Update: An aircraft has crashed into the Pentagon, witnesses say. White
House, Capitol and Treasury all evacuated.  FAA is grounding all planes
across the country.

Witnesses: Plane Crashes Into World Trade Center



NEW YORK (Sept. 11) - Two planes crashed into the upper floors of both World
Trade Center towers minutes apart Tuesday in what the President Bush said was
an apparent terrorist attack, blasting fiery, gaping holes in the 110-story
buildings. There was no immediate word on deaths or injuries.

The president ordered a full-scale investigation to ''hunt down the folks who
committed this act''

The twin disasters which happened shortly before 9 a.m. and then right around
9 a.m.

The Federal Aviation Administration has shut down all aircraft takeoffs
nationwide.

The first plane to hit World Trade Center was hijacked after takeoff from
Boston, U.S. official says.

In Washington, officials said the FBI was investigating reports of a plane
hijacking before the crashes.

Heavy black smoke billowed into the sky above the gaping holes in the side of
the 110-story twin towers, one of New York City's most famous landmarks, and
debris rained down upon the street, one of the city's busiest work areas.
When the second plane hit, a fireball of flame and smoke erupted, leaving a
huge hole in the glass and steel tower.

''Today we've had a national tragedy,'' Bush said. He called it ''an apparent
terrorist attack.''

Ira Furber, former NTSB spokesman, discounted likelihood of accident.

''I don't think this is an accident,'' he said on CNN. ''You've got
incredibly good visibility. No pilot is going to be relying on navigational
equipment.''

''It's just not possible in the daytime,'' he added. ''A second occurrence is
just beyond belief.''

The towers were struck by terrorist bombers in February 1993, killing six
people and injuring more than 1,000 others.

All New York City-area airports were shut down, and several subway lines were
immediately shut down. Trading on Wall Street was suspended.

''The plane was coming in low and ... it looked like it hit at a slight
angle,'' said Sean Murtagh, a CNN vice president, the network reported.

''I was watching TV and heard a sonic boom,'' Jeanne Yurman told CNN. ''The
side of the World Trade Center exploded. Debris is falling like leaflets. I
hear ambulances. The northern tower seems to be on fire.''

Thousands of pieces of what appeared to be office paper came drifting over
Brooklyn, about three miles from the tower.

A senior government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the
agency is pursuing reports that one or both of the planes were hijacked and
that the crashes may have been the result of a suicide mission.

The source stressed that the reports are preliminary and officials do not
know the cause of the crashes.

''It certainly doesn't look like an accident,'' said a second government
official, also speaking on condition of anonymity.

In 1945, an Army Air Corps B-25, a twin-engine bomber, crashed into the 79th
floor of the Empire State Building in dense fog.

In Sarasota, Fla., Bush was reading to children in a classroom at 9:05 a.m.
when his chief of staff, Andrew Card, whispered into his ear. The president
briefly turned somber before he resumed reading. He addressed the tragedy
about a half-hour later.

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