September 11, 8.46am: a beautiful autumn morning is shattered when a hijacked plane, Flight 11, smashes into the North Tower of the World Trade Centre. At 9.08am, Flight 175 screams into the South Tower. Thirty minutes later, a third plane, Flight 77, strikes the Pentagon in Washington DC. Soon after, a fourth hijacked plane, Flight 93, crashes to earth in Pennsylvania. 1 George Bush hears about the attacks during a school reading event in Florida. 2 New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani prays as firefighters carry a coffin containing the city's Fire Department Chief Peter J. Ganci into his funeral service. Ganci was killed when the towers collapsed. 3 The towers ablaze. 4 Dawn at the Pentagon four days later reveals the extent of the damage. 5 The North Tower clearly shows the outline of the aircraft that sliced into the building and exploded. Fed by the planes' full loads of aviation fuel, the fires melt the steel within the buildings and by 10.30am both have collapsed. About 3,000 people are killed, including 403 firemen and policemen. Of the companies based there, broker Cantor Fitzgerald loses almost 700 employees - everyone in its offices that morning on the 101st-105th floors. 6 Impromptu memorials to the dead spring up across New York City, including this one in Union Square. 7 A new wave of terror sweeps America when reporters and politicians start receiving letters laced with anthrax spores, such as this one sent to senator Tom Daschle. So far, five people have died. Investigators believe they may be the work of a lone madman. 8 A New York newspaper prints Wanted posters the day after President Bush announces he wants Osama bin Laden brought to justice 'dead or alive'.
