June 7, 2008

National Geographic's Inside 9/11: Zero Hour

Another great resource from Walter Ego's 9/11 Video Blog.

It is a beautiful morning. Nathan Goldwasser is starting his usual day at work in the North Tower of the World Trade Center, as are Ed Nichols and Stanley Praimnath in the South Tower. Sheila Moody arrives at her office at the Pentagon. Meanwhile, the 19 terrorists are boarding planes in Boston, Newark and Dulles, Virginia. They monitor the flight crews, waiting for the right moment to execute their evil plan. At 8:14 a.m., American Airlines Flight 11 is hijacked. Relive the last precious moments as flight attendants call their supervisors on the ground to report the murders of fellow crew members. Listen as they describe the scene on board. Then go back to the North Tower as Nathan Goldwasser hears an enormous explosion when American Airlines Flight 11 crashes just a few floors above him. The building sways. Listen as Ed Nichols watches the tragedy unfold at the North Tower from sky lobby on the 78th floor of the South Tower. Firefighters are dispatched to the scene. But this is not a case of fighting fire; this is a mission to save as many lives as possible. Evacuations begin in the North Tower, but, in the confusion, people in the South Tower don't know whether to leave the building or return to their desks. Stanley Praimnath makes it down to the ground lobby of the South Tower, only to be told by security that it is safe and he can return to his office. Then in what seems to be the blink of an eye, United Airlines Flight 175 crashes into the South Tower. Praimnath sees the plane as it heads toward his office. There's no longer any doubt-this is an attack on America. "Zero Hour" then takes viewers to the Pentagon as Sheila Moody hears the roar of a plane rapidly descending. American Airlines Flight 77 hits the Pentagon and bursts into a ball of fire. A fourth hijacking is taking place on United Airlines Flight 93. Likely targets include the White House or the Capitol building. Listen as Lyz Glick retells how her husband Jeremy and three other men planned to overtake the hijackers. "Zero Hour" captures the horror and the heroism witnessed on September 11, 2001, and takes viewers into the last moments of those who died that day and the thousands of others who survived the tragedy


>