as one of the volunteer fire marshals, i jumped up and grabbed my flashlight and put a whistle around my neck and ran out of my private office into the larger office and told everyone to come on that there had been an explosion upstairs. the elevator came and went downstairs. we were about to get through a turnstile and a security guard asked us where we were going. i said that we saw fire bottles -- fireballs coming. they said to go back to your office, the building is secure, it is safe. >> and strobel's matched perfectly. çç--ç they matched perfectly.

there were a lot of people looking up to their left, and looking at was people are jumping. >> it was all smoke and fire, and you could not even see the exit. ,ráka 6 c13 ççç >> we do not know who it is. >> it looks like another one. çç>> are you there? you'll be news for ports.

>> i had to messages on my answering machine, one just said it was him because we screened our calls. and then another message at age 54 and it was him again, letting me know that i was going to be hearing on the news that the other tower had been hit. >> he was eye level with our one and he was watching people treated and to know that he was about to die, there is some pain and suffering. >> i just kept off the elevatord the plane hit. i did not know what it was. allowable walls just disintegrated. the elevator doors blew out and flames shot out.

a few minutes after this happened, it was obvious that this was something that was a lot worse. >> we have units on the way up, now. i work my way over to what i think is the main entrance. it was somewhere in the middle of the tower. i started going down. we heard another noise and the building shook again, not as much as the first time. it had to be the other plane hitting the other tower. the first firemen and policemen started coming up in the '30's and 40's. i finally made it down to the ground floor. we came out by in front of the plaza which is where the fountain is. that was a war seem to read their bonfires and debris falling from both towers and there were dead bodies out there.

right in front of the window, there was a body strapped to an airplane seat. >> there was another one to read we just saw another one. we just saw another one apparently go -- and another plane it just flew into the second tower. this richest -- and this has to be delivered. we just saw on live television as a second plane flew into the second tower of the world trade center. given what has been going on and around the world, some of the key suspects come to mind. osama bin laden 41. who are they? to do i call for air support?

i am the police commissioner and i have 41,000 uniformed members and 55,000 people work for me and i am prepared for anything you could imagine. this was something you could not imagine. >> we walked back down the hallway and the phone is ringing again. this time it is a young woman from chicago asking if i was ok. for no apparent reason, i raised my head and but i am seeing is a big giant aircraft, brave with red lettering came towards me. the next thing i knew, i dove under my desk, huddled in a fetal position, screaming and crying in the plane crashed into the building. the plan was coming straight towards me and the bottom wing is wedged in my office door, 20 feet from where i was under the desk. >> i knew that what ever blew

what came down the shafts and blew out everything. elevator cables were snapping. when you hear a 10,000 pound elevator come down a shaft and you are hearing people screaming and then you do not hear them screaming, whatever was over there just died. screaming, and you know that they have died, you know that they had just died -- çç>> at 9:03, ççor whateverd the second plane hit, it went to whatever time the plane hit, it went -- the sound that it made was so loud that i had temporarily desperate i could not hear anything. it looked like a demolition crew came in and just knocked everything over. the building just continued to move to the left a long way.

it felt like yards. whether it was, i do not know. the sensation was the we were going too far. i knew for an instant that it was terrorism. the room just fell apart. wall store at the jagged and goals. it looked like somebody had ripped open a concrete sack and just waved it in the air. there was a dust everywhere. >> i am crying and saying that i do not want to die here. i have two little children. i ask the lord to send somebody. the building swayed one way and then they came back to vertical. i turned on my flashlight.

as we were in that event, i got a second page informing the second tower had been hit. right away, i knew it was terrorism. shortly after i got that page, he went to the president and said that the second tower has been hit and that america is under attack. i wrote on the back of a yellow legal pad, did not say anything yet. i held it up for the president to see. wendell, what is the reaction from the president? >> the president is here promoting an initiative on the second day of a two day trip to florida. he just finished reading to children and was asked about the in this -- the incident. he said he would have something to say about it later. >> > çç

>> it is beyond belief, both towers of the world trade center are burning. both have apparently been hit by aircraft. >> my first reaction was to get down to the scene as fast as i could. as i was driving down, emergency vehicles were going to the scene and i jumped behind a police car and drafted it all the way down and pretty much got to blocks from the same.

>> the very first thing we did was get some [unintelligible] the building was so tall that i had to keep backing up to get a better shot. >> when i got the first tight shot, i realize what was happening at the top of the towers. >> i looked up and people start shouting that they are jumping. >> i looked up just in time to see someone leaked from what must have been the 108th floor. >> this is ridiculous. >> please, stop jumping. >> they must have thought they had no other choice. that decision that they made it remains the most horrifying part of the whole tragedy. >> i realize that there were jumpers and people were lining up in the window wells and i shot the first to that i saw and then turned off my camera because i was overcome with

emotion. >> we were conscious of what was happening, but looking through the viewfinder is like an insulator. it is black and white. it is not color. >> people were trapped at this time. >> they knew that they were not going to be able to get the fire out. they wanted to get rescuers' up there as quickly as possible and as high as possible. there were not concerned about the fire at that point. >> i heard a voice screaming for help. >> it was a stranger's voice that said it was over here. even though he was responding, i could not hear. so i tried to get out from under the desk and i realize i was covered up to my shoulder in debris and i can pick through

and i saw the bottom wing starts to burn and my greatest fear was that this plane was going to ignite the fuel supply. i crawled the entire length of the department, through the lounge and into the computer room and into the communication room. i could not go further. there was one sheet rock wall that was blocking myself. he said to jump over and he would grab me. i got up from that prayer and i started punching and kicking as hard as i could until will hole appeared in the sheet rock. he said he could see my hand. i said when you see my hand, just yank me through. i jumped and i grab and i reached in and nothing happened. i told him that he must do this. i reached in and somehow got under his arm or grab onto something and i lifted him up

and over this barrier and we fill in a heap onto the floor. this man just give me a headlock. with all his might, he pulled. he yanked the right to that wall. it was like a superman. he yanked me and i fell on top of him. i gave him a big hug and a kiss and told him he was my guardian angel. >> the wall had blown in and we could look through the cracks and you could see flames licking up the other side of the wall as we went down through this area. we stopped at a floor because i could not breathe properly. i could not walk. i was bloodied and bruised and the leg wound was opening up. >> we were on the 44th floor, and then a security guard looked at us and quickly said that he

would stay with this man if you give me hell. >> the man was lying with his back broken and he was covered with blood. he said please tell my wife and baby that i love him -- love them. like a hawk parting that man. the man sacrificed his life guarding him. while we were going down, no worker came up. >> he left messages that he was fine, and i called 911. and after some effort, it took me two or three minutes, but there was somebody down on the 44th floor. they were overwhelmed. i went back to the stairs and what all the way down without seeing a soul. nobody. on the plaza level, we steered in all at the plaza profound -- where the fountain normally was flowing. we knew nothing about the airplane, the pentagon, any of

this. we were ignorant of all these facts. >> only cops and firefighters and ems workers were there. debris was falling down. it look like confetti and ticker tape parade. and they were telling us to run. just go, run, run, run. they stayed back, sacrificing themselves so that brian and i could live. >> all off-duty firefighters and officers, orders of the city- wide commander. all off-duty firefighters and officers are hereby ordered to recall. >> president bush is about to speak in florida and was supposed to be a joyful event at an elementary school. let's listen in. >> ladies and gentlemen, this is a difficult moment for america. i unfortunately will be going to washington after my remarks.

the secretary and lieutenant governor will take the podium and discuss education. i want to thank the folks here at the booker elementary school for their hospitality. today, we have had a national tragedy. two airplanes have crashed into the world trade center in an apparent to worst -- terrorist attacks on our country. i've spoken to the vice- president, to the governor of new york, to the director of the fbi, ordering that the full resources of the federal government's ability be employed to help, and a full-scale investigation to hunt down and find those folks who committed this act. terrorism against our nation will not stand. now, if you join me in a moment of silence.

may god bless the victims, their families, and america. thank you very much. >> you saw the second airplane flight into the south part of the world trade center, so we decided to scramble at langley air force base. >> they're all from on high alert status because they think it could be the next target. >> i look at people sitting around the television, ready for our meetings after the rush hour would have ended. but we got stuck in rush-hour traffic. just west of the pentagon. >> we got a call that american airlines 77 was a potential hijacked aircraft. >> as we sat down to have a

meeting for this client, one person said that barbara olsen will not be here because she is on a plane to california. >> the plane took off at 8:10 in the morning. if i had been in my office at the department of justice -- someone came in and said that barbara is on the phone. >> i was relieved to hear her on the telephone, because panic strikes immediately. but the next words out of her r&@smouth or that her plane hadn hijacked. >> we're watching these aircraft, trying to determine clear they are -- where they are. >> united 93, verify. did you hear interference? a couple of minutes ago? screaming? >> yes, i did, 797. we did not know what it is.

>> [inaudible] >> [inaudible] >> she implied that they had been circling around for awhile. passengers have been herded to the back of the airplane. i asked whether the hijackers knew that she was calling, and she said, no, they do not know. they used knives and box so rigid box cutters to take over

the plane. we immediately called the department justice to let them know my wife was on a hijacked plane. >> we kept hurting -- cheering about a plane coming in fast and low -- hearing about a plane coming fast and low. an american airlines flight. >> i told her that two hijacked planes had hit the world tried center -- the world trade center. i asked her where she was, and she tried to tell me. >> flight 77 made a left turn heading back after it was hijacked. it came back over washington fairly high, and then they did in left descending turn. >> i looked up, and directly in front of my field of vision,

parallel to the ground, i saw the jet airplane with the silver paint job, the bread white and blue stripes, and it was clearly an american airlines flight. >> we did not know where it was. it hit, and our aircraft was at that time, they were not get over it. >> it did not hear from its course at all. it was like a missile into the side of the pentagon. >> and a huge fireball comes up in the air, there is all kinds of smoke, and i can feel the really shook. and even though my windows were up, i could feel the heat from the fireball. >> there is report of another

aircraft that has crashed on interstate 395, one of the main routes in washington, d.c. david joins us from washington central. >> we are now hearing of another explosion taking place at the pentagon. we have the heart of the financial district been attacked. we understand there has been an explosion in the pentagon. >> i began to hear reports of the pentagon explosion and i knew in my heart that that was that aircraft. >> and american airlines plane headed east before the pentagon. >> hi, visible smoke. >> it was instantaneous. it was a very loud noise, lights went out, everything was black. very heavy smoke. debris was piled on top of me. and in my chair.

>> this pile of debris would look like a face. quite possibly the live person. and then i yelled for help and from outside came the lieutenant commander. >> it was like a furnace. i could not leave anything was alive. -- i could not believe anything was alive. and 10 feet away, i saw inside this kind of cave of debris, already my uniform was starting to melt, my shoes were melting. i am eager to get out of there. but he says he cannot budge. so out of desperation, i lay on my back and put my feet up on the debris over his head and leg press as hard as i could. >> i was pushing my back against the this, and we managed to get most of the debris up far

enough. there was a huge pile of rubble that had pinned him to his desk. >> i did not think i have very much time left when the first report came in. >> we couldn't get everybody out. >> my boss did not make it. [inaudible] >> going to plan e, an emergency plan that required all personnel to report back to stations immediately. >> the white house is being evacuated. fat comes to us from one of our fox producers in washington. the white house is being evacuated. the pentagon, as well. >> a plane was hijacked 20

minutes south of here and they're headed to the capital. >> streets at the white house were blocked seconds ago. emergency vehicles are on almost every block. as you know, the white house is being evacuated. federal employees are standing on the street corners in and around the white house, having left the building for fear of another attack. as they brought me out, i could see people running. they were crying, hurry up, get these people out, there is another one right behind us. they must have meant the pennsylvania airplane. >> by now, we're watching united 93 start very gradually to take up all flight path toward washington d.c. and we were very concerned about that. >> [inaudible]

>> united 93 calling. >> as it started moving towards washington, i was probably energized, despite moving those fighters towards us. i thought it would be wiser to keep the f-16s across washington d.c. in case other aircraft were coming in. >> i said, sir, we have to leave now. so we went down into the underground and we got to a tunnel that was protected. when i got down into the tunnel, we saw that the pentagon had been hit. and i called the president again. he was headed for the airport in florida.

i urged him not to return to washington because washington was under attack. >> flight 93 was to only aircraft which could see on our radar at that time. it was either slightly before or right around the time that the american airlines 77 had hit the pentagon. so we could see this aircraft flying around up into the ohio and pennsylvania area. >> united airlines called me and told me they had made a phone call and the operator had called just to report hijacking, and he said at that time that this was a normal situation. there would be some demands made. >> he said there are three guys on board that have taken on the plane and say they have a bomb. i'm calling you from the airline found. then there was a long pause, and he said, you believe me, don't

you? and said yes, who are these guys? there was another pause, and then mark came back on the line and asked if i believed him. i said yes, who are they? and then we were disconnected. >> the news is that it has been hijacked by terrorists. they are planning to use the plane as a target to hit something on the ground. i would say to do everything you can to overpower them, because they are hell bent. try and call me back if you can. >> he told me immediately that he was on a plane that had been hijacked, and he gave me a few details of what was going on and told me to call authorities, and then he hung up. >> i asked if she knew who was flying the airplane pitch is said no, i don't. >> they had pulled the curtain to first class. >> on the second phone call, i told him immediately that the

world trade center was hit, other airplanes have been hijacked, and he paused and told the people sitting around him. he was alarmed, and then he said, my god, is a suicide mission. on the third phone call, i told him about pentagon. he told me he was putting a plan together to take back the airplane. i asked who was helping him, and he said there is a group of us. >> we're getting hot water to throw on them, do you have any other ideas? >> attempted to get into the cockpit. he said it would have to do. and not long after that, he said, "are you ready." he said "let's roll."

that is the last we heard. >> we know that the passengers made a rush on the cockpit and thwarted the hijackers. we know that because the cockpit voice recording says that they knew there was not even a foot in the back and that they were numbered up front. and we heard on deep voice reporting, they are coming, they are coming. there was a tremendous thrashing around, dishes and carts. >> this plane was 30 degrees, if not a little more, and it would go rapidly 45 degrees the other way. so i guess there was a fight going on. the plane was rolling right to left to right to left. >> we heard screaming. >> they were rolling it, violently rolling it back and forth. >> the hijackers were panicked, talking to each other's.

do you want to end it now? i believe that was the signal that, hey, we're going to crash now because we're about to lose control of the airplane. >> i am absolutely convinced that the fourth plane would have hit the capitol but for those heroes in pennsylvania. >> united 93. >> authorities at the somerset county airport confirm a large plane crashed 80 miles southeast of pittsburgh. you have to assume it is related to all these goings on. >> i told ryan that this is the lord's doing and i was torn to church. and he said, look, i'm coming with you. together, we grabbed each other's hands and started to

run. surprisingly enough, not even one piece of confetti or broken glass touched us. and then we bumped into a priest. >> he looked at me and said, this man save my life. and i said to stanley, you saved my life, too. i said, there is no way it went down. that is a steel structure. >> we started to run. and we heard a strange sound, like steel banding and creaking. the building started to implode. it came down like a pancake. ñúñ>> we have a collapse of onef the towers. >> camera to. >> we need it closed. >> my god.

>> we set up to go live. within a when meant -- minute or two, that is when the first tower fell. >> it was as loud as it was expected to be. >> get the camera out their credit -- at their -- and out there. >> as i was going up that stairwell, the building started shaking up and down in either direction. finally, i heard them say to hit the deck. >> we are on church street. c everyone is running for their lives. police, media, i see a woman pushing a baby carriage. here comes the smoke. >> [sirens]

>> i could not see anything. all lights are out. >> when the south tower fell, that secret arms we panicked, realizing that it was hit second and fell first. now you really had to worry about people getting of the north tower as soon as possible. >> here comes the smoke. i think we had better get out of this mess. >> down here together. you and me. >> we were in the dark. literally.

it was frightening. it was a frightening moment to have no connection to the outside world and have no idea what was going to happen next. >> we should not be here, should we? we? >> one of the towers collapsed. i was making my way to the foot of the tower, talking to an my credentials. i heard a loud explosion, looked up, and the building literally began to collapse before us. there was debris falling at least three-quarters of a height of the building. people in the entire perimeter

lives. we believe that debris from one of the planes hit the world trade center. everything just all the sudden imploded. i ran as fast as i could, and all the sudden, i could not get out of the building because everything was locked up. >> [inaudible] >> [inaudible] >> how do you feel?

are you all right? >> they are covered. they're obviously in pain. >> the place where the plane hit is a series of concentric rings. when you hit the outer wall, your only affecting that part of it.

walls are down, and to conceive a gutted area. i went through this in vietnam, and i have never seen anything like this. >> can they go in? >> somebody has to. that is what we get paid for. as soon as we hit the explosion, we went out of the supreme court. >> here we go again. i do not know what is going on. i do not know. but this happen before. >> we can see the top of the building from here. there it goes. there it goes.

year-ago period -- here we go. >> we had a collapse of the second tower. everyone is running. >> you think he died three times, and then people are screaming that the building went down. you just think something is going to fall on you. you just think you're going to die. >> i was trying to be the last man in the sweep. >> there's a lot of fear and concern. that is what makes it such a heroic act. >> this tremendous noise started, and the building was shaking, rocking, rolling.

i thought it was just a matter of seconds before people were dead. all of the sudden, i am laying in blackness, and it is deathly silence. i was covered in 6 inches of debris. for a few seconds, i thought i was dead. i saw nothing, heard nothing. i was covered. call made a. $#ycall for help. >> it is my understanding that all the bridges and tunnels in the city are closed. >> that is what happened here. it seems to indicate that it would have that signature. >> the fire continues to burn out of control. no estimate yet on the number of

dead. >> i felt the shock of the airplane hitting the building. it went through the building and added to the area. >> people hurt. that is the operational rule. they're focused on if anyone cried out or is calling out. >> it was almost like a still life. they were intact. it was very different. there was a young woman there. she was very nicely dressed. her clothes were not burned. she had a name tag. it was the easiest idea i have ever done. and it was like being hit by hammer. a real person. a beautiful young woman.

she obviously was going to go off to her life that evening, and she was not ever going to do that. >> the president flew here from florida. he is all right. we flew from a couple of hours on air force one, and we are told there were jetfighters accompanying the parent -- presidents aircraft. >> make a mistake. the united states will hunt down and punish those responsible for these cowardly acts. >> by the time the president had gotten off the air force base, nobody was going to tell the press that he could not come back. the first thing he said on the conference was, i am coming back tonight.

>> it is much stronger than any group of terrorists will ever be. we will ultimately prevail. >> today was supposed to be an election day, at least a prayer run off day in manhattan. that has been cancelled. >> it was the hardest thing i have had to do, to maintain composure. i am not trying to sound macho, but i figured that if i break down and cry, it will not help anybody at home process the information that we're trying to bring. so i said a little silent prayer and just try to keep going. >> i hate to wonder how many of your people were around the base of the twin towers when they were collapsing. >> i'm very worried about them. i saw some of them russia and go in -- rush in.

>> thank god i am safe. the city will survive. we are going to get through it. >> nothing you could distinguish a plane had crashed there. >> just a few moments ago, world trade center number seven collapsed. earlier, we were warned by sources that the building was in danger of collapse. engineers for on the scene, they say the building was structurally very weak. >> it was a simple thing. all they did was come to work. they did not come to do battle. >> they knew what they were doing, they trained for that in

vietnam. you do not expect i going to work in the pentagon or the office. >> it was already a very focused and calm effort. it was remarkable. they were not shaken. the one moment i could say before who was with that same picture, andy card telling him what happened. >> terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of america. áp9these acts shattered steel, t they cannot bend to steal of american resolve. none of us will ever forget this day, and yet we go forward to defend freedom and all that is good and just in our world.

>> what it did was reaffirmed to me that -- reaffirm that this is a country worth living in, these are people worth defending, and there are things in this world you have got to be willing to die for. >> i think of the people who sacrificed their lives because of me. the kids are in tears, and i tell myself to believe in me. >> they shared such a powerful experience and depended on each other for survival.