On Tuesday, September 11, 2001 four airplanes originating on the U.S. East Coast and heading to California were hijacked by terrorists and used to attack U.S. buildings. The first two planes crashed into the North and South towers of the World Trade Center complex in New York City. Within 102 minutes both towers, 110-stories tall each, collapsed. A third plane was crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia and a fourth plane, initially headed toward Washington D.C., crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania after passengers tried to overcome the hijackers. 2,996 lives were lost that day. Included in this number are 343 firefighters and 72 law enforcement officers.
