All language subtitles for Ten.Steps.to.Disaster.Series.1.Part.1.Twin.Towers.1080p.HDTV.x264.AAC.MVGroup.org.eng

Mtv.

Narrator: September 11, 2001.

The world stops as america is
hit by a catastrophic attack.

What I remember is crying.

It was just so horrific.

I just said to myself, I
can't believe this is happening.

Narrator: Almost
3,000 people die.

Thousands more are injured.

I mean, a number of americans
were killed in this thing.

It was horrific.

Narrator: How could a terror
attack of this scale happen?

You start to wonder,
where was the ball dropped?

Our intelligence
community had never

Conceived that hijackers would
use the plane as a missile.

Narrator: Now, through
the people who were there.

The screaming and the yelling.

That's a level of chaos I will
never be able to describe.

Narrator: And those involved
at the highest level.

The national security advisor,
the vice president, and I

Met and decided that I
should run the crisis out

Of the situation room.

Narrator: A series of
catastrophic failures

Are revealed.

As in-depth analysis,
investigative reports,

And declassified documents
expose crucial errors.

If this memo had
been prioritized,

We may have been able
to disrupt this plot

Before it ever even happened.

Narrator: Intelligence failings.

Why did the cia
not say there was

A terrorist heading your way?

Narrator: And gaping
holes in defense.

The us air defense
system had never envisioned

This kind of an attack.

It became a terrible
guessing game.

Where were these
planes going to hit?

Narrator: 10 fatal mistakes that
together lead to the horror

And tragedy of 9/11.

There's this moment
when you think,

How did you all miss this?

By not telling people, they
allowed the attack to happen.

It's a perfect
storm of mistakes,

Oversights, and
missed opportunities.

Any one of which may
have changed the outcome.

Narrator: New
york's twin towers.

From the moment they are built,
they epitomize everything

The united states stands for.

They represented
american prestige,

American dominance, and
american projection of power

Across the world.

The twin towers essentially,
define the new york skyline.

You clearly knew
exactly which city

You were looking at when
you saw their silhouette

On the horizon.

Narrator: But in 1993,
their iconic status

Led to the towers being
targeted in a bomb attack.

The first step on
the road to 9/11

Is not treating this attack
as a warning of things to come.

These towers were symbolic
of western capitalism.

And made a superb target
just waiting to be hit.

Narrator: February 26, 1993.

At 12:18 pm,
a 1,500-pound truck bomb

Rips through the public
basement car park

Directly below the twin towers.

Firefighter joe torrillo is
one of the first on the scene.

Basically, half
of the underneath

Of the towers from the level one
to level six were all the way

Blown down.

Almost in one huge crater.

With thousands of trucks,
thousands of vehicles

Crushed like pancakes.

Narrator: The blast
crater is 150 feet

Wide and several stories deep.

Six people die and more
than a thousand are injured.

But it's clear the
terrorists were hoping

For a much higher death toll.

When the bomb detonated,
they thought that it would blow

Out some of the
major support columns

Underneath the north tower.

And the building would fall
on top of the south tower

And bring both buildings down.

They intended to
have mass casualties.

Contemplating a number
of up to 250,000.

Narrator: In the
weeks that follow,

The attack is revealed
to be the work

Of an extremist islamic cell.

And its leader, ramzi yousef
is tracked down and imprisoned.

Terrorism had come
to main street usa.

America had a new enemy.

The role that this
particular event

Played in a larger
scale effort was

Not appreciated at that time.

Narrator: The speed
with which the fbi

Tracks down the
attackers reassures

Both the public and government.

The fact that they were
able to piece together

What happened so
easily probably, led

To a false sense of security.

That our law enforcement
was capable of handling

This threat.

For the fbi,
the attack in 1993

Was a symbol of a less than
top notch sophisticated

Terrorist organization.

Narrator: But treating
the bombing as

An isolated incident means
the bigger picture is missed.

The fact that the first world
trade center bombing failed

Didn't mean that it was
not worth attacking again

And again to bring it down.

Narrator: Eight years
later, ramzi yousef's uncle

Khalid sheikh mohammed
is accused of being

A senior member of al-qaeda.

He is later charged
over the 9/11 attacks.

Had the first attack
on the twin towers

Been recognized as part
of a much larger pattern

Of radical terrorism,
america might have been

Better prepared for the
sheer size of the threat

That was looming.

Al-qaeda's
thinking early on was

Terror on a catastrophic scale.

We knew al-qaeda
existed by then.

We knew they were a threat.

I don't think we
recognized the extent

To which they were a threat.

Narrator: Dismissing the
1993 bombing as a one-off

Is the first mistake
in the series

Of missed opportunities
and errors

Of judgment that leads to 9/11.

But a second more critical
mistake, the failure

To pass on key intelligence,
leaves the door to america

Wide open to the
9/11 terrorists.

Two of these hijackers who we
had tracked around the world,

Who we knew were
really bad guys were

Coming to the united states.

And our own security agency
was not told about it.

[typing sounds]

Narrator: On January 4, 2000,
the cia receives intelligence

That two men with
extremist links

Are attending a
suspected al-qaeda

Summit in kuala lumpur.

They are nawaf al-hazmi
and khalid al-mihdhar.

Two of the future
9/11 hijackers.

They were involved
in a meeting

In malaysia that appeared to be
a terrorist planning meeting.

We didn't know what
they were planning,

But we knew they had been there.

Narrator: Al-mihdhar has
family links to al-qaeda.

So the cia puts him
under surveillance.

They broke into his hotel.

Photographed his passport.

And subsequently filmed the
details of the meeting he had.

Narrator: Al-mihdhar's
passport contains

A multiple entry us visa.

Due to expire in
just three months.

It's a clear indication that
a man with extremist links

Has the means
to legally enter america.

The intelligence community
had identified them

As people wanting to come
to the united states.

So this should have
set off alarms.

Narrator: In fact, in the
hours after the discovery

Of al-mihdhar's passport, the
potential threat is flagged.

Doug miller, an fbi officer
working with the cia,

Tries to pass the
intelligence onto the fbi.

But his memo never
leaves the cia.

Miller thought the information
was of such high value,

It should be passed
onto the fbi.

And was, to say the least,
surprised that it was not.

Narrator: Just 10 days
later, on January 15, 2000,

Al-mihdhar and al-hazmi
arrive together in the us.

Despite entering under
their real names,

They're not picked up.

Under every rule that we had
the fbi should have been told.

And they would
have been arrested.

And perhaps, the attack
would have been revealed.

Narrator: Had the cia
immediately informed the fbi

Of the possibility
of men with links

To extremists traveling to
the united states, al-mihdhar

And al-hazmi could have been
stopped long before 9/11.

Had the cia shared this
information with urgency, had

The fbi put these people on a
no fly list, at the very least,

American airlines flight 77
would not have been hijacked.

I think that if we
had found one of them

That they wouldn't have
gone ahead with it.

Narrator: The cia's failure
to pass on key intelligence

Means the two extremists
enter the united states

20 months before 9/11.

But its decisions by the
fbi that allow them to plan

Their terror attack undetected.

We didn't put
the dots together.

We didn't put things together
that told us the story.

Narrator: On September 11, 2001,
the most deadly terror attack

In us history shocks the world.

What I remember is crying.

It was just so horrific.

And so beyond a scale that
you could ever have imagined.

Narrator: As the investigation
into 9/11 unfolds,

It becomes clear
two of the hijackers

Had been plotting their
deadly attacks while openly

Living in the united states.

The failure of federal and
local police to pick them up

Can be traced to an operational
decision made by the fbi.

When they closed down an
investigation into a man

With close links
to the hijackers.

The file is closed.

He is no longer a suspect.

And he is free to go
about his business.

Narrator: San diego,
September 1998.

Three years before 9/11.

The fbi puts a saudi graduate
student under surveillance.

His name is omar al-bayoumi.

He was seen as a
potential terrorist suspect

Because of his association
with the arab community

In san diego.

There are suspicious packages
coming into his building.

People are meeting
in his building.

Narrator: In February
2000, al-bayoumi

Meets the two future
hijackers, nawaf al-hazmi

And khalid al-mihdhar, in a cafe
in culver city, los angeles.

But the meeting is
missed by the fbi.

By '99, al-bayoumi's
file has been closed.

Why?

Narrator: Just months before
he meets the future hijackers,

The inquiry into
al-bayoumi is terminated.

Reports suggest
the fbi thought

He may have actually been an
agent to the saudi government.

So when al-hazmi and
al-mihdhar arrive in la,

No one is watching.

The fact that he connected
with other individuals that

Are known to be
involved in terrorism.

If the investigation
continued, that's

Going to get you to think ok.

Wait a minute.

He's connected
with them somehow.

Who are these guys?

Narrator: Closing
the investigation

Into his activities
on us soil meant

The fbi missed a vital link
to two of the 9/11 hijackers.

And the chance to
uncover their plans.

Al-bayoumi was
associating with two people

Who had terrorist connections.

If the fbi had
joined up the dots,

Al-bayoumi, al-mihdhar,
and al-hazmi

Would have been a lot higher on
the fbi's wanted list by 2001.

Narrator: But this isn't
the only missed opportunity

To plug gaps in us security.

In the months
leading up to 9/11,

A potential hole in
aviation security

Is highlighted by an incident
on an internal us flight.

The incident should have
been a major warning signal.

[typing sounds]

Narrator: November 19, 1999.

Just under two
years before 9/11.

Two saudi men are detained
for suspicious behavior

On an america west flight.

These men are on a flight
from phoenix to washington.

And while they're on the flight,
a passenger said one of them

Attempts to enter the cockpit.

Narrator: Shortly afterwards,
the plane touches down in ohio.

And the crew's concerns are
reported to the authorities.

After the plane lands, the
fbi detains these individuals

And interviews them.

Narrator: Under questioning,
one of the suspects

Says he was just looking
for the restroom.

Even though a
witness had claimed

He was trying to
enter the flight deck.

And they were
questioned for four hours.

What's unusual about this case
is that the saudi government

Got involved.

Narrator: Both men
deny any wrongdoing.

And claim they're being
discriminated against

For their arabic background.

Because of accusations
of racial profiling,

The investigation is
closed soon after.

Narrator: The two men are
released with an apology

From the airline and first
class tickets to washington dc.

But the incident
highlights the fact

That passengers could access
flight decks relatively easily.

Given the importance
of security on aircraft

And federal aviation rules,
these kinds of actions

Would have certainly
been a cause for concern.

Narrator: But it's
only after 9/11

That the number of
air marshals in the us

Is increased from just
33 to several thousand.

And new regulations on cockpit
doors and large passenger

Aircraft now require them
to be heavily reinforced

And have more secure
locking systems.

Narrator: A lack of fbi
scrutiny allows terrorists

To plan atrocities on us soil.

And investigations after 9/11
reveal four of the 19 hijackers

Are pilots.

And they qualified
in the united states.

And I remember hearing
this thinking, wait.

What?

They were trained
here in the us?

And, of course, you think,
how does this happen?

Narrator: The fact
that nothing was

Done to stop them
suggests the fbi wasn't

Seeing the bigger picture.

But one agent did.

And his warnings were missed.

Turning an oversight into
one of the biggest mistakes

In the countdown to 9/11.

If the phoenix memo
had been looked at,

9/11 may not have happened.

[typing sounds]

Narrator: July 10, 2001.

Two months before 9/11.

Arizona fbi agent
kenneth williams

Sends a memo to the
new york federal

Bureau and fbi headquarters.

It describes an
unusually high number

Of islamic students
seeking training

In the us aviation industry.

Williams suspects they
have been radicalized.

His report becomes known
as the phoenix memo.

The phoenix memo is an
example of the fbi doing exactly

What it should have been doing.

Which is connecting the dots.

The phoenix memo pieces
together a larger picture.

And suggest that osama bin laden
is sending people to infiltrate

The us civil aviation industry.

Narrator: The report
contains details

Of suspected al-qaeda terrorist
activity within us aviation.

And how to stop it.

Williams identifies
al-qaeda as a clear

And present danger to the us.

He is looking
ahead to a threat

That might occur in the future.

And giving recommendations
for what the fbi

Needs to do to prepare
for this threat.

Narrator: Williams
suggests the fbi makes

Links with us flight schools.

And that visa requests
from overseas students

Wanting to study
aviation in america

Are flagged to the bureau.

But the urgency of
the memo is missed.

This memo wasn't flagged
as having high priority.

It gets lost in the ordinary
course of business in the fbi.

Exacerbated by the fact
that the fbi had a fairly

Archaic internal system.

It wasn't followed
up on at all.

In fact, it didn't get--

I don't think it got
all the way to the top.

Narrator: Williams later
testifies he passed

The memo to his superiors.

In the expectation it would be
passed up the chain of command.

In 2002, he is
taken off the case.

And has since retired
from the bureau.

It was, perhaps, a failure
of fbi leadership

Not to identify
as a higher priority,

The threat from al-qaeda.

Narrator: Had the phoenix memo
been seen by the right people

In the fbi, terrorist
activity within us aviation

Would have been investigated.

I think the phoenix memo had
the capacity to really make

A difference in what
happened in 9/11

Because it was forward-looking.

It offered a big
picture perspective.

And it also offered
specific things

That the fbi could do to
be prepared to identify

This threat before it occurred.

Narrator: In the run up
to 9/11, a new and lethal

Terrorist threat is overlooked.

Lack of communication
between agencies

Allows extremists
to enter the us.

And the fbi misses crucial
clues to terrorist activity

On american soil.

But on the day itself, there's
still a chance to reduce

The impact of the attack.

But us defenses are
caught off-guard.

Unable to respond
until it's too late.

There was no
contingency planning

For the kind of airspace
security operation

That 9/11 required.

Narrator: From start
to finish, the 9/11

Attack on the united states
lasts just over two hours.

And during that time not a
single hijacked plane could

Be located in time to stop it.

Because us air
defense is unprepared.

And fighter jets
are scrambled far

Too late to make a difference.

It seemed to us that day,
like a damn long time

Until we could get aircraft up.

[typing sounds]

Narrator: By the
end of the cold war,

It is assumed the united states
is no longer under threat

Of attack on home soil.

So resources and funding
to air defenses are cut.

During the cold war,
we were able to get

Fighter planes up over
every american city

Relatively quickly.

Because we anticipated
soviet bombers coming.

After the fall of
the soviet union,

That air defense system
was significantly reduced.

Narrator: On the
morning of 9/11,

The us air defense on
the eastern seaboard

Consists of just a handful
of battle-ready jets.

At 8:37 am, air traffic control
reports the first hijacking.

Air traffic controller:
Hi, boston 17u.

We have a problem here.

We have a hijacked aircraft
headed towards new york.

Narrator: Recordings
of communications

From northeastern air
defense command, neads,

Reveal air traffic
control immediately

Requests us fighter jets
to locate the plane

And escort it to safety.

Neads controller:
This is huntress

With an active air defense
scramble for blip 2-5 and 2-6.

Narrator: But as 9/11 unfolds,
it becomes clear the aging air

Defense systems aren't
capable of effectively

Tracking the hijacked planes.

The radar system was,
very much, outdated

And was not really turned to
tracking internal flights.

Narrator: Neads is
dependent on information

Being relayed from civilian
aviation authorities.

The boston center passed
information to the faa.

The agency responsible for
monitoring internal flights.

Then they had to contact
the neads base

In rome, in new york state.

Which then tried
to trace the plane.

Narrator: Then the hijacked
aircraft disappear

From its tracking system.

One of the things
that the hijackers did

Was to turn off
the transponders.

These were the
signaling devices used

To track the position
of those planes

By air traffic controllers.

Which meant these
planes became ghosts.

Narrator: By the
time two fighter

Jets are finally scrambled, it's
too late for the north tower.

Worse.

The second plane
isn't far behind.

[explosion]

Neads controller: Another
one just hit the building.

Wow.

Wow.

That one hit it hard.

That one hit the world trade.

The whole building
just about came apart.

Holy smokes.

Narrator: The neads
recordings reveal

The chaos as the third
hijacking is reported.

Neads controller:
Stand by please.

I've got a report that it
dropped off radar over indiana.

Neads controller: United 175.

Neads controller: Excuse me.
Negative.

That's not correct.

That's american 77 that
dropped off the radar.

Narrator: Followed
quickly by a fourth.

Neads controller: We
just had another report.

United 93.

They heard screaming
on the frequency

And the people have
a bomb on board.

Narrator: At 9:24 am, two
more fighters are scrambled.

Neads controller:
Scramble langley.

Head them towards
the washington area.

Neads controller: Roger that.

Narrator: Outdated systems,
budget cuts, and lack

Of coordination
with civil aviation

Means us air defense
is caught off guard.

A problem made worse by delays
in critical decision-making

At the highest level.

Until the second crash,
everyone assumes

These are standard hijackings.

That the planes will land
and negotiation will follow.

These hijackers
are suicide bombers.

They don't want to live.

You cannot negotiate with them.

So the issue is no longer, how
do you save the passengers?

It's how do you save
those in the buildings

That the hijackers want to
destroy using the plane?

Frankly, we had
never contemplated

Shooting down an airliner
filled with americans.

Narrator: The only ones who
can authorize the takedown

Of an american plane
are the president

And the defense secretary.

But there are
communication breakdowns.

And no emergency procedure to
issue the command to shoot.

[typing sounds]

On the morning of September 11,
president bush

Is told about the attacks
on the twin towers.

I mean, the president
was talking to a group

Of kids in florida, in school.

And his aide, andy card,
whispers in his ear.

Mr, president, the united
states is under attack.

[camera shutters]

He finished reading that
paragraph or whatever.

Because he didn't want to
alarm everybody

Until he knew
what was going on.

Around about 9:30, he's
ferried off to air force one.

Narrator: In the white house,
senior staff

Are scrambling to get the
situation under control.

The national security advisor
condi rice, the vice president

Dick cheney and I met
and decided that they

Should go to the bomb shelter.

And that I should run the crisis
out of the situation room.

Narrator: The intelligence
situation is chaotic.

The president is now on
his way to air force one.

Vice president cheney is
in the white house bunker.

And defense secretary donald
rumsfeld is in his office,

In the pentagon.

Total confusion.

Confusion at every
level of government.

They didn't know whether
this was just the first step.

There was a lot of
government speculation.

It became a terrible
guessing game.

Where were these planes going?

What were they going to hit?

Was chicago under attack?

Or what about los angeles?

Narrator: Just
minutes later, at 9:37 am,

The third plane
hits the pentagon.

We were talking to people
in the pentagon

On the video when
the plane struck.

You could tell on the video
that something had happened.

And eventually,
the smoke was coming

Into that conference room.

Narrator: The heart of the us
military has been attacked.

Worse.

A fourth hijacked plane
is still at large.

And no one knows
where it's headed.

There was a
sense of foreboding

And dread among my team.

Because we thought that one of
the airplanes that was still up

Might come and blow
up the white house.

Narrator: It's clear the plane
must be stopped

Before it reaches
its destination.

And that needs clearance
from the highest

Level of government.

But donald rumsfeld is missing
after the pentagon attack.

And communication links to air
force one and president bush

Are patchy, at best.

Air force one had
gone to the highest

Altitude it could get to.

Given they didn't know what
the nature of the attack was

And they had to protect
the president at all costs.

So the telephone
link was problematic.

Narrator: At 45,000 feet,
just two of the phone lines

On air force one
are still working.

And they are intermittent.

Time is running out.

Rumsfeld not being around and
the president being 45,000 feet

Above the ground meant that
taking that command decision

Became incredibly fraught.

Narrator: Over an hour
after the first plane hit,

Communication is finally
good enough for the president

To issue the shoot down order.

The word was then
given to the pentagon.

That if a situation is
developing where you see

A hijacked jet and it looks
like it's going to hit a target,

You have the authority
to shoot it down.

Narrator: This order
is without precedent.

But in the end, it
makes no difference.

They never were able
to use that authority

Because it was too late.

Cheney's authorized to do
that around about 10 past 10.

By which time, the last
flight has actually crashed.

Narrator: Had better emergency
protocols and communication

Systems been in place, it's
possible the hijacked planes

Might have been stopped before,
yet, more lives were lost.

There were mistakes
made, quite clearly.

They were made because
of operational issues.

Because of communication
breakdowns.

Because of the bureaucracies
that were involved.

Narrator: The result is
that three of the planes

Reached the terrorists'
intended targets.

The fourth is only
stopped by the bravery

Of its passengers and crew.

The greatest loss of life comes
from the first two strikes

On the twin towers.

But it's not the impact that
ultimately destroys them.

Some experts have
questioned whether issues

With fireproofing may have
made the towers unexpectedly

Vulnerable to fire damage.

The fireproofing actually
wasn't applied properly

To some of the steel elements.

[typing sounds]

Narrator: At the moment of
impact with the twin towers,

The two aircraft are less than
an hour into their journeys.

The hijackers had chosen
the flights very carefully.

What they wanted were long-haul
flights because they wanted

The fuel tanks to be full.

Making the planes
more effective bombs.

Narrator: Each aircraft
carries around 9,000 gallons

Of jet fuel.

On impact, it ignites instantly.

Just gallons and gallons
of fuel just pouring

Through all of the shafts.

Pouring through the
emergency staircases.

And this allowed the fire
to spread more rapidly.

Narrator: The towers' vulnerable
steel skeleton has been

Covered in fireproof material.

But some experts
believe this basic fire

Protection may have
been compromised

Long before the attack.

They used a new
method of fireproofing.

However, this material that they
were using was relatively new.

If it's applied
to rusted steel,

As was the case in some of
the areas of the twin towers,

It's less likely
to stick properly.

Narrator: Inspections
in early 2000

Found that throughout
the buildings

Huge sheets of fireproofing
had fallen away.

And when the jets hit,
the fireproofing

Is further compromised.

Large parts of the
steel structure

That should be protected are
now exposed to the raging blaze.

Fireproofing for a building
the size of the twin towers

Is meant to last
at least two hours.

However, these fires were very
large and very unpredictable.

As these steel beams heat
up, the floors start to sag.

And they are pulling
the outer edges in.

And eventually, they sag so much
that the floors just drop out

And they pull the entire
structure in on itself.

You hear this echo.

And it was bending steel.

You could hear like this
eerie, kind of, bending.

It always reminds me of
the sound that you

Hear in the hull of a ship.

When you hear that steel
going through the ocean.

Narrator: At 9:59 am,
56 minutes after impact,

The south tower collapses.

As the floors start
to fail and just

Drop on top of each
other, the weight

Is building up from the
top onto the lower floors.

[screaming]

[crying]

I started running.

And I realized I had about
10 seconds left to live.

And as I'm running,
the building's

Coming down in what we call
a pancake-type of collapse.

One floor hitting
the floor below.

Boom, boom, boom,
boom, boom, boom, boom.

And as each floor's
hitting the floor below,

It's puffing air out
like a fireplace bellows.

And it, kind of,
lifted me off my feet

And I was flying
through the air.

At that point, I was in the
middle of all these fires.

And I was hoping that I
would suffocate to death

Before I burned to death.

It really felt like you're
in the middle of a volcano.

And I thought the earth was
just going to break apart.

Because it was just so much--

So much.

Everything being
pulverized around you.

And everything went
to complete darkness.

Narrator: Half an hour later,
the north tower follows.

The speed of collapse of these
buildings was astronomical.

The north tower took 11
seconds and the south tower

Took nine seconds.

[sirens]

One moment, they were there
and the next, they were rubble.

And to just disappear in that
amount of time, it's insane.

Narrator: Had the fireproofing
still been in place,

The towers might not have
collapsed as rapidly.

Buying precious extra time
for rescue and escape.

That day was
destruction and death.

But on a level
unlike anything else.

In that moment,
in just a couple of hours,

Thousands of people died.

Narrator: On 9/11, the death
toll at the world trade center

Was catastrophic.

But investigations reveal
flaws in both planning

And safety procedures
that slowed evacuation

And caused confusion.

Many believe a
different approach

Could have saved lives.

My belief is that life safety
is always lowest on the totem

Pole in design of buildings.

And certainly it
plays itself out,

I think, in the twin towers.

[explosion]

Narrator: In the
months and years

Leading to the September 11
attacks, a string of errors

Leads to disaster.

But on the day itself,
failures in both design

And safety procedures
inside the twin towers

Add to the mistakes
costing, yet, more lives.

You could see people
hanging from the edges,

From the cracks in
the openings waving.

And, like, looking
at you like, "help me."

[typing sounds]

Narrator: On the
morning of the attacks,

17,400 people are
inside the twin towers.

Most are safely evacuated.

But more than 2 and 1/2
thousand people die.

[sirens]

When the planes hit the towers,
almost all access

To emergency stairwells
is severed.

And nearly 2,000 people
are immediately trapped.

I'm watching people.

They're waving to me as if
to say come up and get us.

We can't take it no more.

If you were at a floor that
was above where the planes hit,

Those people didn't
have much of a chance.

Narrator: Just 18 people above
the south tower impact site

Find a way down.

Each tower had
three emergency staircases

Within the center core
of the building.

Narrator: The
impact of the planes

Takes out all three emergency
routes in the north tower

And two in the south tower.

Incredibly, having
such a small number

Of staircases in a building
110 stories high is legal.

As the towers were being
constructed in 1968,

A new building code was issued.

This allowed the
number of stairwells

In each of the twin towers to
be reduced from six to three.

They tried to maximize
on as much rentable space

As they can.

I don't think three
emergency staircases

Were enough for a building
that was meant to house over

Tens of thousands of people.

Even if you added one extra
staircase in this building,

It just wouldn't have been
enough to save people that day.

Narrator: After the first
impact, with no way out,

Everyone above the crash site
in the north tower is trapped.

The main structure is holding.

So there's still time for the
people below the 93rd floor

To start to evacuate.

But in the south tower,
which has not yet been hit,

No evacuation order at all
is issued at this point.

The first messages in
the world trade center

Were stay in place.

And some people were told
to stay in their offices

When they should have been
heading for those stairways.

Narrator: Then at 9:02, just one
minute before the south tower

Is hit, there's a
second announcement.

Telling people to evacuate.

But it is too late.

Of the hundreds of people
above the 77th floor

In the south tower,
only those who ignored

The stay in place
instruction make it.

The people who started
going downstairs

And didn't turn back,
they survived it.

Had you told people from
the onset, everybody evacuate

Everywhere, could
you have saved lives?

Yes.

Narrator: After the
second tower is hit,

The rest of the world trade
center complex is evacuated.

But a decision made two
years before 9/11

Contributes to the chaos.

And new york's finest are among
those it goes on to effect.

I lost so many of my friends.

Some of these friends
that I knew

Were only a couple of feet
away from me.

[typing sounds]

Narrator: In 1999,
the new york emergency

Operations center is
set up in building 7

At the world trade center.

It is responsible for the
coordination of all the city's

Emergency services in the
event of a major disaster.

All the various agencies
were coordinated in that site.

And they could
talk to each other.

The idea was they could make
sensible decisions

As to what to do
and in a unified manner.

Narrator: But many of
new york's officials

Warn against this very
high profile location.

It would have been a better
choice to put it elsewhere

Because the world
trade center

Had already been
under attack once.

They actually put them right
in the middle of the biggest

Target in new york city.

Narrator: Just two years
after the move to building 7,

Those fears become reality.

Less than an hour before
the twin towers collapse,

The emergency operations
center is evacuated.

All the people that work
in the office of emergency

Management who are
supposed to be coordinating

The incident in
the twin towers

Had to vacate
their own offices.

So they became
totally ineffective.

Narrator: In the
most deadly attack

New york has ever faced,
coordination between

Its emergency services
is almost non-existent.

[sirens]

Just after 10:00 am,
a police helicopter

Radios in a terrifying warning.

They saw the north tower
rocking back and forth.

And they radioed down
that they, kind of,

Surmised that the buildings
might actually collapse.

A lot of police officers were
able to get out of the tower

Because they heard that.

The firefighters and
the fire commanders,

From what I understand, did
not have that information.

Narrator: With no access
to police communications,

Firefighters in the tower
keep climbing.

Unaware of the coming disaster.

They had a different
system of communication.

And they weren't interoperable.

They didn't talk to each other.

And a lot of them were
killed because of that.

Narrator: Had the emergency
operations center been fully

Functional and communication
links centralized,

The chaos of the
emergency response

Might have been avoided.

And fewer lives lost.

Instead, 403 new york first
responders die on 9/11.

Firefighters and
police officers basically

Sacrificed their lives.

But this was the
greatest rescue effort

Ever undertaken, under the
worst possible conditions.

And I don't think
they would ever

Do anything different, again.

That's just what
we do and that's

What people expect of us.

Narrator: The 9/11 attacks left
2,973 people dead

And many more injured.

It also opened the world's
eyes to a new terror.

Al-qaeda had declared war
on america, but america had

Not declared war on al-qaeda.

That might have been a mistake.

I mean, the number of americans
were killed in this thing.

It was horrific.

The attack on the soil of the
united states was horrific.

What it did to our whole
posture, our whole psyche.

You ask anybody where
they were on that day

And they'll tell you.

Because it's seared
in the memory.

Narrator: No single mistake
allowed the horrific events

Of September 11th
to take place.

But together, they paved
the road to disaster.

The biggest oversight was
the lack of communication.

When you have
a lack of communication,

Opportunities are missed.

And when that happens,
we could very well

See events like we saw on 9/11.

Narrator: Now, two decades
after the 9/11 attacks,

They are mistakes no one
wants to make again.

The strategies of terrorist
organizations historically

Have morphed.

They look for weakness.

So one should anticipate
that they're looking

To game whatever
security system is in place.

If there's any
silver lining to 9/11,

It's that it exposed
the ways in which

Our intelligence community and
our national security approach

Was obsolete.

It showed all of the places

That we need to change
and adapt in order

To confront the new threat.