102 minutes that changed America

8:46 AM-THE FIRST STRIKE

An American Airlines Boeing 767 making a Boston-Los Angeles connection with 92 people on board -- including five hijackers -- smashes into the North Tower of the World Trade Center, leaving a giant hole in the building's facade. 

9:03 AM-SECOND TOWER HIT

A United Airlines Boeing 767 making a Boston-Los Angeles connection with 65 people on board -- including five hijackers -- hits the South Tower of the WTC, sparking a massive explosion.

9:30 AM-BUSH SPEAKS

Then US president George W Bush calls the blasts "an apparent terrorist attack." He orders "a full-scale investigation to hunt down and to find those folks who committed these acts".

9:37 AM-PENTAGON HIT

An American Airlines Boeing 757 making a Washington Dulles-Los Angeles connection with 64 people on board -- including five hijackers -- smashes into the Pentagon in suburban Washington, setting off two explosions.

9:42 AM-PLANES GROUNDED

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) orders the cancellation of all commercial flights in the US.

9:59 AM-SOUTH TOWER COLLAPSES

The WTC's South Tower, hit 56 minutes earlier, collapses in a huge cloud of smoke and dust.

10:03 AM-CRASH IN PENNSYLVANIA

A United Airlines Boeing 757 travelling from Newark to San Francisco with 44 people on board -- including four hijackers -- crashes into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers and crew apparently fought with the hijackers.

10:28 AM-NORTH TOWER COLLAPSES

The north tower of the WTC collapses, an hour and 42 minutes after it was struck. A huge cloud of dust blankets lower Manhattan.