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Saturday, December 08, 2001

(Last update: 8/5/02 3:15 p.m.)

Note: All links will open in a separate browser window. Most recently added links are at the top of each section.

Please send comments and suggested links to Tim Rozgonyi, Post-Gazette Assistant Technology Systems Editor, at rozgonyi@post-gazette.com

Click a topic name to jump straight to that particular topic: General sites about the disasters, The World Trade Center, The Pentagon, The Pennsylvania crash site

Panel Finds No 'Smoking Gun' in Probe of 9/11 Intelligence Failures - After six months of culling through intelligence files and nearly a dozen closed-door hearings, the House-Senate intelligence committee investigating the Sept. 11 attacks has uncovered no single piece of information that, if properly analyzed, could have prevented the disaster, according to members of the panel. A 7/11/02 article from Washingtonpost.com.

F.B.I. Chief Admits 9/11 Might Have Been Headed Off - Robert S. Mueller III said for the first time publicly that the Sept. 11 attacks might have been prevented if officials had responded differently to available information. A 5/30/02 article from the New York Times.

General sites about the disasters.

11 September: Key reports and video - On 11 September 2001 a series of attacks were launched on America. Four planes were hijacked and deliberately crashed - three into major buildings in New York and Washington. Thousands of people were killed. Here are key stories and media from the day. Timeline: The horror unfolds. (A 9/13/01 report from BBC News.)

Timeline of Disaster. From Flight School Training to Buildings Collapsing - Long before September 11th's devastating events, terrorists embarked on their campaign of terror - a timeline based on ABCNEWS reporting.

September 11, Screenshots of Online News Sites - This collection of screen shots from over 200 news sites (as of December 6th, 2001) around the world was taken on Sep 11 and 12.

World Trade Center and Pentagon Data - 3-D and 2-D geospatial data of the World Trade Center and Pentagon disaster areas are available to any organization for non-commercial use. You will need a GIS program such as ArcView, ArcInfo or MapInfo with Vertical Mapper to view the DEM and vector datasets properly.

Engineering News-Record has information on structural damage, repair, engineering and construction.

BBC: The four hijacks.

The Darkest Day.

Map of where flights departed, intended destinations, crash sites.

A pictorial look at the attacks on New York and Washington.

Animated map illustrates how the terrorist attacks affected the country.

Denver Rocky Mountain News - Attack graphics.

LA Times - America Attacked: Graphics.

CNN - Interactive attacks explainer (Flash).

New York City - The World Trade Center

U.S. Seeks To Explain How Twin Towers Fell; 2-Year Probe May Yield New Standards - As part of a national effort to make buildings stronger, federal authorities yesterday launched a two-year inquiry into the design of the World Trade Center and how thousands of gallons of burning jet fuel caused it to collapse on Sept. 11. An 8/22/02 article from Washingtonpost.com.

N.Y. Rescuers Disorganized In 9/11 Attack; Chaotic Efforts May Have Cost Lives, Reports Suggest - This city's Fire Department responded in a chaotic and disorganized fashion to last September's attack on the World Trade Center, as radios failed, orders and warnings were ignored, and chiefs lost track of hundreds of firefighters on the scene, according to two reports released today. An 8/20/02 article from Washingtonpost.com.

Thousands in New York Give WTC Plans a Resounding Boo; Proposals for Site Called Too Dense, Too Large, Too Boring - Five thousand New Yorkers gave a big Bronx cheer Saturday to six new designs for the World Trade Center site, dismissing the plans as boring and "Kmart sterile." A 7/21/02 article from Washingtonpost.com.

Review of Studies of the Economic Impact of the September 11, 2001, Terrorists Attacks on the World Trade Center - A General Accounting Office (GAO) publication, this 40-page document identifies and assesses the studies of ten key reports from nine different organizations regarding the economic impact of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center buildings in New York City (NYC).

Fireproofing Faulted in Trade Center Collapse - Fireproofing failures -- rather the impact of the plane crashes -- probably caused the World Trade Center towers to quickly collapse, architects and engineers told a federal panel today. A 6/25/02 article from Washingtonpost.com.

Farewell at Ground Zero; New York Concludes Its 81/2-Month Recovery and Cleanup Operation - They carried pictures. That is all they have -- pictures, memories, heavy hearts and lives rendered rudderless in the blink of an eye. They walked the streets of Lower Manhattan with those pictures today, much as they did months ago, when they traveled from hospital to hospital looking for their loved ones. Today they carried bouquets of white roses and lilies to lay at the place they call hallowed ground. A 5/31/02 article from Washingtonpost.com.

7 World Trade Is Envisioned as a Gateway - The designers of the tower that will replace the destroyed building said on Monday that it will be a transparent, "light-emanating shaft." A 5/14/02 article from the New York Times.

Sifting the Last Tons of Sept. 11 Debris - Soon, The Hill, a makeshift village where workers sorted through debris from the World Trade Center site, will exist only in the memory of a few. A 5/14/02 article from the New York Times.

Blueprint for Ground Zero Begins to Take Shape - Crucial components of what will occur at ground zero appear to have already been settled upon by city and state officials. A 5/4/02 article from the New York Times.

Report Assesses Trade Center's Collapse; Protecting Skyscrapers Might Not Be Feasible, Engineering Team Says - The twin towers of the World Trade Center sustained massive structural damage after two hijacked jets crashed into the 110-story buildings on Sept. 11, and the steel eventually buckled under the enormous heat generated by fires caused by spreading jet fuel, a federal team of engineers has concluded in a report to be released today. A 5/1/02 article from Washingtonpost.com.

Why the Towers Fell - A companion web site to a PBS NOVA program that "follows a team of forensic engineers during their in-depth investigation of the precise causes of the Twin Towers' collapse." An engineer discusses the 2001 World Trade Center collapse and methods of improving building safety. Includes articles about a survivor from a floor above the impact, firefighter equipment, and the The Structure of Metal. There is a list of related books and online resources.

Lloyd's: WTC Attacks Cost $2.87B - Lloyd's of London said Wednesday that the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center would cost it $2.87 billion - the biggest loss the 314-year-old institution has suffered from a single event. A 4/10/02 article from Washingtonpost.com.

In Last Piles of Rubble, Fresh Pangs of Loss - The once monstrous task of debris removal and body recovery has come down to a hill or two of debris to remove and dirt to comb. A 3/17/02 article from the New York Times.

World Trade Center - This page from the Great Buildings Online website offers much information, current and historical, about the WTC.

At Ground Zero, New Manager, New Machines, New Focus - As the cleanup at the World Trade Center nears the four-month mark, the look and the management of the site are fundamentally changing. A 1/3/02 article from NYTIMES.COM.

U.S.' Emotional Sept. 11 Site - The State Department is hoping that a mix of new technology and old-fashioned emotion will help win the war against terrorism. The Office of International Information Programs has just launched a web-based pictorial documenting life in New York City three months after the attacks. A 12/17/01 article from wirednews.

"Rebuilding New York" - The 11/11/01 issue of The New York Times Magazine examines how New York will boldly go about becoming a stronger 21st-century city. "Rebuilding New York" features top writers who map out a reimagined city, from the financial district to the fashion world, from Broadway to the architectural drafting table.

Economic Impact of the September 11 World Trade Center Attack - The Fiscal Policy Institute released a preliminary report on September 28,2001, in which they estimate New York stands to lose 108,000 jobs as result of the September 11 terrorist attacks and $16.9 billion in total lost output for the New York City economy.

World Trade Centre - New York - Some Engineering Aspects - Basic, general information about the World Trade Center buildings. There is also information about the structural system and informed speculation about why it collapsed. Includes diagrams, photographs, and related links. From the University of Sydney, Department of Civil Engineering.

Terrorism in the U.S. - Interactive reports - A number of multimedia reports from The Guardian (U.K).

IPC Holdings estimates cost of WTC attacks.

Graphic of the WTC Complex.

Photo of WTC prior to attack - showing lightning bolt coming from the sky. Cleared for broadcast use when photo credit is used.

Mapping the Surface of a Disaster" - A 9/23/01 topographic illustration from the New York Times website showing the aftermath of the devastation. Click on the link in the right-most column for "Mapping the Surface of a Disaster".

Restricted areas - A Map from the Washington Post showing open and restricted areas of Manhattan as of Sept 18.

The latest official New York City map showing areas that are closed off.

a map showing utility outages.

Interactive graphic illustrates final flight path of aircrafts that crashed into World Trade Center.

Animated illustration of how the World Trade Center attack unfolded.

BBC: Twin towers tenants.

CNN - 3-D Animation: World Trade Center attack (Cult 3-D Plugin needed).

BBC: Trade Center disaster.

6 hi-res satellite images of the WTC and Pentagon - From GlobeXplorer, 2 of which are post attack.

New York's World Trade Center: A Living Archive - From Eric Darton, author of Divided We Stand, A Biography of New York's World Trade Center.

A Preliminary Look at Former World Trade Center Tenants - information about the business tenants of the World Trade Center towers. The list includes the name of the company, its location, type of business, total employees and the number working in the WTC location, status of WTC employees, and emergency contact information when available.

World Trade Center - Building/Tenant Info & Photographs.

World Trade Center construction info.

The World Trade Center Complex - A Map from The New York Times.

World Trade Center Complex - This page as cached by Google, shows some additional building details which may be helpful in the distances. From the maps (see below), though done without a shown scale/legend I could see, you might can figure the distances indirectly.

The World Trade Center Location Maps (The Washington Post).

The World Trade Center Register - includes facts about the trade center and business listings.

Washington, D.C. - The Pentagon

An extensive article on the Pentagon Restoration project, published just days before the attack.

An interactive look at the attack on the Pentagon.

Map of the Pentagon (The Washington Post).

The Pentagon.

Pentagon Location Map (The Los Angeles Times).

Pennsylvania - Flight 93

Cart Used to Retake Cockpit on Sept. 11, Book Suggests - A prosecutor said the passengers on the hijacked jet that crashed in Pennsylvania on Sept. 11 might have broken down the cockpit door with a food cart, according to a new book. A 7/30/02 article from the New York Times.

Pa. Crash Site Finding Its Place in History - Shanksville, Pa., with a population of 260, is two miles away from the barren stretch of earth where United Flight 93 fell from the sky Sept. 11. Locals are bracing for an onslaught of publicity as plans progress for a possible national memorial. A 3/25/02 article from Washingtonpost.com.

Flight 93: From Chaos to Courage - a 10/28/01 special section from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette describing the events of 9/11/01 and featuring short bios of everyone on board.

Pennsylvania Plane Crash Site - A Map from The Washington Post.