Disaster At The Pentagon
- Aircraft Crashes Into Defense Headquarters In Washington
- Sources Say 100 People Killed Or Wounded In Attack
- Defense Secretary Says Pentagon Is Functioning
WASHINGTON, Sept. 11, 2001
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Fire burning at the Pentagon.
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(CBS) A hijacked plane crashed into the Pentagon on Tuesday, setting off a massive fire and sending the nation's capital into shock.
President Bush ordered the military to "high-alert status," and vowed to "hunt down and punish those responsible" for the attacks in Washington and New York, where the World Trade Center was devastated with a heavy loss of life.
The top leaders of Congress were led to the safety of an undisclosed location, and military aircraft were reported patrolling the skies above Washington.
Government officials returned to the Pentagon for a press briefing Tuesday evening. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the Pentagon is functioning, and will be open for business Wednesday. He said the number of casualties from the attack "will not be few" but said it was too early to give figures. Other sources put the number of people beleived killed or injured at 100.
Key members of Congress joined in condemning the terror attacks and proclaiming that the government is unified. Senate Armed Services chairman Carl Levin said, "Our institution is strong, our unity is palpable."
John Warner, a Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the nation "stands behind our president," and that the president speaks "with one voice for this entire nation."
The nerve center of the U.S. military burst into flames and a portion of one side of the five-sided structure collapsed when the plane struck in midmorning. Secondary explosions were reported in the aftermath of the attack and great billows of smoke drifted skyward toward the Potomac River and the city beyond.
Rep. Ike Skelton, briefed by Pentagon officials, said, "There appear to be about 100 casualties" in the building. The plane was believed to be an American Airlines 757 en route from Dulles Airport near Washington to Los Angeles.
"The fire was intense," Rear Adm. Craig Quigley, the Pentagon spokesman, told reporters in a makeshift briefing at a gasoline station across the street.
"The whole building shook" with the impact, said Terry Yonkers, an Air Force civilian employee at work inside the Pentagon at the time of the attack. "There was screaming and pandemonium," he said, but the evacuation ordered shortly afterward was carried out smoothly.
"I saw a big jet flying close to the building, coming at full speed. There was a big noise when it hit the building," said Oscar Martinez, who witnessed the attack.
Vice President Dick Cheney was in Washington and he and first lady Laura Bush were taken to an undisclosed secure location, officials said. Congressional leaders were hustled away from the Capitol to safety.
The departments of Justice, State, Treasury and Defense were among those ordered evacuated, as were the Capitol and the White House. In a remarkable scene, security guards brandishing automatic weapons could be seen outside the White House.
The FAA ordered the entire nationwide air traffic system shut down.
The Pentagon was hit a short while after the World Trade Center was struck. A plane, described by witnesses as a jetliner, made impact in the portion of the building on the side opposite from where Rumsfeld's office are located.
Paul Begala, a Democratic consultant, said he witnessed an explosion near the Pentagon, saying it sent a huge, orange fireball skyward.
AP reporter Dave Winslow also saw the crash. He said, "I saw the tail of a large airliner. ... It plowed right into the Pentagon."
Gen. Richard Myers, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that prior to the crash into the Pentagon, military officials had been notified that another hijacked plane had been heading from the New York area to Washington. He said he assumed that hijacked plane was the one that hit the Pentagon, though he couldn't be sure.
©MMI, CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press and Reuters Limited contributed to this report.
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