Twenty-five years ago today, hijacked passenger aircraft struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in the deadliest terrorist attack in US history. Within less than two hours, nearly 3,000 people had been killed and an event was unfolding that would reshape global security, warfare and international politics for decades.
A morning that began normally
On the morning of 11 September 2001, 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger aircraft departing from airports on the US East Coast. The aircraft were bound for destinations in California and carried large quantities of fuel for their transcontinental journeys.
At 8:46 a.m., American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York. Initially, many watching the images believed the collision could have been a catastrophic aviation accident.
Seventeen minutes later, at 9:03 a.m., United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower. The second impact, broadcast live around the world, removed almost any doubt: the United States was under coordinated attack.
The Pentagon is hit
The attacks were not confined to New York. At 9:37 a.m., American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the western side of the Pentagon, headquarters of the US Department of Defense outside Washington.
The symbolism was unmistakable. Within less than an hour, terrorists had successfully attacked two of the most recognisable representations of American economic and military power.
A fourth hijacked aircraft, United Airlines Flight 93, was heading towards Washington when passengers, having learned through telephone calls what had happened elsewhere, attempted to regain control of the aircraft.
The plane crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, at 10:03 a.m. Everyone aboard was killed. Investigators concluded that the hijackers were probably attempting to strike either the US Capitol or the White House.
The towers collapse
In Manhattan, fires fuelled by the aircraft impacts spread through the World Trade Center towers.
At 9:59 a.m., the South Tower collapsed.
At 10:28 a.m., the North Tower followed.
The skyline that had symbolised New York’s financial power for three decades was transformed into an enormous cloud of dust, smoke and debris. Thousands of firefighters, police officers, emergency workers and civilians had been inside or around the complex.
A total of 2,977 victims were killed in the September 11 attacks, excluding the 19 hijackers. The dead included 343 New York City firefighters, 23 New York City police officers and 37 Port Authority officers. At the Pentagon, 184 people were killed, while 40 passengers and crew died aboard Flight 93.
The world changes
The consequences extended far beyond the destruction in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.
The United States launched what became known as the War on Terror. Less than a month after the attacks, US and allied forces began military operations in Afghanistan against al-Qaeda and the Taliban government that had provided sanctuary to its leadership.
Osama bin Laden, the founder and leader of al-Qaeda, became the world’s most wanted terrorist. He remained at large for almost another decade before being killed by US forces in Pakistan in May 2011.
The attacks also transformed aviation security. Passenger screening became dramatically stricter, cockpit doors were reinforced and the Transportation Security Administration was created in the United States. Intelligence agencies expanded their counter-terrorism operations while governments introduced extensive new surveillance and security legislation.
A legacy still visible 25 years later
September 11 ultimately influenced wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, intelligence policy, immigration controls, airport security and relations between the United States and much of the Islamic world.
It also created difficult questions about the balance between national security and individual liberty. Surveillance programmes expanded, detention and interrogation policies became deeply controversial, and the military campaigns launched during the post-9/11 era continued for years.
Al-Qaeda itself was severely weakened by military and intelligence operations, although the organisation and its affiliates survived. Twenty-five years later, its decentralised network continues to operate, particularly through affiliated movements in parts of Africa, the Middle East and South Asia.
Twenty-five years of remembrance
Today, 11 September 2026, ceremonies across the United States mark exactly a quarter of a century since the attacks.
At Ground Zero in New York, at the Pentagon and near Shanksville, families, survivors, emergency workers and public officials are again remembering those who died. The names of the victims are read aloud, accompanied by moments of silence corresponding to the attacks and collapses.
For Americans old enough to remember it, September 11 remains one of those rare historical moments when people can recall exactly where they were when they first heard the news.
For an entire generation born afterwards, however, 9/11 has moved from personal memory into history.
The images remain extraordinary: a passenger aircraft disappearing into a skyscraper, smoke rising above Manhattan, the Pentagon burning and two enormous towers collapsing into the streets below.
Twenty-five years later, September 11 remains more than the story of a terrorist attack. It marks a dividing line between two eras — the moment when assumptions about borders, aviation, terrorism and national security changed almost overnight.
Newshub Editorial in North America – 11 September 2026
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