Terrorists Hijack 4 Airliners, Destroy World Trade Center, Hit Pentagon; Hundreds Dead

The disaster began to unfold at 8:48 a.m., when American Airlines Flight 11, carrying 92 people from Boston to Los Angeles, crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center, the landmark glass-and-steel complex at the southern tip of Manhattan that provided office space for 50,000 workers. Islamic militants had detonated a bomb there in 1993, killing six people. Yesterday's terrorism turned out to be far worse.

Eighteen minutes later, United Airlines Flight 175, carrying 65 people on the same Boston-to-Los Angeles route, tore through the South Tower with an even larger explosion. The collisions shrouded New York's helter-skelter financial district in pallid ash, and created mass pandemonium inside and outside the towers. Workers were screaming, running for stairways, gasping for air. Several of them began leaping to their death from the upper floors.

But the scene soon shifted from America's financial mecca to its military fortress. At about 9:40 a.m., American Airlines Flight 77, carrying 64 people from Dulles to Los Angeles, barreled into the west wing of the Pentagon in yet another fiery collision, destroying at least four of the five rings that encircle the world's largest office building. A Pentagon spokesman called the casualties "extensive," although they were clearly not as extensive as New York's.

The Federal Aviation Administration promptly banned takeoffs nationwide, ordered domestic flights to land at the nearest airport and diverted international flights to Canada. But officials soon confirmed that a fourth plane, United Airlines Flight 93, carrying 45 people from Newark to San Francisco, had crashed in Shanksville, Pa. It had been hijacked as well -- one passenger called 911 from a cell phone -- and had been heading toward Washington when it went down.

Then it was back to the World Trade Center. Shortly before 10 a.m., the South Tower collapsed with an earthshaking roar. Smoke replaced steel as if the building had suddenly imploded. A half-hour later, the North Tower collapsed. Mayor Rudolph Giuliani publicly urged New Yorkers to stay calm and stay put -- unless they were below Canal Street in lower Manhattan.

"If you're south of Canal Street, get out," he warned. "Just walk north."

America's battle against terrorism, it seemed clear last night, will never be the same. The nation's airports are expected to reopen at noon today, but with beefed-up security measures: no more curbside check-in, and a possible return of armed "air marshals" to prevent future hijackings.

Many members of both parties declared that for all practical purposes, the nation is at war. At a briefing last night in the battered Pentagon, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld warned that America's enemies should not rest easy.

For now, those enemies have not been publicly identified. But government officials said they have strong evidence from multiple sources linking the attacks to bin Laden and his terrorist web, known as al Qaeda.

Journalists with access to bin Laden said his followers have been boasting about preparations for major attacks against the United States in retaliation for American support of Israel. Bin Laden has already been linked to the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, the 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, and last year's attack on the USS Cole in Yemen. Yesterday, government officials said they intercepted messages from bin Laden associates gloating about hitting their targets.

Before the mayhem, though, U.S. intelligence all pointed to an attack overseas. The State Department had warned travelers in an advisory Friday, and U.S. military and diplomatic posts abroad have been on alert as well.

Terrorism experts have repeatedly warned that U.S. airport security is extremely lax, warnings that have been backed up by a stack of studies. When Department of Transportation investigators tried to breach security at eight airports three years ago, they succeeded 68 percent of the time.

"The security of airports is pathetic," said Harvey W. Kushner, a Long Island University professor and terrorism consultant to several federal agencies. "It's very easy to have someone get on a plane and wreak havoc."

Today, at least, the debates over education, health care, Social Security and the budget surplus that have consumed Washington in recent months have been put on hold; perhaps for the first time since the Gulf War, national security is at the top of the agenda. Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) was preparing to call for more military spending at a news conference at the time of the attacks.

"This is a failure of the U.S. intelligence system, caused by a lack of resources and by complacency," he said. "Today, our government failed the American public."

But that was a discordant note yesterday in Washington, where solidarity was the watchword of the day. In his speech last night, Bush emphasized the nation's harmony, noting that "a great people have been moved to defend a great nation." After reading from the 23rd Psalm, he proclaimed that even amid suffering and death, Americans will remain committed to their freedom-loving way of life.

"This is a day when all Americans from every walk of life unite in our resolve for justice and peace," he said. "America has stood down enemies before, and we will do so this time."