2011. The information on total compensation is updated regularly and published here.
The families that agreed to obtain compensation from the federal fund agreed not to sue the airlines.
Economic impact
US $ 500,000 - It is the estimated amount of money believed to have cost to plan and execute the September 11 attacks.
US $ 123,000 million - It is the estimated economic loss during the first 2-4 weeks after the collapse of the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York, as well as the decrease in air travel in the coming years.
US $ 60,000 million - It is the estimated cost of damage to the WTC site, including damage to surrounding buildings, infrastructure and subway facilities.
US $ 40,000 million - It is the value of the emergency anti-terrorism package approved by the United States Congress on September 14, 2001.
US $ 15,000 million - It was the economic aid package approved by Congress to rescue the airlines.
US $ 9.3 billion - This is the amount of insurance claims derived from the September 11 attacks.
Zero Zone Cleaning
May 30, 2002 - Cleaning in Zone Zero officially ends.
It took 3.1 million hours of work to clean 1.8 million tons of debris.
The total cost of cleaning was 750 million dollars.
National security
The Department of Homeland Security was created in response to September 11.
He merged 22 government agencies into one, including the Customs Service, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the United States Coast Guard and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Through the Container Security Initiative, more than 80% of the sea cargo in imported containers is pre-selected before entering the United States.
March 12, 2002 - The National Security Advisory System is introduced.
April 26, 2011 - The National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) replaces the Color Coded National Security Advisory System (HSAS).
September 11 attacks
