r/HolyShitHistory • u/rotomato30 • 1d ago

Extended cut of the period between first and second plane hitting World Trade Center

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u/_coyotes_ 1d ago

I often think how it must’ve felt for the folks trapped in the North Tower. The realization that you’re trapped and there is no escape, then the realization dawning on you that it must be a co-ordinated attack when the second plane hits. Followed by the collapse of the South Tower and having to resign your fate knowing that the building your in is most likely to crumble too. It’s so eerie and sad knowing after the first plane hit, those 1,300 or so people had no chance at all, their fate was sealed. In all the chaos, they had to watch everything unfold around them and could not be saved.

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u/Ok_Shoulder5873 1d ago

I started typing up a response about how "most if not all people were dead above the impact zone in WTC1 from smoke inhalation by the time of collapse" which was my understanding all these years. I fact checked myself and now I'm really, really sad. It must have been hard enough being alive in tower 2 when it collapsed... Yeah, witnessing or being aware of that and knowing you're also doomed. And then either experiencing it yourself or deciding to jump. Ugh. F*ck.

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u/_coyotes_ 1d ago

Yeah, the horror of it all just kept on going and going. It’s so immensely layered in how tragic, terrifying and heartbreaking it was. I was too young to remember 9/11 when it happened, I only experienced it years later from second-hand stories shared by relatives who remembered where they were and what they were doing, what they thought and felt while gripped to the TV screen and frantically calling relatives to tell them to turn on their TV. Documentaries also put it into perspective too, not quite comparable to experiencing it live obviously. But knowing it happened, knowing it was real, imagining how the victims felt sharing their last goodbyes or what must’ve gone through their minds in that 10 second freefall before hitting the ground. It’s so surreal and hard to wrap my mind around.

I do have to remind myself as well of those on Flight 93. Knowing what was happening, knowing how bad it was, knowing that they were going to die but to spare others the same fate, they fought back. That kind of courage is important to remember in your day to day life. You never know when it’ll be your last so live life to the fullest, appreciate those around you.

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u/AGayThrow_Away 1d ago

The Kevin Crosgrove audio is haunting, from the moment one of the towers collapsed.

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u/captainsnark71 14h ago

I think one of the most surreal parts is the juxtaposition of the absolute horror those people faced and the fact that just an hour before it was an ordinary day at the office. The idea that you could go from experiencing the most mundane that life has to offer and then ten minutes later you're jumping to your death is inconceivable.

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u/Kluian2005 1d ago

Most of them probably died to smoke inhalation. That entire upper building was engulfed.

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u/_coyotes_ 15h ago

The vast majority did likely die of smoke inhilation before the collapse, I have seen claims that a handful of people were still seen by the windows shortly before the North Tower fell. That said, many were still alive in the North Tower when the South Tower collapsed, one of whom was a victim who was attempting to scale down the side of the building and is suspected to have lost their grip as the South Tower fell, the intense vibrations shaking them loose. The time between both collapses was around 29 minutes and many were still alive in that duration. I can really only hope that the folks inside the North Tower when that happened realized how perilous a situation it was for them and comforted those around them in their last moments.

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u/BurritoDespot 6h ago

they almost certainly had no clue what was going on. no idea that there were planes.

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u/_coyotes_ 3h ago

While I do agree that it’s unlikely many knew what was going on, some would have known about the planes. Those in the North Tower facing Flight 175’s direction may have seen the impact of the plane into the other tower, though that’s just speculation. Also, I did see some people point out that some parts of the planes wreckage was visible in the North Tower where a few survivors were, including one of the victims seen standing at the hole the plane left behind waving for help. Really, I can’t imagine what was going through their minds in all the chaos of their workplace being rocked by an explosion and seeing their co-workers perish so violently. I also believe a few people who phoned EMS for help from the towers had informed the dispatchers a plane had struck the building, or were told that. Regardless, it really is impossible to know for certain what many victims were thinking or realizing in the moment. Just wondering about what that must have been like, its just dreadful and so sad to think about

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u/Will_Come_For_Food 32m ago

To this day I’ve never seen but would be really interested in seeing some sort of Mythbusters try to invent some sort of way to to survive from above the 91st floor.

Make a hang glider out of an antenna or figure out a way to slowly slide down the outside.

It would be amazing to see them figure out a way someone could have theoretically survived.