September 11, 2001 attacks

A picture taken of the Statue of Liberty and World Trade Center during the September 11, attacks.

This page is for quotes related to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and their aftermath.

September 11, 2001

Quotations of statements made during the events of September 11^th, 2001.

• "Something is wrong. We are in a rapid descent... we are all over the place. ... I see water. I see buildings. We are flying low. We are flying very, very low. We are flying way too low. ... Oh my God, we are way too low... Oh my God! Oh my God." (Flight attendant Madeline Amy Sweeney, at the end of her phone call to a supervisor describing the hijacking of American Airlines Flight 11.)

Simple: There is something wrong. We are falling very fast, and all flying all around. I see water. I see buildings. We are flying low, very, very low. We are flying way too low!

• "What do I tell the pilots to do?" (CNN commentator Barbara Olson, passenger on American Airlines Flight 77, cell phone call to her husband, Solicitor General Theodore Olson.)

Simple: What should I tell the pilots to do?

• "Are you guys ready? Let's roll." (Todd Beamer, passenger on United Airlines Flight 93, last reported words from his cell phone call to Lisa D. Jefferson, a GTC telephone switchboard operator.)

Simple: Are you all ready? Let us go and do it.

• "They're coming." (Translation of a statement in Arabic reportedly heard in radio transmissions at the end of United flight 93.)

Simple: They are coming.

Aftermath

Public responses of victims, officials, terrorists and commentators.

• "This enemy attacked not just our people, but all freedom-loving people everywhere in the world. The United States of America will use all our resources to conquer this enemy. We will rally the world. We will be patient, we will be focused, and we will be steadfast in our determination.... we will not allow this enemy to win the war by changing our way of life or restricting our freedoms." – George W. Bush

Simple: The terrorists not only attacked the United States of America, but all freedom and good people all over the world. We will use all our resources to defeat the enemy, with the rest of the world's help. We will be patient, focused, and will keep trying to do this. We will not allow the enemy to win by changing our lives and taking away our freedoms.

Other websites

• September 11 attacks on Wikipedia
• 9/11 on Wikimedia Commons
• 9-11Commission.gov - 'National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States' (Official Website – archived)
• 911DigitalArchive.org - 'September 11 Digital Archive: Saving the Histories of September 11th, 2001' (in partnership with the Library of Congress)
• 911 Investigations - Repository of documents relating to the 9/11 attacks and War on Terrorism
• BBC News - 'America's Day of Terror'
• Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding 9/11