Was it really a plane that hit the World Trade Center

CNN BREAKING NEWS
Terrorist Attack on United States
Aired September 11, 2001 - 08:48 ET

The following is from the CNN Transcripts

VINCE CELLINI, CNN ANCHOR: We could see these pictures. It's obviously something devastating that has happened. And again, there are unconfirmed reports that a plane has crashed into one of the towers there. We are efforting more information on the subject as it becomes available to you.

LIN: Right now we've got Sean Murtagh -- he is a CNN producer -- on the telephone.

Sean, what can you tell us what about you know?

SEAN MURTAGH, CNN PRODUCER: This is Sean Murtagh. I just was standing on the vice president of the vice president of finance for CNN.

CELLINI: Shaun, we're on the air right now. What you can tell us about the situation?

MURTAGH: Hello?

CELLINI: Yes, Sean, you are on the air right now. Go ahead. What you can tell us?

MURTAGH: I just witnessed a plane that appeared to be cruising at slightly lower-than-normal altitude over New York City, and it appears to have crashed into -- I don't know which tower it is -- but it hit directly in the middle of one of the World Trade Center towers.

LIN: Sean, what kind of plane was it? Was it a small plane, a jet?

MURTAGH: It was a jet. It looked like a two-engine jet, maybe a 737.

LIN: You are talking about a large passenger commercial jet.

MURTAGH: A large passenger commercial jet.

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This is also from the CNN Transcripts

These are incredible pictures, as you can see here.

KAGAN: Let's keep the pictures here. Joe Tractsonburg (ph) joining us on the phone. Joe, are you with us?

JOE TRACTSONBURG: Yes, I am.

KAGAN: Can you tell us what your vantage point is and what you've seen so far?

TRACTSONBURG: Well, I heard on the radio that one of the towers was on fire. And we went to a high point in our building, which is on the 25th floor, and you had a clear view of the both World Trade Centers and the one that was smoking hard, and there was another plane that was flying low, and we just looked at it, and before we know it, it was just kamikaze, boom, right into the other tower, and mass explosion, windows flying. It was horrible. I'm still distraught looking at it.

KAGAN: Were you close enough to see or get a general idea of what kind of plane that was that flew in the second time?

TRACTSONBURG: Well, I'm not an expert on planes, but it didn't seem like a big passenger jet. It was smaller type plane, because it made some pretty radical turn, and flying low. And you're not used to seeing big planes flying over Manhattan, because I don't think you're allowed to. But it was pretty tough.

KAGAN: And explain to me again, what your vantage point is, where you are in the city looking at this?

TRACTSONBURG: We're in Chelsea. It's -- like 25th Street, 7th Avenue, it's clear looking all the way downtown, and you could see the building, you know, the whole downtown, because it's a clear day, and it's a disaster.

KAGAN: And once again, describe for us what you saw as that plane went into the second building.

TRACTSONBURG: That plane just flew straight into the second building on the downtown side it appears. It was just a huge explosion. And smoke just immediately, fire started immediately coming from the second tower as it hit, and there was glass flying everywhere.

KAGAN: Looks like we have a little bit of audio problems. So I'm going to say thanks to Joe Tractsonburg for talking to us and telling us what he saw.

We are watching it right here, live on CNN, as that plane went it. He had a closer vantage point, and as you can see, as you heard, Leon, he doesn't think it was a big jet, but a smaller plane, from where he could see it.