9/11 Breaking News - ABC News (7AM-7PM EST)
ABC 7 WJLA Live Coverage – September 11, 2001 | 12 Hours (7AM–7PM EST)
On the morning of September 11, 2001, television was still our common source of news. Networks like ABC 7 WJLA in Washington, D.C. were free to anyone with an antenna...no cable box required!
This recording begins at 7:00 AM, two hours before the first plane hit the World Trade Center. The early coverage feels like an ordinary Tuesday in 2001: Stories on the Andrea Yates trial, talk of Michael Jordan’s possible return, and the usual Good Morning America headlines. Then everything changes.
As the attacks unfold, viewers watch in real time as normal news gives way to chaos. National coverage led by Peter Jennings grows hour by hour, with Jennings’ steady voice becoming a touchstone on one of America’s darkest days. Locally, WJLA focuses on the Pentagon attack just miles away, offering raw field reports and urgent updates from Washington, D.C.
About 9/11: Four planes were hijacked by al-Qaeda in a coordinated terrorist attack. Two hit the Twin Towers in New York City, one struck the Pentagon, and the fourth, United Flight 93, crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers intervened. Nearly 3,000 people were killed.
This 12-hour archive (7AM–7PM EST) is presented as it aired, without modern commentary, showing how Americans learned of 9/11 not through alerts or social media, but live on television, together.
Thank you for watching and remembering with care - Second Signal.
Chapters:
0:00 Start of Live Broadcast Coverage
2:45 Michael Jordan Announces Return to the NBA
1:46:41 American Airlines Flight 11 Strikes the North Tower
1:51:07 Initial Reports of the Incident Begin
2:02:59 United Airlines Flight 175 Strikes the South Tower
2:05:02 Replay of United 175 Impact Footage
2:29:51 President George W. Bush Addresses the Nation
2:37:46 United Airlines Flight 77 Strikes the Pentagon
2:58:57 South Tower Collapse
3:12:17 Crowds Watching the Towers
3:14:02 Confirmation of Flight 77 Impact at the Pentagon
3:28:25 North Tower Collapse
4:59:13 American Airlines Press Conference