Making of ‘9/11’ (by Tom Kaminski, 2001), 2013

The story behind the photograph…

90 The September 11 attacks on the United States were coordinated by the Islamist terrorist group al-Qaeda. Nearly 3,000 people were killed, with thousands more injured. Major landmarks – including the World Trade Center in New York – were targeted. A helicopter piloted by Arthur Anderson was first on the scene, and footage from the chopper was aired live on CNN, Fox News and countless other channels worldwide. The pilot recalled: ‘I was flying what we at the base call “the radio ship” (N8BQ). On board was Brian McKinley reporting for 1130AM Bloomberg Radio and Tom Kaminski for 880AM CBS Radio. Sometimes we are required to do cut-ins for WABC-TV in New York, so we were also carrying television-broadcasting equipment….’ It was late in the shift and the team was heading back to base when Anderson saw the first plane – hijacked American Airlines Flight 11 – fly over lower Manhattan and crash into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. ‘I flew southbound toward the towers. We knew we had to go and cover this story. Brian and Tom … were broadcasting and they started rolling the camera…. The first pictures the world saw were taken from our ship.’ They then watched as the second plane – United Airlines Flight 175 – crashed into the South Tower. President George W. Bush responded with military action; in 2011, the mastermind, Osama bin Laden, was finally tracked down and killed.