The hijacked Flight 175 struck floors 77 to 85 of the South Tower (2 WTC) 17 minutes later at 9:03 a.m. When the towers were struck, between 16,400 and 18,000 people were in the WTC complex. Of those, the vast majority evacuated safely.
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The airplane crashed nose-first into the South Tower's southern façade at a speed of around 590 miles per hour (950 km/h; 260 m/s; 510 kn), striking through floors 77 and 85 with approximately 9,100 U.S. gallons (34,000 L; 7,600 imp gal) of jet fuel on board. Flight 175 explodes after hitting the South Tower.
In each tower, 99% of the occupants below the crash survived. At the impact area and above, survival was limited to just a handful of people in the south tower who made an amazing escape.
On Sept. 11, 2001, 343 firefighters and paramedics were killed, most when the towers collapsed. Now, an equal number have died from 9/11-related illnesses, the FDNY says.
Until the 2001 attack, it was notable for its huge twin towers, each of which had 110 stories, that formed a distinctive feature of the New York skyline. The roof of One World Trade Center reached to 1,368 feet (417 metres), and Two World Trade Center was 1,362 feet (415 metres) tall.
The pilots were able to stabilize the plane, inverted, for less than a minute (with a 9°pitch towards the ocean). Video of the flight as well as the cockpit voice recorder confirm this. While attempting to rotate (barrel roll) the plane upright they ran out of room and impacted the ocean.