How many floors were there. Destruction of the towers of the world trade center in new york

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The eleventh day of September 2001 went down in history as a global tragedy that dealt a crushing blow to the faith of the citizens of the democratic community in their own security and inviolability. September 11, 2001 terrorist attack claimed the lives of 2 thousand 752 people

The most important signs of the work of demolition workers in the World Trade Center

The rapid and strictly vertical collapse of skyscrapers (this happens during the point mining of a building for demolition), despite the fact that the “twins” collapsed vertically, the third building was also completely razed to the ground - WTC # 7, which was not rammed by aircraft, all structures were destroyed almost " crumbled” (this effect is achieved only with professional explosive dismantling), experts heard on the recordings the sounds of several explosions seconds before the collapse, which came from the first floors, filmed on many amateur videos, wisps of smoke and flashes almost forty floors below the level where the planes crashed , numerous fragments of glass, steel and human remains found in a very large radius, including on the roofs of houses, many vertical load-bearing beams were diagonally cut (this preparatory procedure is also typical for dismantling), the remains of burning Thermate, a substance commonly used for military purposes for thermal cutting of steel (discovered at the site of fished by independent experts), numerous traces of steel supporting structures melted to a lava-like state. The burning continued even on the fifth or sixth day and was recorded on NASA aerial photographs (aircraft kerosene is not capable of creating such high temperatures - a minimum of 1500oC is required!).

The names of specialists who disagree with the official version of the White House are impressive - leading scientists in the field of history, defense, psychology, philosophy and applied sciences. The conducted studies confirm the opinion that the World Trade Center buildings in New York were destroyed by controlled explosions, and the version of the authorities about the Pentagon attack does not stand up to scrutiny. Scientists are convinced that the government not only allowed the September 11 attacks, but staged them for political purposes.


The names of people who made sensational accusations are striking:
Robert M. Bowman - Former Project Manager for Star Wars, USAF Space Defense Program (101 sorties).

Fred Burks is an interpreter for many American presidents and people familiar with American political cuisine firsthand.

Lloyd de Moos is director of the Institute for Psychohistory, president of the International Psychohistorical Association, and editor of the Journal of Psychohistory.

Eric Douglas - New York architect, chairman of an independent commission of the committee to review projects for the restoration of the World Trade Center.

James Fetzer is a renowned scientist, professor at McKnight University (Minnesota), a former US Marine Corps officer, author and editor of more than 20 academic publications, co-founder of the S9 / 11T group.

Robert Fritzius is an electronic engineer, radar and telecommunications specialist.

Daniel Ganser - historian, representative of the University of Basel (Switzerland).

Michael Gass - explosives specialist (US Air Force), sapper, author of the development of demining techniques.

Kenyon Gibson is a former naval intelligence officer and the author of a number of books on the events of 9/11.

Rich Hellner - air traffic control, dispatcher.

Don Jacobs is a former Dean of the School of Education and Professor of Education at Northern Arizona University.

Andrew Johnson is a physicist, computer scientist, and software developer.

Stephen Jones is a professor of physics, co-founder of the S9/11T group, and creator of the website.

Peter Kirsch is a renowned pathologist.

Wayne Madsen is an investigative journalist and former intelligence officer.

Richard McGinn is Professor of Linguistics, Ohio University.

Morgan Reynolds is an economics professor, chief economist for the Department of Labor during the George W. Bush administration, and head of the National Center for Policy Analysis' Criminal Justice Center.

E. Martin Shotz - historian, psychiatrist, mathematician.

Glenn Stanish - pilot, head of the Airline Pilots Association.

Andreas von Bülow - ex-deputy foreign minister of Germany, head of the German intelligence services, member of parliament for 25 years.

Jonathan Wilson - Criminologist, University of Winnipeg (Canada).

This is not a complete list, which allows you to get an idea of ​​the level of professionalism of the people who made accusations against the American government. What gives them the right to question the official version of the White House? The answer to this question can be found on the website www.st911.org where 20 reasons for distrusting President Bush are published.

The commission of inquiry into the events of September 11 refused to study a huge number of testimonies and evidence. Even the former director of the FBI said that the mentioned commission hushed up the real events.
The recording of the interrogations of dispatchers on duty on September 11 was deliberately destroyed - the cassettes were broken by hand, the film was torn into small fragments, and its fragments were thrown into various bins.
Congressional investigators found that an FBI informant provided housing for two plane hijackers in 2000. When the commission wanted to interrogate this citizen, the FBI not only refused to comply with this request, but also hid the informant. According to some reports, the FBI took such steps after receiving appropriate instructions from the White House.
A retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel and former Star Wars Project Manager recently issued the following statement: “If our government had done nothing that day, only enforced the normal procedure for such cases, the Twin Towers would have stood still and thousands of dead Americans would be alive. Our government's actions are treason!"


Recently declassified documents show that in the 1960s the US High Command developed a plan to blow up US aircraft and carry out terrorist acts against US citizens on American soil.

The US Defense Department, which is responsible for the security of citizens, has been conducting exercises for many years, practicing the version of using kamikaze aircraft against the buildings of the World Trade Center and other American skyscrapers. "Various types of civil and military aircraft were used in the course of practicing actions in case of a possible terrorist attack. In other words, the Pentagon used REAL-EXISTING AIRCRAFT to simulate an attack on high-rise buildings, including the twin towers. Why did the department "turn out to be unprepared" - remains a question.
In addition, the military worked out options for similar attacks on the Pentagon.
On the morning of 9/11, US defense and intelligence agencies were conducting counter-terrorism military exercises using REAL planes and fake "radar tags" to mislead air traffic controllers.
It was on the morning of September 11 that the government carried out maneuvers simulating an air attack by terrorists on the World Trade Center.
Despite government claims of ignorance of the terrorist aircraft, the US Secretary of Transportation, testifying to the commission, claimed that Vice President Cheney personally monitored the pilots of the ill-fated Flight 77 many miles before the vehicle approached the Pentagon.
The third building of the World Trade Center (building number 7) collapsed on September 11, despite the fact that it was not hit by terrorist aircraft. It collapsed as if it had no walls or ceilings. Before the tragedy, only small local fires were noted in the building. It is the only steel frame building in the world to be destroyed by fire, which by definition cannot happen.
According to a number of FBI officials, the WTC buildings collapsed as a result of the explosion of bombs planted inside it.
Broadcaster MSNBC claims that police officers believed that one of the explosions at the World Trade Center could have been triggered by a truck filled with explosives and located inside the building. In their opinion, explosive devices could be placed both in the building itself and in its immediate vicinity.
According to the New York City Fire Department's security chief, the explosions could have been caused by "bombs" and "secondary devices." Firefighters believe there were bombs in the building.
According to a spokesman for the National Demolition Association, the collapse of the Twin Towers was like a "classically planned demolition of a building."
Eyewitnesses of the explosion claim that the explosions occurred much BELOW the area hit by the planes. Moreover, they happened BEFORE the first plane crashed into the building.
According to the testimony of a certain police officer, devastating explosions on the upper floors occurred at intervals of 15 minutes. The building collapsed after that.

The scientists managed to collect and systematize dozens of facts that were “ignored” by the authorities, distorted their essence or (which is especially scary) did not find a place on the pages of official reports. Every aspect of the official version is questionable by an inquisitive and literate reader who wants to know the truth about what happened.

Attack or controlled bombing?


According to representatives of science, "fire (fire) could not lead to the destruction of the steel structures of the building." Supporters of the official (government) version of the tragic events hush up this fact. Moreover, according to a report signed by the Directorate of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (2005), the steel structures of the buildings collapsed allegedly as a result of fires. At the same time, no such fact is known to science.

Interestingly, the turrets were designed with aerial attack in mind and were built with a design strength to withstand a collision with such a colossus as the Boeing 767.

"They were designed to withstand all sorts of impacts, including tornadoes, bombings or collisions with huge airliners," says Hyman Brown, project manager for the construction of the Twin Towers (2001).

The theory about the destruction of the building as a result of a fire and the melting of load-bearing steel structures is also absurd. According to experts, the destruction of skyscrapers resembles a "controlled detonation" when a certain amount of explosives is placed in the supporting structures and fires in the right sequence.

In the course of a controlled detonation, the destruction of the building occurs suddenly - at first there is nothing, but the next moment the structure falls apart. The steel structure at high temperature cannot suddenly break. This happens gradually - horizontal beams begin to sag, and then vertical steel columns are deformed.

But the video filming, which captured the destruction of the towers, did not record such processes even on the floors located above the hole left by the aircraft. In addition, the art of controlled detonation of a high-rise building is to ensure that the exploded skyscraper does not scatter in all directions, but "sags" in such a way that the debris remains exclusively at the site of construction. This is what happened with the towers.

According to Marc Loisier, president of the largest controlled demolition company, such an explosion "must be completely planned, and the explosives must be placed in a certain order." All 110 floors of the twin towers collapsed very neatly. In an unplanned explosion, construction debris would have covered the entire area, but this did not happen.

In a controlled detonation, the remains of a building descend to the surface at the speed of free fall, which does not happen in a random catastrophe. To do this, the demolitionists first lay explosives under the support systems of the lower floors, so the upper ones go down, practically without encountering resistance.

According to the commission's report, the south tower collapsed in 10 seconds, which corresponds to a controlled detonation. Moreover, this technique allows to "cut" the load-bearing steel structures into parts of a certain length, which was recorded in New York. The huge dust cloud that formed at the site of the towers after the explosion also serves as circumstantial evidence of a controlled explosion. Colonel of the US Army Corps of Engineers John O'Dowd came to this conclusion. "It seemed that the air at the site of the WTC explosion was saturated with cement dust."

Another proof of a planned explosion is a huge amount of molten steel at the site of the collapse of the towers. So, Peter Tully, the head of the construction company Tully Construction, and Mark Loisier reported on "lakes of molten steel" found at the site of collapsed buildings, in underground elevator shafts. Meanwhile, the collision of an aircraft with a building and the subsequent ignition of aviation fuel could not lead to the formation of temperatures at which steel structures begin to melt. The mystery of the explosion of the twin towers, according to scientists, still remains unsolved. But what about the government? It is inactive, refusing to divulge information that contradicts the official theory.

Shortly after the events of 9/11, over 500 New York City fire and emergency personnel gave oral testimony, in one way or another pointing to some of the inconsistencies noted during the aftermath of the terrorist attack. The City of New York has done everything to keep these facts from being publicized or denied.

It was not until August 2005 that The New York Times and a group of relatives of the victims succeeded, after a lengthy trial and a series of appeals, in forcing the mayor's office to publish the above-mentioned testimonies of direct witnesses to the destruction of the World Trade Center.

The words of witnesses refute government theories, proving that the events of 9/11 are a well-planned act of intimidation.

Unfortunately, American officials are unwilling to conduct an independent investigation, establish the truth and punish those responsible. Why is this happening? To whom and why is it beneficial? These questions remain unanswered for now, but the public is not satisfied with the Bush administration's position, and the S9/11T group does not intend to stop its activities. Soon we will have new details that reveal the essence of these tragic events and the hypocrisy of officials. If the assertions of American scientists turn out to be true, "controlled undermining" may well lead to an uncontrolled reaction of society - not only American, but also world. And then the authors of the largest hoax in the history of mankind may not be in trouble, writes Konstantin VASILKEVICH

THE BEHAVIOR OF THE US SPECIAL SERVICES INDISPUTABLE PROVES THAT THE SEPTEMBER 11 Terror Attacks in the USA IS THEIR WORK.

In their haste to blame the Muslims for this, in their haste to strike at Afghanistan, they made the investigation against the special services themselves impossible.

“The US government announced the creation of a new structure in the system of its special services (numbering 170,000 people with an annual budget of 37 billion dollars), designed to coordinate the efforts of various departments, as well as for the extrajudicial physical destruction of terrorists around the world, that is, to kill people, objectionable to the "world behind the scenes" (the CIA used to hide such operations, now it does not need it: it is enough to declare someone a "terrorist"). This was a new step in the global war "against terrorism", declared after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, which untied the US hands for the forceful subjugation of the entire planet. Already then, in many democratic countries, laws were passed to facilitate surveillance, preventive arrests, electronic wiretapping, the abolition of the secrecy of bank deposits; measures of political censorship were introduced in the democratic media, up to the closure of sites on the Internet that "spread hate propaganda". That is, the extrajudicial repressions of the special services against their own citizens were significantly expanded.” "TOMORROW", N30, 2002"

The BUSH administration used the Boeing attack as an excuse to invade Iraq and Afghanistan in order to realize its dream of world hegemony under the banner of fighting terrorism.

World Trade Center. New York Twin Towers - fallen brothers

New Yorkers called the Twin Towers (Twins Towers) the skyscrapers of the World Trade Center, which were destroyed on September 11, 2001 as a result of a terrorist attack. This event became a national tragedy for the United States. It was not in vain that the terrorists chose the Twin Towers as their target, because they were the national pride of the country, a symbol of democracy and a symbol of the greatness of the American people. Today, Twins Towers reminds us of a huge memorial built on the site of the tragedy. In many Hollywood films released before 9/11, we can see a panorama of New York's Dream City, which necessarily includes the towers of the World Trade Center. On tourist postcards of those times, gigantic "twins" were also traditionally depicted. And how many souvenirs were made associated with these towers! Unfortunately, now these trinkets are more likely to remind us of the sad:

However, this article was not planned as an essay in memory of the fallen colossi, but rather as a story about an architectural masterpiece that has gone into oblivion, but, nevertheless, has retained a good memory of itself. It is natural that there is no project exactly copying the World Trade Center in the plans of American urban planners. Why strive to repeat success? May the Towers "live" in our hearts.

However, in addition to the memorial on the area once occupied by the World Trade Center, it was nevertheless decided to build several high-rise buildings. Indeed, such a tasty part of Manhattan should not be empty? Already at the stage of construction is the Freedom Tower skyscraper, which will have a height of over 500 meters. It is expected to be completed by 2013. In addition to this office building, there are 4 more projects, but so far they only exist on paper. 3 high-rise towers and one residential building have been developed. These giants will grow next to the memorial on Greenwich Street.

Before starting the story about Twins Towers, let's give a little explanation. The World Trade Center was actually a complex of seven buildings, which included the ill-fated North and South Towers. Each of the towers contained 110 floors, but the height varied - at the South Tower it was 415 meters, and the North - 417. Nearby was the 22-story Marriott Hotel, which had the abbreviated name WTC-3. Three more buildings of the WTC 4-6 had 9 floors each, and the WTC-7, located across the street from the rest of the complex, contained 47 floors.

Construction history

The idea to build a grandiose skyscraper was born in the post-war years. The US economy was actively reviving after the recession caused by the Second World War. In the 50s, most large companies located their offices in New York, namely in Manhattan. Influential businessman David Rockefeller, using the guarantee of his brother Nelson (who served as governor of the city), proposed to start building the World Trade Center here. The project was supported by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The entire project was led by the Manhattan Creative Association, headed by David Rockefeller. It was assumed that the World Trade Center, upon completion of construction, will be about 4% of all office real estate in the city.

For some time, the project remained only in the minds of his associates, but at the end of the 50s, the World Trade Center got busy. This was mainly due to the political situation in the country. In those years, US citizens significantly lost faith in the further development of democracy and the country's prosperity. It was then that the authorities decided to bring Rockefeller's ideas to life, teaching the World Trade Center "under the sauce" of a national project. According to the authorities, the giant complex could rally the entire people of America around it. Eminent architects vied with each other to offer their projects, but preference was given to the development of Minoru Yamasaki. This American architect of Japanese origin was the author of many beautiful backgrounds, including: the airport in St. Louis, the Concrete Institute, the Institute of Arts and Crafts in Detroit. Together with Minoru Yamasaki, architect Antonio Brittechi and Emiri Roth & Sons worked on the WTC concept.

In 1964, by order of "Port Authority", the first drawings of the future twin towers were created with a reduction of 130 times, and on August 5, 1966, the construction of skyscrapers began.

From the very first days, various technical problems began to arise at the construction site. At the site of the future construction, it turned out not to be stone, but artificial soil, which is a mixture of cobblestones, sand, and pebbles. Therefore, for the construction of the foundation of "Twins Tower" it took a lot more concrete than originally planned, this circumstance led to a sharp increase in the cost of building the facility.

Then it was necessary to solve a problem that was difficult in engineering and technical terms. On the site of future skyscrapers, it was necessary to demolish about 160 buildings, but at the same time preserve all engineering communications (gas pipeline, water supply, sewerage, electric cables, etc.), as well as the nearby high-speed highway and road network.

Another important problem was the line of the underground railway passing in this place. It was impossible to close it, since every day tens of thousands of people traveled by subway to work and home. The authorities decided not to build alternative transport routes, as this would further increase the cost of building the towers. Therefore, the New York subway line functioned until a new one was launched, with a station in the lowest tier of the WTC complex.

More than 1.2 million cubic yards of earth had to be removed from the ground during the construction of Twins Tower. The formed foundation pit became not only the foundation of the twin towers, but also the Plaza was organized in it, which is a huge space that housed a car park for 2000 cars, a new underground railway station, restaurants, offices of various companies, banks, warehouses, shops and etc.

According to the plan proposed by Minoru Yamasaki, the Twins Towers were to become not only the tallest skyscrapers in the United States of America, but also the world. And this meant that the Twin Towers should be given a greater height than the Empire State Building, which at that time firmly held the palm of the championship of the largest building on the planet. For this, an interesting engineering solution was invented. In fact, the towers were a very strong hollow metal tube, created from columns with trusses for the floors. Along the walls of the building there were 61 beams made of special steel. Each column had a diameter of 476.25 mm, they were installed tightly to each other. The distance between the beams was only 558.8 mm. The weight of each such steel block was as much as 22 tons, and the height was equal to 4 floors of the future building! In total, about 210,000 tons of heavy-duty steel were used in the construction of skyscrapers. Ceilings between floors were made of concrete slabs and corrugated steel, which were attached to the load-bearing elements of the entire structure. Inside the buildings, steel columns were erected for future elevators.

The twin towers were the first building in the world without the use of masonry, and the engineers were afraid that the high pressure of the air currents could disrupt the normal operation of the elevator shafts. Therefore, a special engineering system was developed for elevators, which later received the name "dry-walled". For a standard elevator system serving a skyscraper, it would have been necessary to use almost half of the entire floor space of the lower tier in order to place elevator shafts in it, which was not economically viable. Therefore, the specialists of the company "Otis Elevators" have developed a special system, called "fast" and providing for the transfer of passengers on the 44th and 78th floors of buildings. Such a system of elevators made it possible to reduce the number of elevator shafts by half, compared with the traditional system. As a result, 239 elevators worked in the Twins Tower complex, as well as 71 escalators. Each elevator was designed for a load capacity of 4535 kilograms, that is, it could lift 55 people at the same time. The speed of the elevators was 8.5 meters per second. By the way, the engineers also used this system of "transfers" when designing other skyscrapers that were born much later than the Twins.

During the construction of the facility, financial difficulties arose more than once, but despite this, construction not only did not stop, but also continued rapidly. In 1965-1970, New York authorities could not fully finance the construction, so credit loan bonds were issued. In 1970, a major economic crisis broke out, as a result of which the authorities stopped paying bonds. First, the administration decided to freeze construction for several years. But then this seditious idea was abandoned, because the prestige of the United States could suffer greatly from these measures. Then economists developed another way of financing and the money was found. Taxes for entrepreneurs were increased, contracts for the lease of office space in the skyscrapers of the World Trade Center (with prepayment), etc. were concluded.

The construction of the North Tower was completed in 1971, and the South Tower was put into operation two years later. The official opening date of the World Trade Center in New York is April 4, 1973.

Characteristics of the World Trade Center Towers

As a result, the twin towers became the tallest skyscrapers in the United States. Each "brother-giant" had 110 floors. The height of the 1st WTC building was 526.3 meters, including the antenna. The last floor in the South Tower was 411 meters from the ground, and in the North - 413! The depth of the foundation was at around 23 meters underground. The length of power cables exceeded 5,000 kilometers, and the total power of the electrical network was about 80,000 kW. Thus, the builders really managed to bring to life the "Project of the Century", which has become one of the symbols of the United States, the pride of the American people.

In the last years of the Complex's existence, about 50,000 people came to work at the WTC daily, and another 200,000 people visited the World Trade Center as tourists a week.

An Observatory was organized in the South Tower on the 107th floor. From the observation deck there was a magnificent view of the city. In the North Tower, between the 106th and 107th floors, there was a chic restaurant "Windows to the World", which was opened in 1976 and was the highest "high-rise" food outlet in the world.

At that time, no one could have imagined that these towers would ever fall. After all, the frame of the building, according to the assurances of the engineers, could withstand the impact of colossal force, for example, when rammed by an airplane. The towers were especially not afraid of the strongest gusts of wind that raged at a height of 400 meters. The construction of skyscrapers was distinguished by high strength, stability, thanks to facades made in the form of steel frames and aluminum modular sections built into them. These elements had dimensions of 10x3.5 meters. All technical tricks were in vain, because when the planes crashed, it was not the destructive force of the collision that played a decisive role, but the high temperature. As a result of the explosion of fuel tanks containing over 5000 liters of gasoline, steel was instantly heated to 1000 degrees Celsius! This is what caused the collapse.

Reference

Currently, on the site of the twin towers, three new skyscrapers are being built, under the working names Tower? 2,? 3 and? 4 and a tower 541 meters high, which received the symbolic name "Freedom Tower". All new buildings will be very different from the first towers that fell during the terrorist attack. The groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the new World Trade Center was held in July 2004, and construction began on April 27, 2006. The site is being developed by Larry Silverstein, a real estate entrepreneur. According to the plan, the completion of the construction of the Freedom Tower should take place before 2013. In addition to this tower, the new World Trade Center in New York will also include a residential skyscraper, three high-rise office buildings, a museum and a memorial to the victims of the September 11, 2001 tragedy, as well as a concert and exhibition center. Many Americans dubbed the 540-meter skyscraper the "Tower of Fear", because. during its construction, innovative technologies will be used to prevent destruction during a terrorist attack of any force. In particular, it is planned to encase the first 52 meters of the building in a concrete frame, and use prismatic glass for the exterior, only in this way it will be possible to avoid the notorious visual effect of the "stone bag".

On September 11, 2001, in the United States, al-Qaeda suicide bombers hijacked four passenger planes, the towers of the World Trade Center, and two others - the Pentagon and, presumably, the White House or the Capitol. All aircraft, except the last one, reached their targets. The fourth hijacked plane crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

The victims of the September 11 attacks, including 343 firefighters and 60 police officers. Not only US citizens were killed, but 92 other states. In New York, 2,753 people were killed, in the Pentagon - 184 people, 40 people crashed in Pennsylvania.

19 terrorists were also killed in the attacks, 15 of them were citizens of Saudi Arabia, two of the United Arab Emirates, one of Egypt and one of Lebanon.

At 8:46 a.m. (local time hereinafter), an American Airlines Boeing 767 flying from Boston to Los Angeles crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center (WTC) on Manhattan Island in New York between the 93rd and 99th floors. On board were 81 passengers (including five terrorists) and 11 crew members.

At 9:03 a.m., a United Airlines Boeing 767 flying from Boston to Los Angeles crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center between the 77th and 85th floors. There were 56 passengers and nine crew members on board.

At 9:37 a.m., an American Airlines Boeing 757 flying from Washington to Los Angeles crashed into the Pentagon. There were 58 passengers and six crew members on board.

At 10:03 a.m., a United Airlines Boeing 757 flying from Newark, New Jersey to San Francisco, crashed into a field in southwestern Pennsylvania, near the city of Shanksville, 200 kilometers from Washington. There were 37 passengers and seven crew members on board.

As a result of a severe fire, the South Tower collapsed at 9.59, and the North Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed at 10.28.

At 18.16, the 47-storey building of the World Trade Center complex, located in close proximity to the WTC towers, collapsed. The fire started in it.

The exact amount of damage caused by the September 11 attacks is not known. In September 2006, US President George W. Bush announced that the damage from the September 11, 2001 attacks amounted to the lowest estimate for the United States.

On November 27, 2002, an independent commission to investigate the September 11 attacks (the 9/11 commission) was established in the United States. In 2004, she published the final report on the investigation into the circumstances of the tragedy. One of the main conclusions of the 600-page document was the recognition that the perpetrators of the attacks took advantage of the work of the US government and intelligence agencies.

Zacarias Moussaoui, a French citizen of Moroccan origin, is the only person convicted in the case of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. He was arrested in August 2001 after graduating from flight school in Oklahoma and training in a Boeing 747 simulator in Minnesota. In April 2005, Moussaoui was found guilty of intent to commit a terrorist attack, which was supposed to be the fifth in a series of tragic events on September 11, 2001. On the personal instructions of Osama bin Laden, he was supposed to hijack the plane and go to ram the White House in Washington - about this terrorist.

In May 2006, by decision of the federal court of the city of Alexandria (Virginia), where the trial took place, Zacarias Moussaoui was sentenced.

Six other suspects of involvement in the attacks were arrested in 2002 and 2003, they spent several years in prisons of the CIA, and in 2006 at the American base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

In February 2008, the US Department of Defense committed murder and war crimes as part of its investigation into the September 11 attacks.

The accusations were made against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who according to the 9/11 commission report is a central figure in the preparation of terrorist attacks in the United States; a native of Yemen, Ramzi Binalshiba (another spelling of Ramzi bin al-Sheba), who provided organizational support to the terrorists and transferred money to them; Mohammed al-Qahtani, who, according to investigators, on September 11, 2001, was supposed to become another, the 20th hijacker of four American aircraft; as well as Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, Mustafa Ahmed Khawsawi (another spelling of Mustafa Ahmad Hausawi) and Waleed bin Attash.

Hearings in the case of those accused of involvement in organizing a terrorist act.

In March 2016, New York District Judge George Daniels issued a default judgment ordering Iran to pay $7.5 billion to the relatives and other members of those who died at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The judge determined that the Iranian authorities must pay another three billion to insurers who covered property damage and other material losses. Earlier, Judge Daniels ruled that Tehran could not prove its non-participation in assisting the organizers of the terrorist attack, in connection with which the Iranian authorities for the damage caused during it.

In September 2016, the US Congress passed a law allowing the heirs of the victims of the September 11 attacks to sue Saudi Arabia, whose citizens were most of the terrorists who carried out the attacks. Already in early October 2016, an American woman who lost her husband during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack filed the first lawsuit against Saudi Arabia. In March 2017, relatives of the victims in the United States. In April, it became known that more than two dozen US insurance companies had filed a lawsuit against two Saudi Arabian banks and companies associated with the Osama bin Laden family, as well as several charities, totaling at least $4.2 billion in connection with the attacks. In August, Saudi Arabia filed a federal court in Manhattan seeking dismissal of 25 lawsuits, arguing that the plaintiffs did not provide evidence that the kingdom or its affiliated charities were behind the attack.

At the site of the destroyed Twin Towers in New York on September 11, 2011. It consists of two square pools-fountains, located right at the bases of the former twin towers, along the inner walls of which water streams cascade down, leaving into square holes located at the bottom of each of the pools. The names of the 2,983 victims of the attacks (including the six who died in the 1993 World Trade Center attack) are carved on the bronze slabs that line the parapets of both fountains.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources

On the morning of September 11, 2001, two planes flying to Los Angeles were hijacked by terrorists and then sent straight to the twin towers of the World Trade Center (World Trade Center, abbreviated as WTC). Within two hours, both skyscrapers collapsed. The total number of victims of the terrorist attack approached 3,000. The place where the WTC stood became known as Ground Zero.

Not everyone knows, but apart from the northern (1 WTC) and southern (2 WTC) twin towers, the 7 WTC skyscraper, which was also part of the World Trade Center complex, was completely destroyed. Buildings 4 WTC, 5 WTC and 6 WTC, as well as the Marriott Hotel, partially collapsed. Thus, the whole complex was a terrible sight. No wonder this place became known as Ground Zero - a place on the surface of the earth - the epicenter of a nuclear explosion.

twin towers now

Since 2001, there has been a long process of creating a new complex, consisting of skyscrapers, a memorial, a museum, and a transport hub. As of 2017, 7 WTC, 1 WTC and 4 WTC skyscrapers are fully built. The rest of the skyscrapers are under construction.

The initial phase of the construction of tower 7 WTC

The September 11, 2001 Memorial (9/11 Memorial) was unveiled on the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attack at the site where the twin towers of the World Trade Center stood.

The memorial covers an area of ​​2.5 hectares. Two large mirror pools were built on its territory, water flows down their inner walls. Both pools are located exactly on the spot where the destroyed skyscrapers stood and follow their contours. Water, falling like a waterfall from the walls, goes into large holes located in the center and symbolizing the abyss. All this makes a strong impression. The names of 2977 people who died here during the terrorist attacks of 1993 and 2001 are written on the outer walls of the pools.

More than 100 white oaks are planted nearby. There should be more in the future. One of the trees is known as the Survival Tree. Planted back in the 70s of the 20th century, this pear tree was found under the ruins in a badly damaged condition. Part of the tree remained alive and was rescued.

The memorial took a long time to build. Despite the political decision to commemorate the tragic events, construction was delayed due to a long bureaucratic approval process. The very concept of the memorial was already known in 2004. Then the professional jury, having considered over 5,000 applications, chose the work of architects Michael Arad and Peter Walker, which was called "Reflective Absence".

You can get to the territory of the memorial for free, having received a pass at the entrance. To get to the museum you need to buy tickets in advance www.911memorial.org

What is located on the site of the Twin Towers

Now, on the site of the destroyed Twin Towers, a complex of seven new skyscrapers is being built. Towers 1, 4 and 7 are completely ready. The rest are in varying degrees of readiness, for example tower 3 of the World Trade Center is almost ready.

The 9/11 Museum is on the same site and is surrounded by the remains of the original World Trade Center. The largest hall of the museum is the Foundation Hall. There you can find a wall built to contain the Hudson River and the remains of the columns that once formed the outer structure of the Twin Towers. The museum contains artifacts, photographs, videos and other materials about the history of the WTC and the tragedy.

On September 11, 2013, the United States pays tribute to the victims of the 2001 terrorist attack, when suicide bombers on two hijacked planes attacked the towers of the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon building in Washington, the third plane, the crew and passengers of which were trying to neutralize the terrorists, crashed into Pennsylvania.

According to official figures, 2977 people died. More than half were never identified. The rubble was cleared for 9 months. Fragments of bones and tissues at the site of the attack were found so much that the number of bodies may far exceed the official one. Relatives of the victims complained that the remains could have been taken along with the garbage to a landfill.

Photographer Gulnara Samoilova was an eyewitness to the attack and took unique pictures.

The first thing the woman did was to throw herself on the ground behind the nearest parked car. “The dust was very prickly. Darkness set in. I began to suffocate, thinking that I was buried alive. Then an unfamiliar voice called out to me:“ Are you all right? And then she immediately took out the camera again, reloaded the film, changed the lens and started shooting.

"The dust was very prickly. Darkness came. I began to choke, thinking that I was buried alive" - ​​eyewitness AP

The site where the twin towers of the World Trade Center collapsed on the morning of September 11, 2001 takes on a new shape only 12 years after the tragedy, but the development project, which includes five new skyscrapers, a 9/11 memorial and a museum, a transport terminal and a concert hall, is still not yet completed. Here's what it looks like now:

For the second year in a row, politicians do not give speeches at the ceremony. The roll call of the names of the dead and the minutes of silence marking the timing of the tragedy are preserved in New York's commemorative ritual. In the evening, two giant beams of light will rise above the city, personifying the destroyed twin towers. They will be visible for 50 kilometers.

Since 2002, September 11 has been celebrated in the United States as Patriot Day, and since 2009, this day has also gained the status of a nationwide day of service and remembrance.