United Airlines Flight 175 — 9/11 hijacked passenger flight, hit the South Tower of the World Trade Center
Flight 175's impact on the South Tower at 09:03 was broadcast live worldwide, making it the most witnessed act of the September 11 attacks.
Key Facts
- Impact time
- 09:03 EDT, September 11, 2001
- People aboard (excl. hijackers)
- 60 (51 passengers, 9 crew)
- Deaths in South Tower upper levels
- More than 600
- South Tower collapse time
- 09:59, 56 minutes after impact
- Hijackers
- 5 al-Qaeda operatives; pilot: Marwan al-Shehhi
- Aviation history rank
- 2nd-deadliest plane crash on record
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
As part of a coordinated al-Qaeda attack on September 11, 2001, five terrorists hijacked United Airlines Flight 175 approximately 28 minutes after departure from Boston's Logan International Airport. The hijackers overpowered and killed the pilots, with trained pilot Marwan al-Shehhi taking control of the Boeing 767-200 bound for Los Angeles.
At 09:03 EDT, al-Shehhi deliberately crashed Flight 175 into the south face of the World Trade Center's South Tower, striking floors 77 through 85. All 60 people aboard perished instantly, and the crash was televised live around the world — the only one of the four September 11 attacks to be broadcast in real time.
The structural damage and resulting fires caused the South Tower to collapse 56 minutes later at 09:59, killing all remaining occupants inside. More than 600 people in the upper floors died from the impact alone, and an unknown number of civilians and emergency personnel on lower floors also perished. Many victims have never been identified.