Timeline

7:58 am: (All timings are EDT) United Airlines Flight 175, a Boeing 767,leaves Boston's Logan airport for Los Angeles with 56 passengers and 9 crew.

7:59 am: American Airlines Flight 11, a Boeing 767, also departs Bostonbound for Los Angeles with 81 passengers and 11 crew.

8:01 am: United Airlines Flight 93, a Boeing 757, leaves Newark for SanFrancisco with 38 passengers and 7 crew.

8:10 am: American Airlines Flight 77, a Boeing 757 departs Washington'sDulles airport for Los Angeles with 58 passengers and 6 crew.

8:45 a.m: American Airlines Flight 11 crashes into the North Tower of theWorld Trade Center in New York.

9:03 am: News cameras trained on the burning tower capture live UnitedAirlines Flight 175 crashing into the South Tower of the WTC causing adevastating explosion.

9:10 am: In Florida President George W. Bush is reading to children in aclassroom when the Chief of Staff, Andrew Card, whispers news of the attacksinto his ear.

9:17 am: The FAA shuts down all New York City area airports.

9:20 am: The FBI announces that it is investigating reports of planesbeing hijacked.

9:30 am: President Bush, speaking in Florida, says the country hassuffered an "apparent terrorist attack."

9:40 am: The FAA halts all flight operations at U.S. airports, the firsttime in U.S. history that air traffic nationwide has been halted.

9:40 am: American Airlines Flight 77 crashes into the west side of thePentagon, sending up a huge plume of smoke. Evacuation begins immediately.

9:45 am: The White House and the Capitol are evacuated amid furtherthreats.

9:50 am: The South Tower of the WTC collapses sending a massive pall ofsmoke across Manhattan. Many emergency workers and firefighters are crushed ortrapped as well as those who could not get out of the tower.

9:58 am: An emergency dispatcher in Pennsylvania receives a call from apassenger on United Airlines Flight 93 who says: "We are being hijacked, weare being hijacked."

10:00 am: United Airlines Flight 93 crashes 130 km south-east ofPittsburgh.

10:08 am: Secret Service agents armed with automatic rifles are deployedinto Lafayette Park across from the White House.

10:10 am: A portion of the Pentagon collapses.

10:13 am: The United Nations building evacuates, including 4,700 peoplefrom the headquarters building and 7,000 total from UNICEF and U.N. developmentprogrammes.

10:22 am: In Washington, the State and Justice Departments are evacuated,along with the World Bank.

10:24 am: The FAA reports that all inbound trans-Atlantic aircraft flyinginto the United States are being diverted to Canada.

10:25 am: A car bomb is reported to have exploded outside the StateDepartment in Washington.

10:28 am: The WTC's North Tower collapses, releasing a tremendous cloudof debris and smoke.

10:45 am: All federal office buildings in Washington are evacuated.

10.46 am: U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell cuts short his trip toLatin America to return home.

10.48 am: Police confirm the crash in Pennsylvania.

10:53 am: New York's primary elections scheduled for today are postponed.

10:57 am: New York Governor George Pataki says all state governmentoffices are closed.

11:02 am: New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani urges New Yorkers to stay athome and orders an evacuation of the area south of Canal Street.

11:18 am: American Airlines confirms it has lost two aircraft.

11:26 am: United Airlines confirms Flight 93 has crashed in Pennsylvania,south-east of Pittsburgh.

11.59 am: United Airlines confirms that Flight 175 has crashedinto the South Tower of the WTC.

12:04 pm: Los Angeles International Airport is evacuated.

12:15 pm: San Francisco International Airport is evacuated and shut down.

12:15 pm: The Immigration and Naturalization Service says U.S. borderswith Canada and Mexico are on the highest state of alert, but no decision hasbeen made about closing borders.

12:30 pm: The FAA says 50 flights are in U.S. airspace, but none arereporting any problems.

12:39 pm: President Bush, speaking from Barksdale Air Force Base inLouisiana, says that all appropriate security measures are being taken,including putting the U.S. military on high alert worldwide. He asks for prayersfor those killed or wounded in the attacks and says: "Make no mistake, theUnited States will hunt down and punish those responsible for these cowardlyacts."

1:20 pm: President Bush leaves Barksdale Air Force Base and flies toOmutt Air Force Base in Nebraska.

1:27 pm: A state of emergency is declared in Washington DC by MayorAnthony Williams.

1:44 pm: The Pentagon says five warships and two aircraft carriers leavethe U.S. Naval Station in Norfolk, Virginia, to protect the East Coast fromfurther attack and to reduce the number of ships in port. The two carriers, theUSS George Washington and the USS John F. Kennedy, head for the New York coast.The other ships are frigates and guided missile destroyers capable of shootingdown aircraft.

2:30 pm: The FAA announces there will be no U.S. commercial air trafficuntil noon EDT Wednesday.

2:48 pm: At a news conference, Giuliani says that subway and bus serviceare restored in New York City. Asked about the number of people killed, Giulianisays, "I don't think we want to speculate about that -- more than any of uscan bear."

3:55 pm: Karen Hughes, a White House counsellor, says the President is atan undisclosed location, later revealed to be Omutt Air Force base in Nebraska,and is conducting a National Security Council meeting by phone. Vice PresidentDick Cheney and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice are in a securityfacility at the White House. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is at thePentagon.

3:55 pm: Giuliani now says the number of critically injured in New YorkCity is up to 200 with 2,100 total injuries reported.

4:06 pm: California Governor Gray Davis dispatches urbansearch-and-rescue teams to New York City.

4:10 pm: Building 7 of the WTC complex is reported on fire.

4:20 pm: U.S. Senator Bob Graham, chairman of the Senate IntelligenceCommittee, says he is "not surprised there was an attack (but) is surprisedat the specificity." He says he is "shocked at what actually happened-- the extent of it."

4:30 pm: The President leaves Omutt Air Force Base in Nebraska aboard AirForce One to return to Washington

5:20 pm: The 47-story Building 7 of the WTC complex collapses. Theevacuated building was damaged when the twin towers collapsed. Other nearbybuildings in the area remain ablaze.

5:30 pm: U.S. officials say the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania couldhave been headed for one of three possible targets: Camp David, the White Houseor the Capitol building.

6 pm: Explosions are heard in Kabul, Afghanistan, hours after the attacksin the United States. The attacks occur at 2:30 am local time. Afghanistan ishome of Saudi militant Osama bin Laden, who U.S. officials say is behind thedeadly attacks. Officials say later that the United States has no involvement inthe incident whatsoever.

6:10 pm: Mayor Giuliani urges New Yorkers to stay home on Wednesday ifthey can.

6:40 pm: U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld holds a news conferencein the Pentagon, noting the building is operational. "It will be inbusiness tomorrow," he says.

6:54 pm: Bush arrives back at the White House and is scheduled to addressthe nation at 8:30 p.m. The President earlier lands at Andrews Air Force Basewith a three-fighter jet escort.

7:45 pm: The New York Police Department says that at least 78 officersare missing. The city also says that as many as half of the first 400firefighters on the scene are believed to be killed.

8:30 pm: President Bush addresses the nation, saying "thousands oflives were suddenly ended by evil" and asks for prayers for the familiesand friends of the victims. "These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dentthe steel of American resolve," he says. The President says the U.S.government will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed theacts and those who harbour them. He adds that government offices in Washingtonare reopening for essential personnel on Tuesday night and for all workers onWednesday.