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Complete 911 Timeline
All Post-9/11 Investigations
Project: Complete 911 Timeline
Open-Content project managed by matt, Paul, KJF
1992-January 1993: Future Democratic 9/11 Commission Co-Chair Leads Cover-up
of Republican Plot
In 1992, a House of Representatives task force chaired by Democratic
Congressman Lee Hamilton conducts a ten-month investigation into the
"October Surprise" - an alleged Republican plot to delay the release of US
hostages held in Iran in 1980 until after that year's US presidential
election. The investigation concludes in 1993 that there is "no credible
evidence" of any such plot. But Robert Parry, a journalist writing for the
Associated Press and Newsweek, gains access to the stored records of
Hamilton's task force. He finds clear evidence of a major cover up. For
instance, William Casey, CIA Director in the early 1980s, was alleged to
have been involved in the plot, and Hamilton's investigators discovered a
CIA created index of Casey's papers made after Casey's death in 1987. When
investigators searches Casey's possessions, they found all the papers
mentioned in the index, except for all the ones relevant to the alleged
October Surprise plot. But the disappearance of such evidence was not
mentioned in Hamilton's findings. [Scott, 2007, pp. 101] In addition, an
official Russian intelligence report placing Casey in Europe in order to
arrange a politically favorable outcome to the hostage crisis arrived in
Washington shortly before Hamilton's task force issued their conclusions,
but this Russian information was not mentioned by the task force. [Scott,
2007, pp. 106-107] Hamilton will later be appointed co-chair of the 9/11
Commission (see December 11, 2002).
Entity Tags: William Casey, Lee Hamilton, Robert Parry
Category Tags: 9/11 Investigations, 9/11 Commission
February 27, 1993: WTC Engineer Says Building Would Survive Jumbo Jet
Hitting It
In the wake of the WTC bombing, the Seattle Times interviews John Skilling
who was one of the two structural engineers responsible for designing the
Trade Center. Skilling recounts his people having carried out an analysis
which found the Twin Towers could withstand the impact of a Boeing 707. He
says, "Our analysis indicated the biggest problem would be the fact that all
the fuel (from the airplane) would dump into the building. There would be a
horrendous fire. A lot of people would be killed." But, he says, "The
building structure would still be there." [Seattle Times, 2/27/1993] The
analysis Skilling is referring to is likely one done in early 1964, during
the design phase of the towers. A three-page white paper, dated February 3,
1964, described its findings: "The buildings have been investigated and
found to be safe in an assumed collision with a large jet airliner (Boeing
707-DC 8) traveling at 600 miles per hour. Analysis indicates that such
collision would result in only local damage which could not cause collapse
or substantial damage to the building and would not endanger the lives and
safety of occupants not in the immediate area of impact." However, besides
this paper, no documents are known detailing how this analysis was made.
[Glanz and Lipton, 2004, pp. 131-132; Lew, Bukowski, and Carino, 10/2005,
pp. 70-71] The other structural engineer who designed the towers, Leslie
Robertson, carried out a second study later in 1964, of how the towers would
handle the impact of a 707 (see Between September 3, 2001 and September 7,
2001). However, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST),
following its three-year investigation into the WTC collapses, will in 2005
state that it has been "unable to locate any evidence to indicate
consideration of the extent of impact-induced structural damage or the size
of a fire that could be created by thousands of gallons of jet fuel."
[National Institute of Standards and Technology, 9/2005, pp. 13 ]
Entity Tags: World Trade Center, John Skilling
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: WTC Investigation, 9/11 Investigations
June 8, 1999: New York Emergency Command Center Opened in WTC Building 7
Giuliani's emergency command center. [Source: CNN]New York City Mayor
Rudolph Giuliani opens a $13 million emergency command center on the 23rd
floor of World Trade Center Building 7. [Newsday, 9/12/2001] The center is
intended to coordinate responses to various emergencies, including natural
disasters like hurricanes or floods, and terrorist attacks. The 50,000
square foot center has reinforced, bulletproof, and bomb-resistant walls,
its own air supply and water tank, beds, showers to accommodate 30 people,
and three backup generators. It also has rooms full of video monitors from
where the mayor can oversee police and fire department responses. It is to
be staffed around the clock and is intended as a meeting place for city
leaders in the event of an act of terrorism. [CNN, 6/7/1999; London Times,
9/12/2001; Glanz and Lipton, 2004, pp. 233] The center is ridiculed as "Rudy's
bunker." [Time, 12/22/2001] Most controversial is the 6,000-gallon fuel
tank. In 1998 and 1999, Fire Department officials warn that the fuel tank
violates city fire codes and poses a hazard. According to one Fire
Department memorandum, if the tank were to catch fire it could produce
"disaster." Building 7 will be destroyed late in the day on 9/11; some
suspect this tank helps explains why. [New York Times, 12/20/2001]
Entity Tags: Office of Emergency Management, Rudolph ("Rudy") Giuliani,
World Trade Center
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: Counterterrorism Before 9/11, 9/11 Investigations, WTC
Investigation
November 10, 1999: North WTC Tower Suffers Last 'Significant' Fire Prior to
9/11; Bigger Fire Occurred in 1975
The North Tower of the WTC suffers a fire on its 104th floor. This is the
15th and last of what the National Institute of Standards and Technology
later describes as "significant fires," which occurred in the Twin Towers
from 1975 onwards, and prior to 9/11. These fires each activate up to three
sprinklers but are confined to just one floor. [Kuligowski, Evans, and
Peacock, 9/2005, pp. 7-11] Additionally, on February 14, 1975 a major fire
occurred, the result of arson, which began on the 11th floor of the North
Tower during the middle of the night. Spreading through floor openings in
the utility closets, it caused damage from the 10th to 19th floors, though
this was generally confined to the utility closets. However, on the 11th
floor about 9,000 square feet was damaged. This was about 21 percent of the
floor's total area (43,200 square feet) and took weeks to repair. Some parts
of the steel trusses (floor supports) buckled due to the heat. 132
firefighters were called to the tower in response, and because the fire was
so hot, many got their necks and ears burned. Fire Department Captain Harold
Kull described the three-hour effort to extinguish it as "like fighting a
blowtorch." [WTC Environmental Assessment Working Group, 9/2002, pp. 10 ;
New York Times, 5/8/2003; Glanz and Lipton, 2004, pp. 213, 214, 324;
Kuligowski, Evans, and Peacock, 9/2005, pp. 1] An article in Fire
Engineering magazine will later summarize, "[A]lmost all large buildings
will be the location for a major fire in their useful life. No major
high-rise building has ever collapsed from fire. The WTC was the location
for such a fire in 1975; however, the building survived with minor damage
and was repaired and returned to service." [Fire Engineering, 10/2002]
Building 7 of the WTC, which completely collapses late in the afternoon on
9/11, has also suffered a 'significant' fire in 1988, occurring on its third
floor, with multiple sprinklers being activated. [Kuligowski, Evans, and
Peacock, 9/2005, pp. 12]
Entity Tags: World Trade Center
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: WTC Investigation, 9/11 Investigations
January-May 2000: Hijacker Associate Frequently Calls Saudi Government
Officials
According to Sen. Bob Graham (D), co-chair of the 9/11 Congressional
Inquiry, during this time Omar al-Bayoumi has an "unusually large number of
telephone calls with Saudi government officials in both Los Angeles and
Washington." Graham will note this increased communication corresponds with
the arrival of hijackers Nawaf Alhazmi and Khalid Almihdhar into al-Bayoumi's
life. He will see this as evidence of Saudi government involvement in the
9/11 plot. [Graham and Nussbaum, 2004, pp. 168-169]
Entity Tags: Nawaf Alhazmi, Bob Graham, Khalid Almihdhar, Omar al-Bayoumi
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: Saudi Arabia, Alhazmi and Almihdhar, 9/11 Congressional
Inquiry, 9/11 Investigations, Bayoumi and Basnan Saudi Connection
January 25, 2001: WTC Construction Manager Says Tower Could Sustain Multiple
Plane Impacts
Frank De Martini. [Source: New York Times]Frank De Martini, an architect who
works as the World Trade Center's construction manager, is interviewed for a
History Channel documentary about the WTC towers. He says, "I believe the
building probably could sustain multiple impacts of jetliners because this
structure is like the mosquito netting on your screen door, this intense
grid, and the jet plane is just a pencil puncturing the screen netting. It
really does nothing to the screen netting." [Dwyer and Flynn, 2005, pp. 149]
De Martini will be in his office on the 88th floor of the North Tower when
it is hit on 9/11. He will die when the tower collapses, after helping more
than 50 people escape. [Associated Press, 8/29/2003; New York Times,
8/29/2003]
Entity Tags: Frank De Martini, World Trade Center
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: WTC Investigation, 9/11 Investigations
(Before July 24, 2001): Risk Assessment Identifies Aircraft Striking WTC as
One of the 'Maximum Foreseeable Losses'
A property risk assessment report is prepared for Silverstein Properties
before it acquires the lease for the World Trade Center (see July 24, 2001).
It identifies the scenario of an aircraft hitting one of the WTC towers as
one of the "maximum foreseeable losses." The report says, "This scenario is
within the realm of the possible, but highly unlikely." Further details of
the assessment, such as who prepared it, are unreported. [National Institute
of Standards and Technology, 5/2003, pp. 16 ; Barrett and Collins, 2006, pp.
189; American Prospect, 9/1/2006]
Entity Tags: Silverstein Properties, World Trade Center
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: WTC Investigation, 9/11 Related Lawsuits, 9/11 Investigations
July 24, 2001: World Trade Center Ownership Changes Hands For the First Time
Larry Silverstein. [Source: Silverstein Properties publicity photo]Real
estate development and investment firm Silverstein Properties and real
estate investment trust Westfield America finalize a deal worth $3.2 billion
to purchase a 99-year lease on the World Trade Center. The agreement covers
the Twin Towers, World Trade Center Buildings 4 and 5 (two nine-story office
buildings), and about 425,000 square feet of retail space. [New York Times,
4/27/2001; Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, 7/24/2001; IREIzine,
7/26/2001] Westfield America will be responsible for the retail space, known
as the Mall. Silverstein Properties' lease will cover the roughly 10 million
square feet of office space of the Twin Towers and Buildings 4 and 5.
Silverstein Properties already owns Building 7 of the WTC, which it built in
1987. This is the only time the WTC has ever changed hands since it was
opened in 1973. [International Council of Shopping Centers, 4/27/2001;
Westfield Group, 7/24/2001; Daily Telegraph, 9/11/2001; New York Times,
11/29/2001; CNN, 8/31/2002] It was previously controlled by the New York
Port Authority, a bi-state government agency. [Wall Street Journal,
5/12/2007] Larry Silverstein, the president of Silverstein Properties, only
uses $14 million of his own money for the deal. His partners put up a
further $111 million, and banks provide $563 million in loans. [Brill, 2003,
pp. 156] The Port Authority had carried only $1.5 billion in insurance
coverage on all its buildings, including the WTC, but Silverstein's lenders
insist on more, eventually demanding $3.55 billion in cover. [American
Lawyer, 9/3/2002] After 9/11, Larry Silverstein will claim the attacks on
the World Trade Center constituted two separate events, thereby entitling
him to a double payout totaling over $7 billion. [Daily Telegraph,
10/9/2001; Guardian, 8/18/2002] Eventually, after several years of legal
wrangling, a total of $4.55 billion of insurance money will be paid out for
the destruction of the WTC (see May 23, 2007). Most of this appears to go to
Silverstein Properties. How much goes to Westfield America is unclear. [New
York Post, 5/24/2007]
Entity Tags: Larry Silverstein, Silverstein Properties, Westfield America,
New York Port Authority, World Trade Center
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: WTC Investigation, 9/11 Related Lawsuits, 9/11 Investigations
Between September 1 and September 7, 2001: Silverstein Properties Takes Over
Control of the World Trade Center
In the first week of September 2001, the real estate development and
investment firm Silverstein Properties assumes control of the World Trade
Center. The company had acquired the lease to operate the Twin Towers from
the New York Port Authority in late July (see July 24, 2001). It has already
begun managing the facility with its own executives. Selected Port Authority
employees, including Alan Reiss, the director of the World Trade Center,
have been assisting the firm during a three-month transition period. But in
the weeks prior to 9/11, according to the New York Times, "Silverstein
Properties asked Mr. Reiss to let it more fully operate everything from
safety systems to tenant relations." [New York Times, 9/13/2001; Weiss,
2003, pp. 338; 9/11 Commission, 5/18/2004 ]
Entity Tags: Silverstein Properties, World Trade Center, Alan Reiss
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: WTC Investigation, 9/11 Related Lawsuits, 9/11 Investigations
Between September 3, 2001 and September 7, 2001: WTC Structural Engineer
Says Trade Center Designed for 707 Crashing Into It
Leslie Robertson. [Source: Publicity photo]Leslie Robertson, one of the two
original structural engineers for the World Trade Center, is asked at a
conference in Frankfurt, Germany what he had done to protect the Twin Towers
from terrorist attacks. He replies, "I designed it for a 707 to smash into
it," though does not elaborate further. [Chicago Tribune, 9/12/2001; Knight
Ridder, 9/12/2001] The Twin Towers were in fact the first structures outside
the military and nuclear industries designed to resist the impact of a jet
airplane. [Robertson, 3/2002; Federal Emergency Management Agency, 5/1/2002,
pp. 1-17] The Boeing 707 was the largest in use when the towers were
designed. Robertson conducted a study in late 1964, to calculate the effect
of a 707 weighing 263,000 pounds and traveling at 180 mph crashing into one
of the towers. He concluded that the tower would remain standing. However,
no official report of his study has ever surfaced publicly. [Glanz and
Lipton, 2004, pp. 138-139, 366] A previous analysis, carried out early in
1964, calculated that the towers would handle the impact of a 707 traveling
at 600 mph without collapsing (see February 27, 1993). In 2002, though,
Robertson will write, "To the best of our knowledge, little was known about
the effects of a fire from such an aircraft, and no designs were prepared
for that circumstance." [Robertson, 3/2002] The planes that hit the WTC on
9/11 are 767s, which are almost 20 percent heavier than 707s. [Scientific
American, 10/9/2001; New Yorker, 11/19/2001]
Entity Tags: Leslie Robertson, World Trade Center
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: WTC Investigation, 9/11 Investigations
September 7, 2001: New Security Director Criticizes Poor Security at the
World Trade Center
Former FBI counterterrorism chief John O'Neill recently started his new job
as director of security at the World Trade Center (see August 23, 2001).
From the outset, he has engrossed himself in discovering what security
systems are in place there, and what will be needed in future. On this day,
he runs into Rodney Leibowitz, a friend of his, and complains to him about
the very poor standard of security at the Twin Towers. For instance, he
mentions that, even though the complex receives bomb threats on a daily
basis, its telephone system does not feature caller identification. [Weiss,
2003, pp. 354 and 358] The Trade Center has in fact recently been on a
heightened security alert, due to numerous phone threats (see Late
August-September 10, 2001). [Newsday, 9/12/2001]
Entity Tags: John O'Neill, World Trade Center
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: Counterterrorism Before 9/11, WTC Investigation, 9/11
Investigations
Shortly Before September 11, 2001: WTC Tower Has Security Increased
The day after 9/11, Newsday will report that, according to security guard
Hermina Jones, bulletproof windows and fireproof doors have recently been
installed in a 22nd-floor computer command center in one of the WTC towers.
Jones will claim that this was done to secure the tower from aerial attacks,
though it is not clear if this is merely her post-9/11 opinion or if she had
evidence to believe that was the reason for the improvement. [Newsday,
9/12/2001]
Entity Tags: World Trade Center
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: Counterterrorism Before 9/11, WTC Investigation, 9/11
Investigations
8:46 a.m. September 11, 2001: Flight 11 Hits the North Tower of the World
Trade Center
The hole caused by the Flight 11 crash. [Source: Reuters]Flight 11 slams
into the WTC North Tower (Building 1). Seismic records pinpoint the crash at
26 seconds after 8:46 a.m. [CNN, 9/12/2001; New York Times, 9/12/2001; North
American Aerospace Defense Command, 9/18/2001; USA Today, 12/20/2001;
Federal Emergency Management Agency, 5/1/2002, pp. 1-10; USA Today,
8/13/2002; Associated Press, 8/19/2002; Newsday, 9/10/2002; New York Times,
9/11/2002] The NIST report states the crash time to be 8:46:30. [National
Institute of Standards and Technology, 9/2005, pp. 19 ] The 9/11 Commission
Report states the crash time to be 8:46:40. [9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp.
7] Investigators believe the plane still has about 10,000 gallons of fuel
(see 8:57 a.m. September 11, 2001). [New York Times, 9/11/2002] The plane
strikes the 93rd through 99th floors in the 110-story building. No one above
the crash line survives; approximately 1,360 people die. Below the crash
line, approximately 72 die and more than 4,000 survive. Both towers are
slightly less than half full at the time of the attack, with between 5,000
to 7,000 people in each tower. This number is lower than expected. Many
office workers have not yet shown up to work, and tourists to the
observation deck opening at 9:30 A.M. have yet to arrive. [USA Today,
12/20/2001; National Institute of Standards and Technology, 9/2005, pp.
20-22 ] The impact severs some columns on the north side of the North Tower.
Each tower is designed as a "tube-in-tube" structure and the steel columns
which support its weight are arranged around the perimeter and in the core.
The plane, which weighs 283,600 lb and is traveling at an estimated speed of
around 430 mph (see October 2002-October 2005), severs 35 of the building's
236 perimeter columns and damages another two. The damage to the South Tower's
perimeter will be similar (see 9:03 a.m. September 11, 2001). [National
Institute of Standards and Technology, 9/2005, pp. 5-9, 20, 22 ] The
perimeter columns bear about half of the tower's weight, so this damage
reduces its ability to bear gravity loads by about 7.5 percent. [National
Institute of Standards and Technology, 9/2005, pp. 6 ] The actual damage to
the 47 core columns is not known, as there are no photographs or videos of
it, but there will be much speculation about this after 9/11. It will be
suggested that some parts of the aircraft may have damaged the core even
after crashing through the exterior wall. According to the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST): "Moving at 500 mph, an engine
broke any exterior column it hit. If the engine missed the floor slab, the
majority of the engine core remained intact and had enough residual momentum
to sever a core column upon direct impact." [National Institute of Standards
and Technology, 9/2005, pp. 107 ] According to NIST's base case computer
model, three of the core columns are severed and another ten suffer some
damage. [National Institute of Standards & Technology, 9/2005, pp. 189 ] If
this is accurate, it means that the impact damage to the core reduces the
Tower's strength by another approximately 7.5 percent, meaning that the
building loses about 15 percent of its strength in total. This damage will
be cited after 9/11 by NIST and others researchers as an event contributing
to the building's collapse (see October 23, 2002 and October 19, 2004). In
addition, some of the fireproofing on the steel columns and trusses may be
dislodged. The original fireproofing on the fire floors was mostly
Blazeshield DC/F, but some of the fireproofing on the flooring has recently
been upgraded to Blazeshield II, which is about 20 percent denser and 20
percent more adhesive. [National Institute of Standards & Technology,
9/2005, pp. xxxvi, 83 ] Photographs and videos of the towers will not show
the state of fireproofing inside the buildings, but NIST will estimate the
damage to it using a computer model. Its severe case model (see (October
2002-October 2005)) will predict that 43 of the 47 core columns are stripped
of their fireproofing on one or more floors and that fireproofing is
stripped from trusses covering 60,000 ft2 of floor area, the equivalent of
about one and a half floors. NIST will say that the loss of fireproofing is
a major cause of the collapse (see April 5, 2005), but only performs 15
tests on fireproofing samples (see October 26, 2005). [National Institute of
Standards and Technology, 9/2005, pp. 23 ] According to NIST, more
fireproofing is stripped from the South Tower (see 9:03 a.m. September 11,
2001).
Entity Tags: World Trade Center, National Institute of Standards and
Technology
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: All Day of 9/11 Events, Flight AA 11, Flight UA 175, George
Bush, 9/11 Investigations, WTC Investigation, Key Day of 9/11 Events, World
Trade Center
(8:47 a.m.-9:50 a.m.) September 11, 2001: Engineer Finds Major Damage in
Basement and Lobby of North Tower
Mike Pecoraro. [Source: Chief Engineer]Mike Pecoraro, an engineer who is
part of the crew that services the WTC complex, is at work in the mechanical
shop in the second subbasement of the north WTC tower when it is hit. When
the room he is in starts filling with white smoke and he can smell kerosene
(jet fuel), he heads up stairs with a co-worker towards a small machine shop
on the C level. Yet, he says, "There was nothing there but rubble. We're
talking about a 50 ton hydraulic press-gone!" He then heads for the parking
garage, yet finds that "there were no walls, there was rubble on the floor,
and you can't see anything." He ascends to the B level where he sees a
300-pound steel and concrete fire door, which is lying on the floor,
wrinkled up "like a piece of aluminum foil." Pecoraro recalls seeing similar
things at the Center when it was bombed in 1993 and is therefore convinced
that a bomb has gone off this time. When he makes it into the main lobby, he
sees massive damage: "The whole lobby was soot and black, elevator doors
were missing. The marble was missing off some of the walls. 20-foot section
of marble, 20 by 10 foot sections of marble, gone from the walls.. Broken
glass everywhere, the revolving doors were all broken and their glass was
gone." Pecoraro says he only later hears that "jet fuel actually came down
the elevator shaft, blew off all the (elevator) doors and flames rolled
through the lobby. That explained all the burnt people and why everything
was sooted in the lobby." He makes it out of the North Tower before it
collapses. [Chief Engineer, 8/1/2002]
Entity Tags: Mike Pecoraro, World Trade Center
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: All Day of 9/11 Events, WTC Investigation, 9/11
Investigations, World Trade Center
8:57 a.m. September 11, 2001: Jet Fuel in North Tower Burns Up
The jet fuel that spilled from Flight 11 when it hit the North Tower (see
8:46 a.m. September 11, 2001) has mostly burned up by this time. The
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which investigates
the collapses, will say "The initial jet fuel fires themselves lasted at
most a few minutes." [National Institute of Standards and Technology,
9/2005, pp. 183 ] Engineering professor Forman Williams will say the jet
fuel "burned for maybe 10 minutes." [Popular Mechanics, 3/2005] Flight 11, a
Boeing 767, had a fuel capacity of 23,980 gallons, but was only carrying
about 10,000 gallons when it hit the WTC. NIST will estimate that less than
1,500 gallons were consumed in a fireball inside the tower and a comparable
amount was consumed in the fireballs outside the building. Therefore,
approximately 7,000 gallons splashed onto the office furnishings and started
fires on various floors. However, after the jet fuel is used up, office
fires burn until the building collapses. NIST will calculate that there were
about four pounds per square foot of combustibles in the office space, or
about 60 tons per floor. Offices in the WTC actually have fewer combustibles
than some other similar spaces due to the small number of interior walls and
limited bookshelf space. NIST will later find that only three of sixteen
perimeter columns it recovers reached a temperature of 250
Complete 911 Timeline
All Post-9/11 Investigations
Project: Complete 911 Timeline
Open-Content project managed by matt, Paul, KJF
1992-January 1993: Future Democratic 9/11 Commission Co-Chair Leads Cover-up
of Republican Plot
In 1992, a House of Representatives task force chaired by Democratic
Congressman Lee Hamilton conducts a ten-month investigation into the
"October Surprise" - an alleged Republican plot to delay the release of US
hostages held in Iran in 1980 until after that year's US presidential
election. The investigation concludes in 1993 that there is "no credible
evidence" of any such plot. But Robert Parry, a journalist writing for the
Associated Press and Newsweek, gains access to the stored records of
Hamilton's task force. He finds clear evidence of a major cover up. For
instance, William Casey, CIA Director in the early 1980s, was alleged to
have been involved in the plot, and Hamilton's investigators discovered a
CIA created index of Casey's papers made after Casey's death in 1987. When
investigators searches Casey's possessions, they found all the papers
mentioned in the index, except for all the ones relevant to the alleged
October Surprise plot. But the disappearance of such evidence was not
mentioned in Hamilton's findings. [Scott, 2007, pp. 101] In addition, an
official Russian intelligence report placing Casey in Europe in order to
arrange a politically favorable outcome to the hostage crisis arrived in
Washington shortly before Hamilton's task force issued their conclusions,
but this Russian information was not mentioned by the task force. [Scott,
2007, pp. 106-107] Hamilton will later be appointed co-chair of the 9/11
Commission (see December 11, 2002).
Entity Tags: William Casey, Lee Hamilton, Robert Parry
Category Tags: 9/11 Investigations, 9/11 Commission
February 27, 1993: WTC Engineer Says Building Would Survive Jumbo Jet
Hitting It
In the wake of the WTC bombing, the Seattle Times interviews John Skilling
who was one of the two structural engineers responsible for designing the
Trade Center. Skilling recounts his people having carried out an analysis
which found the Twin Towers could withstand the impact of a Boeing 707. He
says, "Our analysis indicated the biggest problem would be the fact that all
the fuel (from the airplane) would dump into the building. There would be a
horrendous fire. A lot of people would be killed." But, he says, "The
building structure would still be there." [Seattle Times, 2/27/1993] The
analysis Skilling is referring to is likely one done in early 1964, during
the design phase of the towers. A three-page white paper, dated February 3,
1964, described its findings: "The buildings have been investigated and
found to be safe in an assumed collision with a large jet airliner (Boeing
707-DC 8) traveling at 600 miles per hour. Analysis indicates that such
collision would result in only local damage which could not cause collapse
or substantial damage to the building and would not endanger the lives and
safety of occupants not in the immediate area of impact." However, besides
this paper, no documents are known detailing how this analysis was made.
[Glanz and Lipton, 2004, pp. 131-132; Lew, Bukowski, and Carino, 10/2005,
pp. 70-71] The other structural engineer who designed the towers, Leslie
Robertson, carried out a second study later in 1964, of how the towers would
handle the impact of a 707 (see Between September 3, 2001 and September 7,
2001). However, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST),
following its three-year investigation into the WTC collapses, will in 2005
state that it has been "unable to locate any evidence to indicate
consideration of the extent of impact-induced structural damage or the size
of a fire that could be created by thousands of gallons of jet fuel."
[National Institute of Standards and Technology, 9/2005, pp. 13 ]
Entity Tags: World Trade Center, John Skilling
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: WTC Investigation, 9/11 Investigations
June 8, 1999: New York Emergency Command Center Opened in WTC Building 7
Giuliani's emergency command center. [Source: CNN]New York City Mayor
Rudolph Giuliani opens a $13 million emergency command center on the 23rd
floor of World Trade Center Building 7. [Newsday, 9/12/2001] The center is
intended to coordinate responses to various emergencies, including natural
disasters like hurricanes or floods, and terrorist attacks. The 50,000
square foot center has reinforced, bulletproof, and bomb-resistant walls,
its own air supply and water tank, beds, showers to accommodate 30 people,
and three backup generators. It also has rooms full of video monitors from
where the mayor can oversee police and fire department responses. It is to
be staffed around the clock and is intended as a meeting place for city
leaders in the event of an act of terrorism. [CNN, 6/7/1999; London Times,
9/12/2001; Glanz and Lipton, 2004, pp. 233] The center is ridiculed as "Rudy's
bunker." [Time, 12/22/2001] Most controversial is the 6,000-gallon fuel
tank. In 1998 and 1999, Fire Department officials warn that the fuel tank
violates city fire codes and poses a hazard. According to one Fire
Department memorandum, if the tank were to catch fire it could produce
"disaster." Building 7 will be destroyed late in the day on 9/11; some
suspect this tank helps explains why. [New York Times, 12/20/2001]
Entity Tags: Office of Emergency Management, Rudolph ("Rudy") Giuliani,
World Trade Center
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: Counterterrorism Before 9/11, 9/11 Investigations, WTC
Investigation
November 10, 1999: North WTC Tower Suffers Last 'Significant' Fire Prior to
9/11; Bigger Fire Occurred in 1975
The North Tower of the WTC suffers a fire on its 104th floor. This is the
15th and last of what the National Institute of Standards and Technology
later describes as "significant fires," which occurred in the Twin Towers
from 1975 onwards, and prior to 9/11. These fires each activate up to three
sprinklers but are confined to just one floor. [Kuligowski, Evans, and
Peacock, 9/2005, pp. 7-11] Additionally, on February 14, 1975 a major fire
occurred, the result of arson, which began on the 11th floor of the North
Tower during the middle of the night. Spreading through floor openings in
the utility closets, it caused damage from the 10th to 19th floors, though
this was generally confined to the utility closets. However, on the 11th
floor about 9,000 square feet was damaged. This was about 21 percent of the
floor's total area (43,200 square feet) and took weeks to repair. Some parts
of the steel trusses (floor supports) buckled due to the heat. 132
firefighters were called to the tower in response, and because the fire was
so hot, many got their necks and ears burned. Fire Department Captain Harold
Kull described the three-hour effort to extinguish it as "like fighting a
blowtorch." [WTC Environmental Assessment Working Group, 9/2002, pp. 10 ;
New York Times, 5/8/2003; Glanz and Lipton, 2004, pp. 213, 214, 324;
Kuligowski, Evans, and Peacock, 9/2005, pp. 1] An article in Fire
Engineering magazine will later summarize, "[A]lmost all large buildings
will be the location for a major fire in their useful life. No major
high-rise building has ever collapsed from fire. The WTC was the location
for such a fire in 1975; however, the building survived with minor damage
and was repaired and returned to service." [Fire Engineering, 10/2002]
Building 7 of the WTC, which completely collapses late in the afternoon on
9/11, has also suffered a 'significant' fire in 1988, occurring on its third
floor, with multiple sprinklers being activated. [Kuligowski, Evans, and
Peacock, 9/2005, pp. 12]
Entity Tags: World Trade Center
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: WTC Investigation, 9/11 Investigations
January-May 2000: Hijacker Associate Frequently Calls Saudi Government
Officials
According to Sen. Bob Graham (D), co-chair of the 9/11 Congressional
Inquiry, during this time Omar al-Bayoumi has an "unusually large number of
telephone calls with Saudi government officials in both Los Angeles and
Washington." Graham will note this increased communication corresponds with
the arrival of hijackers Nawaf Alhazmi and Khalid Almihdhar into al-Bayoumi's
life. He will see this as evidence of Saudi government involvement in the
9/11 plot. [Graham and Nussbaum, 2004, pp. 168-169]
Entity Tags: Nawaf Alhazmi, Bob Graham, Khalid Almihdhar, Omar al-Bayoumi
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: Saudi Arabia, Alhazmi and Almihdhar, 9/11 Congressional
Inquiry, 9/11 Investigations, Bayoumi and Basnan Saudi Connection
January 25, 2001: WTC Construction Manager Says Tower Could Sustain Multiple
Plane Impacts
Frank De Martini. [Source: New York Times]Frank De Martini, an architect who
works as the World Trade Center's construction manager, is interviewed for a
History Channel documentary about the WTC towers. He says, "I believe the
building probably could sustain multiple impacts of jetliners because this
structure is like the mosquito netting on your screen door, this intense
grid, and the jet plane is just a pencil puncturing the screen netting. It
really does nothing to the screen netting." [Dwyer and Flynn, 2005, pp. 149]
De Martini will be in his office on the 88th floor of the North Tower when
it is hit on 9/11. He will die when the tower collapses, after helping more
than 50 people escape. [Associated Press, 8/29/2003; New York Times,
8/29/2003]
Entity Tags: Frank De Martini, World Trade Center
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: WTC Investigation, 9/11 Investigations
(Before July 24, 2001): Risk Assessment Identifies Aircraft Striking WTC as
One of the 'Maximum Foreseeable Losses'
A property risk assessment report is prepared for Silverstein Properties
before it acquires the lease for the World Trade Center (see July 24, 2001).
It identifies the scenario of an aircraft hitting one of the WTC towers as
one of the "maximum foreseeable losses." The report says, "This scenario is
within the realm of the possible, but highly unlikely." Further details of
the assessment, such as who prepared it, are unreported. [National Institute
of Standards and Technology, 5/2003, pp. 16 ; Barrett and Collins, 2006, pp.
189; American Prospect, 9/1/2006]
Entity Tags: Silverstein Properties, World Trade Center
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: WTC Investigation, 9/11 Related Lawsuits, 9/11 Investigations
July 24, 2001: World Trade Center Ownership Changes Hands For the First Time
Larry Silverstein. [Source: Silverstein Properties publicity photo]Real
estate development and investment firm Silverstein Properties and real
estate investment trust Westfield America finalize a deal worth $3.2 billion
to purchase a 99-year lease on the World Trade Center. The agreement covers
the Twin Towers, World Trade Center Buildings 4 and 5 (two nine-story office
buildings), and about 425,000 square feet of retail space. [New York Times,
4/27/2001; Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, 7/24/2001; IREIzine,
7/26/2001] Westfield America will be responsible for the retail space, known
as the Mall. Silverstein Properties' lease will cover the roughly 10 million
square feet of office space of the Twin Towers and Buildings 4 and 5.
Silverstein Properties already owns Building 7 of the WTC, which it built in
1987. This is the only time the WTC has ever changed hands since it was
opened in 1973. [International Council of Shopping Centers, 4/27/2001;
Westfield Group, 7/24/2001; Daily Telegraph, 9/11/2001; New York Times,
11/29/2001; CNN, 8/31/2002] It was previously controlled by the New York
Port Authority, a bi-state government agency. [Wall Street Journal,
5/12/2007] Larry Silverstein, the president of Silverstein Properties, only
uses $14 million of his own money for the deal. His partners put up a
further $111 million, and banks provide $563 million in loans. [Brill, 2003,
pp. 156] The Port Authority had carried only $1.5 billion in insurance
coverage on all its buildings, including the WTC, but Silverstein's lenders
insist on more, eventually demanding $3.55 billion in cover. [American
Lawyer, 9/3/2002] After 9/11, Larry Silverstein will claim the attacks on
the World Trade Center constituted two separate events, thereby entitling
him to a double payout totaling over $7 billion. [Daily Telegraph,
10/9/2001; Guardian, 8/18/2002] Eventually, after several years of legal
wrangling, a total of $4.55 billion of insurance money will be paid out for
the destruction of the WTC (see May 23, 2007). Most of this appears to go to
Silverstein Properties. How much goes to Westfield America is unclear. [New
York Post, 5/24/2007]
Entity Tags: Larry Silverstein, Silverstein Properties, Westfield America,
New York Port Authority, World Trade Center
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: WTC Investigation, 9/11 Related Lawsuits, 9/11 Investigations
Between September 1 and September 7, 2001: Silverstein Properties Takes Over
Control of the World Trade Center
In the first week of September 2001, the real estate development and
investment firm Silverstein Properties assumes control of the World Trade
Center. The company had acquired the lease to operate the Twin Towers from
the New York Port Authority in late July (see July 24, 2001). It has already
begun managing the facility with its own executives. Selected Port Authority
employees, including Alan Reiss, the director of the World Trade Center,
have been assisting the firm during a three-month transition period. But in
the weeks prior to 9/11, according to the New York Times, "Silverstein
Properties asked Mr. Reiss to let it more fully operate everything from
safety systems to tenant relations." [New York Times, 9/13/2001; Weiss,
2003, pp. 338; 9/11 Commission, 5/18/2004 ]
Entity Tags: Silverstein Properties, World Trade Center, Alan Reiss
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: WTC Investigation, 9/11 Related Lawsuits, 9/11 Investigations
Between September 3, 2001 and September 7, 2001: WTC Structural Engineer
Says Trade Center Designed for 707 Crashing Into It
Leslie Robertson. [Source: Publicity photo]Leslie Robertson, one of the two
original structural engineers for the World Trade Center, is asked at a
conference in Frankfurt, Germany what he had done to protect the Twin Towers
from terrorist attacks. He replies, "I designed it for a 707 to smash into
it," though does not elaborate further. [Chicago Tribune, 9/12/2001; Knight
Ridder, 9/12/2001] The Twin Towers were in fact the first structures outside
the military and nuclear industries designed to resist the impact of a jet
airplane. [Robertson, 3/2002; Federal Emergency Management Agency, 5/1/2002,
pp. 1-17] The Boeing 707 was the largest in use when the towers were
designed. Robertson conducted a study in late 1964, to calculate the effect
of a 707 weighing 263,000 pounds and traveling at 180 mph crashing into one
of the towers. He concluded that the tower would remain standing. However,
no official report of his study has ever surfaced publicly. [Glanz and
Lipton, 2004, pp. 138-139, 366] A previous analysis, carried out early in
1964, calculated that the towers would handle the impact of a 707 traveling
at 600 mph without collapsing (see February 27, 1993). In 2002, though,
Robertson will write, "To the best of our knowledge, little was known about
the effects of a fire from such an aircraft, and no designs were prepared
for that circumstance." [Robertson, 3/2002] The planes that hit the WTC on
9/11 are 767s, which are almost 20 percent heavier than 707s. [Scientific
American, 10/9/2001; New Yorker, 11/19/2001]
Entity Tags: Leslie Robertson, World Trade Center
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: WTC Investigation, 9/11 Investigations
September 7, 2001: New Security Director Criticizes Poor Security at the
World Trade Center
Former FBI counterterrorism chief John O'Neill recently started his new job
as director of security at the World Trade Center (see August 23, 2001).
From the outset, he has engrossed himself in discovering what security
systems are in place there, and what will be needed in future. On this day,
he runs into Rodney Leibowitz, a friend of his, and complains to him about
the very poor standard of security at the Twin Towers. For instance, he
mentions that, even though the complex receives bomb threats on a daily
basis, its telephone system does not feature caller identification. [Weiss,
2003, pp. 354 and 358] The Trade Center has in fact recently been on a
heightened security alert, due to numerous phone threats (see Late
August-September 10, 2001). [Newsday, 9/12/2001]
Entity Tags: John O'Neill, World Trade Center
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: Counterterrorism Before 9/11, WTC Investigation, 9/11
Investigations
Shortly Before September 11, 2001: WTC Tower Has Security Increased
The day after 9/11, Newsday will report that, according to security guard
Hermina Jones, bulletproof windows and fireproof doors have recently been
installed in a 22nd-floor computer command center in one of the WTC towers.
Jones will claim that this was done to secure the tower from aerial attacks,
though it is not clear if this is merely her post-9/11 opinion or if she had
evidence to believe that was the reason for the improvement. [Newsday,
9/12/2001]
Entity Tags: World Trade Center
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: Counterterrorism Before 9/11, WTC Investigation, 9/11
Investigations
8:46 a.m. September 11, 2001: Flight 11 Hits the North Tower of the World
Trade Center
The hole caused by the Flight 11 crash. [Source: Reuters]Flight 11 slams
into the WTC North Tower (Building 1). Seismic records pinpoint the crash at
26 seconds after 8:46 a.m. [CNN, 9/12/2001; New York Times, 9/12/2001; North
American Aerospace Defense Command, 9/18/2001; USA Today, 12/20/2001;
Federal Emergency Management Agency, 5/1/2002, pp. 1-10; USA Today,
8/13/2002; Associated Press, 8/19/2002; Newsday, 9/10/2002; New York Times,
9/11/2002] The NIST report states the crash time to be 8:46:30. [National
Institute of Standards and Technology, 9/2005, pp. 19 ] The 9/11 Commission
Report states the crash time to be 8:46:40. [9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp.
7] Investigators believe the plane still has about 10,000 gallons of fuel
(see 8:57 a.m. September 11, 2001). [New York Times, 9/11/2002] The plane
strikes the 93rd through 99th floors in the 110-story building. No one above
the crash line survives; approximately 1,360 people die. Below the crash
line, approximately 72 die and more than 4,000 survive. Both towers are
slightly less than half full at the time of the attack, with between 5,000
to 7,000 people in each tower. This number is lower than expected. Many
office workers have not yet shown up to work, and tourists to the
observation deck opening at 9:30 A.M. have yet to arrive. [USA Today,
12/20/2001; National Institute of Standards and Technology, 9/2005, pp.
20-22 ] The impact severs some columns on the north side of the North Tower.
Each tower is designed as a "tube-in-tube" structure and the steel columns
which support its weight are arranged around the perimeter and in the core.
The plane, which weighs 283,600 lb and is traveling at an estimated speed of
around 430 mph (see October 2002-October 2005), severs 35 of the building's
236 perimeter columns and damages another two. The damage to the South Tower's
perimeter will be similar (see 9:03 a.m. September 11, 2001). [National
Institute of Standards and Technology, 9/2005, pp. 5-9, 20, 22 ] The
perimeter columns bear about half of the tower's weight, so this damage
reduces its ability to bear gravity loads by about 7.5 percent. [National
Institute of Standards and Technology, 9/2005, pp. 6 ] The actual damage to
the 47 core columns is not known, as there are no photographs or videos of
it, but there will be much speculation about this after 9/11. It will be
suggested that some parts of the aircraft may have damaged the core even
after crashing through the exterior wall. According to the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST): "Moving at 500 mph, an engine
broke any exterior column it hit. If the engine missed the floor slab, the
majority of the engine core remained intact and had enough residual momentum
to sever a core column upon direct impact." [National Institute of Standards
and Technology, 9/2005, pp. 107 ] According to NIST's base case computer
model, three of the core columns are severed and another ten suffer some
damage. [National Institute of Standards & Technology, 9/2005, pp. 189 ] If
this is accurate, it means that the impact damage to the core reduces the
Tower's strength by another approximately 7.5 percent, meaning that the
building loses about 15 percent of its strength in total. This damage will
be cited after 9/11 by NIST and others researchers as an event contributing
to the building's collapse (see October 23, 2002 and October 19, 2004). In
addition, some of the fireproofing on the steel columns and trusses may be
dislodged. The original fireproofing on the fire floors was mostly
Blazeshield DC/F, but some of the fireproofing on the flooring has recently
been upgraded to Blazeshield II, which is about 20 percent denser and 20
percent more adhesive. [National Institute of Standards & Technology,
9/2005, pp. xxxvi, 83 ] Photographs and videos of the towers will not show
the state of fireproofing inside the buildings, but NIST will estimate the
damage to it using a computer model. Its severe case model (see (October
2002-October 2005)) will predict that 43 of the 47 core columns are stripped
of their fireproofing on one or more floors and that fireproofing is
stripped from trusses covering 60,000 ft2 of floor area, the equivalent of
about one and a half floors. NIST will say that the loss of fireproofing is
a major cause of the collapse (see April 5, 2005), but only performs 15
tests on fireproofing samples (see October 26, 2005). [National Institute of
Standards and Technology, 9/2005, pp. 23 ] According to NIST, more
fireproofing is stripped from the South Tower (see 9:03 a.m. September 11,
2001).
Entity Tags: World Trade Center, National Institute of Standards and
Technology
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: All Day of 9/11 Events, Flight AA 11, Flight UA 175, George
Bush, 9/11 Investigations, WTC Investigation, Key Day of 9/11 Events, World
Trade Center
(8:47 a.m.-9:50 a.m.) September 11, 2001: Engineer Finds Major Damage in
Basement and Lobby of North Tower
Mike Pecoraro. [Source: Chief Engineer]Mike Pecoraro, an engineer who is
part of the crew that services the WTC complex, is at work in the mechanical
shop in the second subbasement of the north WTC tower when it is hit. When
the room he is in starts filling with white smoke and he can smell kerosene
(jet fuel), he heads up stairs with a co-worker towards a small machine shop
on the C level. Yet, he says, "There was nothing there but rubble. We're
talking about a 50 ton hydraulic press-gone!" He then heads for the parking
garage, yet finds that "there were no walls, there was rubble on the floor,
and you can't see anything." He ascends to the B level where he sees a
300-pound steel and concrete fire door, which is lying on the floor,
wrinkled up "like a piece of aluminum foil." Pecoraro recalls seeing similar
things at the Center when it was bombed in 1993 and is therefore convinced
that a bomb has gone off this time. When he makes it into the main lobby, he
sees massive damage: "The whole lobby was soot and black, elevator doors
were missing. The marble was missing off some of the walls. 20-foot section
of marble, 20 by 10 foot sections of marble, gone from the walls.. Broken
glass everywhere, the revolving doors were all broken and their glass was
gone." Pecoraro says he only later hears that "jet fuel actually came down
the elevator shaft, blew off all the (elevator) doors and flames rolled
through the lobby. That explained all the burnt people and why everything
was sooted in the lobby." He makes it out of the North Tower before it
collapses. [Chief Engineer, 8/1/2002]
Entity Tags: Mike Pecoraro, World Trade Center
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: All Day of 9/11 Events, WTC Investigation, 9/11
Investigations, World Trade Center
8:57 a.m. September 11, 2001: Jet Fuel in North Tower Burns Up
The jet fuel that spilled from Flight 11 when it hit the North Tower (see
8:46 a.m. September 11, 2001) has mostly burned up by this time. The
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which investigates
the collapses, will say "The initial jet fuel fires themselves lasted at
most a few minutes." [National Institute of Standards and Technology,
9/2005, pp. 183 ] Engineering professor Forman Williams will say the jet
fuel "burned for maybe 10 minutes." [Popular Mechanics, 3/2005] Flight 11, a
Boeing 767, had a fuel capacity of 23,980 gallons, but was only carrying
about 10,000 gallons when it hit the WTC. NIST will estimate that less than
1,500 gallons were consumed in a fireball inside the tower and a comparable
amount was consumed in the fireballs outside the building. Therefore,
approximately 7,000 gallons splashed onto the office furnishings and started
fires on various floors. However, after the jet fuel is used up, office
fires burn until the building collapses. NIST will calculate that there were
about four pounds per square foot of combustibles in the office space, or
about 60 tons per floor. Offices in the WTC actually have fewer combustibles
than some other similar spaces due to the small number of interior walls and
limited bookshelf space. NIST will later find that only three of sixteen
perimeter columns it recovers reached a temperature of 250
