9/11: Life Under Attack

Hey, guys, look this way.

CRASHING

What the hell was that?

Come to us! Come to us!

SIRENS

Oh, my God!

Oh!

That must be a wing that sheared that off.

Yeah, you could see it,

you could see from the gutter, it's...

Oh, Shit!

Shit! Oh, my God!

What's happening? The World Trade Center's blown up.

Glennie, call me, please!

Yeah.

Come on, let's go! Everybody, out of here! Let's go! Come on!

For your own safety, get out of here.

What's going on?

Jesus Christ.

SCREAMING

I don't wanna be on the 32nd floor of this building any more!

SCREAMING

Just get in here!

Oh, my God, I just saw the World Trade Center collapse!

He's awake.

Go away.

There's Mommy.

With the little poops, Daschiel.

Yeah!

I can see where he gets that.

0h!

Family portrait.

This is the view from our window.

It's a gorgeous day!

A regular decaf as well.

Er, I'm going to have my espresso.

Hey, guys, look this way. Randy.

OK, if you just joined us, welcome and have a seat. Look to the left,

that's the World Trade Center.

A couple of years ago, there was a terrorist attack

inside the World Trade Center and here's what happened...

The terrorists went inside that garage

and they parked the car filled with explosives.

In the wrong garage. They parked it in the garage of the Vista Hotel.

The terrorists rented out a car from Newjersey.

They went back to collect the 100 dollar cash deposit

and the FBI was there waiting for them. That's how they were caught.

September 11th, 2001.

WHISTLE

'Good morning, 64 degrees. It's Tuesday, September 11th.

'I'm Lee Harris, here's what's happening.

'It's primary day and the polls are open in New York City.

'Voters are deciding among about 250 candidates

'for mayor of city council.'

I'm gonna drop them off and I go to a polling place?

Yes, sir. Thanks, guys.

OK.

It's a junction box.

Yeah.

That's like the smell of gas.

The gas main's right here right alongside this.

PLANE ROARS OVERHEAD

Holy shit!

EXPLOSION BOOMS

Oh, Shit!

What the hell was that?

Come to us, come to us!

Wha-What is that?

Something, somebody hit, er, the World Trade Center or the...

It's the Trade Center! It's the World Trade Center.

It looks like something crashed into it. Yes!

SIRENS WAIL

Oh, my God!

Shit!

What am I doing on this?

Go-Go to the Trade Center.

SIRENS BLARE

Oh, my God!

There's paper everywhere. Holy sh...

That's crazy.

What's up? Holy shit!

There's a bomb, it just went off in the World Trade Center.

No, it's an airplane.

You saw... How do you know it was an airplane?

It sounded like that.

They're saying on Channel 10. Did you hear it?

How could a plane crash into the World Trade Center in mid-morning?

I guess they didn't see it.

Planes can't fly that low. lt would have hit, like...

I don't know, I heard the crash,

I looked out my window and I could see things falling down

the building and I was like... "Oh, my God, it was a bomb."

I thought it was a bomb, at least.

Oh, shit!

Oh, shit!

We have a number of floors on fire.

It looked like the plane was aiming towards the building.

We'll have the staging area at Vesey and West Street.

MUFFLED SPEECH THROUGH RADIO

Yeah. You stay with me.

OK, I hope this is catching me.

Minutes ago, I was walking down Chamber Street

and fully saw the entire event.

I saw the plane from the sky pass right into it.

This is history.

It's a tragedy like the Hindenburg disaster.

Oh, shit!

Mike, Mike, there's debris falling down from the face.

Can you see it? See it falling?

Mike, let's go check it out. Come on.

Come this way!

WOMAN SOBBING

That's close to us.

How did it start?

Argh! N0!

It's unbelievable.

I'm, like, standing here, videotaping it.

It's on the news.

It's an airplane! N0?!

It looked like an airplane crashed into the building.

No way! Oh: my God!

No, there'd be pieces of it on the fucking ground. On the side.

I don't know. Oh, damn, this sucks!

How can you hit the biggest building in New York?

Thank God it wasn't terrorists, though. I know.

Plenty of people were likely in their offices

when all this happened at about a quarter of nine.

A quarter of nine or so,

as people are coming in, in the elevators.

Roughly 50,000 people, as we know,

work at the World Trade Centre complex.

We wish we could tell you exactly what was going on inside.

The question is, what has happened to the people on those upper floors?

SIREN WAILS

PHONE RINGS

Look, somebody's falling. Somebody's falling!

Oh, my God!

People were jumping out of there?

Whoa!

Oh, my God!

SOBBING

My partner was up there.

We're gonna keep this area clear. Let's go, let's go.

Don't stay here. Keep moving. Please keep moving.

The reason I turned is cos I heard it, right here.

It was just really low.

So, it came from this side, not from the river?

It came right over, through here.

Made a nice little snake in the curve

and tipped a little bit and just went right in.

Was that a 737? I couldn't identify the craft.

It was a medium-sized jetliner.

It looked to me like stuff actually shot out

of the other side of the building.

Looking at the right-hand side, you can see flames coming out.

Sure looks it. I wonder if it's gonna topple?

No. No, no, no, no, no. Can't do that.

I'm an architect. I know...

The way they've designed these buildings,

it'll be almost impossible to knock it over.

Cut on the whole right side,

that must be a wing that sheared that off.

Yeah, you could see it.

Oh, Shit!

Oh, my God! SCREAMING

Oh, my God!

Shit!

Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out!

CACOPHONY OF SIRENS, PEOPLE, FALLING DEBRIS

Oh, my God! Oh, my God!

I'm so scared. I'm leaving.

No, don't, Megan, we can't...

Megan... I don't care. I'm getting out!

OK, will you please wait for me?

Do we take the elevator?

I don't wanna be on the 32nd floor of this building any more.

Holy shit!

Oh, my God, there was a major explosion,

I thought that it was thunder or something.

And then I saw this paper falling

and I thought, "There's a ticker tape parade."

And I look down on Broadway, I think of the ticker tape parade,

and then I turn and I see this.

The World Trade Center is fucking on fire!

Unbelievable.

SHOUTED ORDERS

SIRENS WAIL

Almost every building has just about been emptied.

The streets are filled with people stunned, scared, frightened, crying.

It is absolutely amazing to see just the sheer panic

in the streets right now. Many people are running.

There are emergency vehicles coming from every direction.

My 90odness!

Can we keep it moving, please?

I understand we've re-established contact with Dick Oliver.

Er... Dick is on the phone. Yes, Jim.

Yeah, Dick.

Jim, yes, just well, moments ago, as you know, another vehicle,

some kind of an aircraft crashed into the World Trade Center.

This is no accident. This is no bomb from inside.