Planes Crash Into World Trade Center And Pentagon Also On
Fire
Aired September 11, 2001 - 09:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS
FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH
TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE
UPDATED. LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: David, we're going to
have to cut you off.
(NEWS BREAK)
DARYN KAGAN,
CNN ANCHOR: Leon, on the heels of the president's remarks, CNN
has learned that at least one of the planes involved in this
hit on the World Trade Center was an American Airlines 767, a
Boeing aircraft that took from Boston.
What happened
to that airplane as it took off from Boston and how it ended
up at the World Trade Center are details we'll have to fill in
as we go.
But, let's go ahead and bring in our David
Ensor. David, you were saying before we interrupted for you
for the president's remarks?
DAVID ENSOR, CNN
CORRESPONDENT: Unfortunately, the amount of detail that the
officials are tracking this have is pretty sketchy at this
point. But I was just saying that officials are calling this
an act of terrorism. They're saying that's clearly what it,
clearly not an accident. And law enforcement agencies, the FBI
and others, will be taking the lead on this, officials say.
And clearly, obviously, they will first try to ascertain who
did this. What nationality are they. What's behind this?
That's really all I can say. There are several places
around the government -- there are groups of official
gathering and setting up crisis centers to try and deal with
the flow of information on this, which, as you can imagine, is
going to be considerable as the day progresses.
KAGAN:
And so far, as far as we know, no one has been taking
responsibility for this?
ENSOR: There have been no
claims of responsibility, and U.S. intelligence officials say
they had no warning of anything like this coming along.
KAGAN: All right. David Ensor, thank you for joining
us on the phone.
Once again, you can see that
information at the bottom of your screen. Two different planes
have flown into the World Trade Center within the last hour.
One plane was an American Airlines Boeing 767 from Boston. In
terms of how many people were onboard that plane and if it was
forcibly taken from Boston into New York, we still have yet to
learn.
HARRIS: We're joined now on the telephone by
the former Federal Emergency Management Agency director, James
Lee Witt.
Director Witt, you are watching these
pictures with us this morning. Your comments?
JAMES
LEE WITT, FMR. DIRECTOR, FEMA: Well, it's just horrible.
There's no doubt. I did see the one plane flying into the
building. Just unbelievable, something like this.
But,
you know, we've been -- for several years now we've been
working on terrorist type events, and this is apparently one
of those events, do not know yet, but apparently it could be.
And right now I know I really feel for those families. And but
-- Ritchie and the New York Emergency Management in the state
of New York, and I know they're very busy right now, and the
FBI and the law enforcement. But, this is one of those crisis
management as well as consequence management situations that
they're going to have to be dealing with.
HARRIS: The
first thing this calls to mind to many of us, who have been
here to cover these events, was the World Trade Center bombing
back in -- was it '96 when that bombing act occurred?
WITT: Yes.
HARRIS: And you were director of
FEMA at that particular time. Since then, has there been a
plan put in place for something like this to recover from
this, or to actually to go through the exercises necessary to
get people out and to recover from it?
WITT: Well,
they have a very good plan in place. For even events not as --
I don't if they put a plan in place for an airline crashing
into it. But I know they take every scenario they can think of
and try to deal with a plan that will help them respond in the
most effective way. And you know, we even practiced airplanes
flying into igloos at some of the arsenals around the United
States.
So you try to practice for everything you can
think of, and hope for the best that you can be able to
respond and hope none of this happens but --
HARRIS:
On that note then, did you run -- how many -- did you run any
kinds of tests at all, or any kinds of theoretical tests or
computer tests or anything on something like this?
WITT: We didn't, I'm not sure if New York City did.
I'm sure they did. But, you can't --- you know, how can you
stop something like this without having anti-aircraft guns
sitting on top of buildings, you know? You just can't. You can
prepare the best you can be, and that's all you can do.
But I'm sure that they've got everything in place, and
doing -- they are always do an excellent job up there in New
York.
HARRIS: Director Witt, Director James Lee Witt,
former director of FEMA, we thank you very much for your time
this morning. We'll be talking with you later on.
KAGAN: As we continue our coverage, our Aaron Brown in
New York City joining now.
Aaron we see over your left
shoulder there, the building still smoldering of the World
Trade Center.
AARON BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is a
grotesque site to look at from about 30 blocks away, from
where we are. For those of you just joining us, let's just
briefly recap what we know.
About an hour ago, about
8:45 eastern time, one plane crashed into the tower -- the
World Trade Center tower on the right, the first of those
towers that you can see behind me. And then about a half hour
later, a second plane crashed into the tower number two,
that's the one to the left, where the darker smoke is
billowing out right now.
We have reports -- CNN has
been told that one of the planes was an American Airlines 767,
that had been hijacked from Boston. We don't know if that was
the first or the second plane that hit the tower. But, we do
know that it was a 767 American Airlines jet, at least that's
what CNN has been told by sources so far this morning.
We also have reports of 1,000 injuries, that is
unconfirmed. We always remind you in moments like these, that
as these initial reports come in, it is very early. I can tell
you driving in, it is extraordinarily chaotic on the west side
of New York. It is the kind of situation where numbers change,
where situations change. But this is the information we have
now, that there are at least 1,000 injuries, and we're working
on that. As you can see the smoke billowing out of the Trade
Center.
In Sarasota, Florida, now Major Garrett joins
us. Major, what are you being told?
MAJOR GARRETT, CNN
WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello. President Bush has notified
-- or talked, rather, to Vice President Cheney. He has talked
to the FBI director Robert Mueller, and he has also spoken
with the governor of New York, Governor Pataki about this
catastrophe.
The president will convene a national
security meeting upon his arrival back at Washington. Those
are the four pieces of information we have gathered here in
moments since I just spoke to you on the telephone.
The president, as we just saw a few moments ago,
identifying this as an apparent act of terrorism against the
United States. Said there will be full investigation. The
entire apparatus of the United States government, FBI,
national security, CIA, the vice president, who you may
remember was placed in charge of a domestic terrorism study
group within the White House, to monitor and develop plans to
deal with a catastrophe of just this kind. All those parts of
the government have been mobilized.
The president is
heading back to Washington very soon.
Here's what the
president said about this catastrophe of the Twin Towers in
New York just a few moments ago here at a Sarasota elementary
school.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: Today we've
had a national tragedy. Two airplanes have crashed into the
World Trade Center in an apparent terrorist attack on our
country.
I have spoken to the vice president, to the
governor of New York, to the director of the FBI, and have
ordered that the full resources of the federal government go
to help the victims and their families, and to conduct a full
scale investigation to hunt down and to find those folks who
committed this act.
Terrorism against our nation will
not stand.
And now if you join me in a moment of
silence.
May god bless the victims, their families and
America. Thank you very much.
(END VIDEO
CLIP)
GARRETT: The president was first notified about
the situation in New York by National Security Adviser
Condoleeza Rice. Then, the second notification updating him
with more details on the situation came from his chief of
staff Andrew Card, who's traveling with the president here in
Sarasota.
The day was supposed to talk about education
reform. But the president is scrubbing all of hose plans,
marshaling all the resources of the federal government,
talking with his aides as he can and preparing to fly back to
Washington to again, as we said, convene a National Security
Council meeting.
Back to you.
BROWN: Major,
before you get away, and I apologize if you - if I'm asking
you to repeat something, I'm having a little trouble hearing
you. Do we know exactly where the president was when he was
told?
GARRETT: He was just arriving here in Sarasota
at Emma E. Booker (ph) Elementary School. He had taken an
early morning jog this morning in Sarasota. Had just arrived
here with the presidential motorcade.
Then the
spectacular, horrific pictures began appearing on television
sets here at the elementary school. The president received a
telephone call from Condoleeza Rice, national security
advisor. Then he received an update from his chief of staff,
Andrew Card, traveling with him. Then it was made clear to the
press traveling with the president he would make a statement.
Shortly before that statement he was actually sitting
down with some children here at the elementary school reading
them a book. Reporters asked him if he knew about the
situation of the Twin Towers. He nodded and said he would talk
about it momentarily, in fact he did. We just heard the
president's statement, declaring this an apparent act of
terrorism.
Yes, Aaron.
BROWN: Let me interrupt
you here, Senator Ted Kennedy - Senator Kennedy is speaking in
Washington.
(NEWS BREAK)
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