Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning – Today In Country Music History [VIDEO]

2001  As All of America Watched...

Early on the morning of September 11, 200, 19 hijackers took control of four commercial airliners (American Airlines Flight 11, United Airlines Flight 175, American Airlines Flight and United Airlines Flight 93) after takeoffs from Boston, Newark and Washington, D.C.

At 8:46 a.m., five hijackers crashed American Airlines Flight 11 into the northern facade of the World Trade Center's North Tower, and at 9:03 a.m., another five hijackers crashed United Airlines Flight 175 into the southern facade of the South Tower. Five hijackers flew American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m.

A fourth flight, United Airlines Flight 93, under the control of four hijackers, crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh, at 10:03 a.m. after the passengers fought the hijackers. Flight 93's target is believed to have been either the Capitol or the White House. Flight 93's cockpit voice recorder revealed crew and passengers tried to seize control of the plane from the hijackers after learning through phone calls that Flights 11, 77, and 175 had been crashed into buildings that morning. Once it became evident to the hijackers that the passengers might regain control of the plane, the hijackers rolled the plane and intentionally crashed it.

Some passengers and crew members who called from the aircraft using the cabin airphone service and mobile phones provided details: several hijackers were aboard each plane; they used mace, tear gas, or pepper spray to overcome attendants. Reports indicated hijackers stabbed and killed pilots, flight attendants, and one or more passengers. In their final report, the 9/11 Commission found the hijackers had recently purchased multi-function hand tools and assorted knives and blades. A flight attendant on Flight 11, a passenger on Flight 175, and passengers on Flight 93 said the hijackers had bombs, but one passengers said he thought the bombs were fake. The FBI found no traces of explosives at the crash sites, and the 9/11 Commission concluded that the bombs were quite probably fake.

Three buildings in the World Trade Center complex collapsed due to fire-induced structural failure. The South Tower collapsed at 9:59 a.m. after burning for 56 minutes in a fire caused by the impact of UA175 and the explosion of its fuel. The North Tower collapsed at 10:28 a.m. after burning for 102 minutes. When the North Tower collapsed, debris fell on the nearby 7 World Trade Center building (WTC7 burned for hours, compromising the building's structural integrity), damaging it and starting fires.

The Pentagon sustained major damage. Security camera footage of Flight 77 hitting the Pentagon. The plane hits the Pentagon approximately 86 seconds after the beginning of this recording.

At 9:40 a.m., the FAA grounded all aircraft within the continental U.S., and aircraft already in flight were told to land immediately. All international civilian aircraft were either turned back or redirected to airports in Canada or Mexico, and all international flights were banned from landing on U.S. soil for three days

Country Music Television suspended programming for 24 hours to cover the terrorist attacks. Several artists, including Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Chely Wright and Paul Brandt, were stranded in Canada because flights were grounded in the wake of the terrorist attacks on America. The artists banned together to perform a benefit concert for the victims of the tragedy and their families. Garth Brooks, Billy Gilman, Rosanne Cash and Mary Chapin Carpenter were trapped in Manhattan during the chaos, though they were unhurt. Garth’s acceptance of the Golden Note Award in Washington D.C. was postponed by the attacks.