News organizations at first reported an explosion or incident at the World Trade Center . CNN broke into a commercial at 08:49 with the headline that read " World Trade Center Disaster " . Carol Lin , who was the first anchor to break the news of the attacks , said : Later , in an on-air phone call from his office at the CNN New York bureau , CNN vice-president of finance Sean Murtagh reported that a large passenger commercial jet had hit the World Trade Center . Eventually , other television networks interrupted regular broadcasting with news of the crash . President George W. Bush was arriving at Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota , Florida . Initial news reports speculated that the crash had been an accident until United Airlines Flight 175 was flown into the South Tower 17 minutes after Flight 11 made impact
United Airlines Flight 175
United Airlines Flight 175
American Airlines Flight 11