Intense smoke and heat, rather than flames, pushed people into this
horrific choice. Flight 11 struck the 94th through 98th floors of the
north tower, shooting heat and smoke up elevator shafts and
stairways in the center of the building. Within minutes, it would have
been very difficult to breathe. That drove people to the windows 1,100
to 1,300 feet above ground.
There were several reasons more people jumped from the north tower
than from the south. The fire was more intense and compact in the
north tower. The jet hit higher, so smoke was concentrated in 15 floors
compared with 30 floors in the south tower, which was hit on the 78th
through 84th floors. The north tower also stood longer: 102 minutes
vs. 56 minutes. And twice as many people were trapped on the north
tower's upper floors than in the south tower, where occupants had
161/2 minutes to evacuate before the second jet hit.
The New York medical examiner's office says it does not classify the
people who fell to their deaths on September 11th as "jumpers."
"A 'jumper' is somebody who goes to the office in the morning knowing
that they will commit suicide," says Ellen Borakove, spokeswoman for
the medical examiner's office. "These people were forced out by the
smoke and flames or blown out."
She says the medical examiner's office couldn't determine who jumped
because the injuries were similar to those suffered by the people killed
in the collapse of the towers. The manner of death for all those who
died was listed as homicide on death certificates.
To make its estimate of the number of people who plunged from the
Trade Center, USA TODAY reviewed videos and photographs,
interviewed witnesses and analyzed the time and location of the
jumping. The newspaper discussed its conclusion with officials in the
fire department and medical examiner's office who, while not making
calculations of their own, deemed an estimate of 200 jumpers as
accurate.
The New York Times counted 50 different jumpers in a review of
photographs and videotapes. USA TODAY's estimate attempts to
include people whose falls were not documented. Nearly all photos
were of the north tower's north and east faces, which were more
accessible to photographers coming from uptown Manhattan. But
witnesses reported that numerous people lept from the north tower's
south and west sides as well.
On the south side, firefighters reported 30 to 40 bodies on the roof of
the 22-floor Marriott Hotel, adjacent to the north tower.
On the west side, falling bodies crashed onto the awning covering the
circular VIP driveway. The thudding of bodies at this entrance can be
heard on a video taken near there by French cameraman Jules
Naudet, whose footage was broadcast on CBS on March 11.
On the east side, people plummeted into the plaza, best known for its
globe sculpture. Blood covered the glass walls and revolving doors
that led to the plaza from the second-floor mezzanine in the north
tower. People evacuating the north tower walked by this horrible sight.
"The windows were red ... and bits of bodies were outside. We were
stunned and amazed," says Richard Moller, who escaped from the
78th floor.
After the first jet crash, Port Authority police Officer David Lim took an
escalator from the lobby of the north tower to the plaza level, one floor
above. He saw a disfigured body near a stage where musical groups
performed on the plaza. "I said, oh my God! I've got to call this in. 'I've
got a DOA on the plaza.' The desk officer said, 'Are you sure he's
dead?' As I'm retransmitting, another body falls."
To be sure, some who fell didn't jump. Witnesses say a few people
seemed to have stumbled out of broken windows obscured by smoke.
But most say those jumping appeared to make a conscious choice to
die by falling rather than from smoke, heat or fire.
Ultimately, they were choosing not whether to die but how to die.
Nobody survived on the floors from which people jumped.
Victims who jumped had a profound influence on the evacuation.
Firefighters moved their command post away from the building to
avoid them. A falling body killed a firefighter. Fire Commissioner
Thomas Van Essen, rushing out of the north tower to meet Mayor
Rudy Giuliani, was nearly killed when a body landed 15 feet away.
To safeguard people from falling bodies and debris, authorities
blocked the main exits from the lobbies to the street. Instead, people
escaping from both towers were sent through an underground
shopping mall and under the outdoor plaza where bodies were falling.
The sight of people jumping saved lives, too. In the south tower,
people had a close-up view of people plunging to their deaths from a
building that was a mirror image of their own. "I looked at a couple of
people jumping, and that was it. I'd seen enough. I said, 'We've got to
get the hell out of here,' " says Jaede Barg, who worked for Aon on the
south tower's 100th floor.
Many south tower survivors say the sight of people jumping created
an urgency that caused them to leave immediately and ignore
announcements that it was safe to return to their desks. About 1,400
people evacuated the upper floors before the second jet hit.
Eric Thompson, who worked on the 77th floor of the south tower, went
to a conference room window after the first jet hit. He was shocked
when a man came to a north tower window and leapt from a few floors
above the fire. Thompson looked the man in the face. He saw his tie
flapping in the wind. He watched the man's body strike the pavement
below. "There was no human resemblance whatsoever," Thompson
says.
horrific choice. Flight 11 struck the 94th through 98th floors of the
north tower, shooting heat and smoke up elevator shafts and
stairways in the center of the building. Within minutes, it would have
been very difficult to breathe. That drove people to the windows 1,100
to 1,300 feet above ground.
There were several reasons more people jumped from the north tower
than from the south. The fire was more intense and compact in the
north tower. The jet hit higher, so smoke was concentrated in 15 floors
compared with 30 floors in the south tower, which was hit on the 78th
through 84th floors. The north tower also stood longer: 102 minutes
vs. 56 minutes. And twice as many people were trapped on the north
tower's upper floors than in the south tower, where occupants had
161/2 minutes to evacuate before the second jet hit.
The New York medical examiner's office says it does not classify the
people who fell to their deaths on September 11th as "jumpers."
"A 'jumper' is somebody who goes to the office in the morning knowing
that they will commit suicide," says Ellen Borakove, spokeswoman for
the medical examiner's office. "These people were forced out by the
smoke and flames or blown out."
She says the medical examiner's office couldn't determine who jumped
because the injuries were similar to those suffered by the people killed
in the collapse of the towers. The manner of death for all those who
died was listed as homicide on death certificates.
To make its estimate of the number of people who plunged from the
Trade Center, USA TODAY reviewed videos and photographs,
interviewed witnesses and analyzed the time and location of the
jumping. The newspaper discussed its conclusion with officials in the
fire department and medical examiner's office who, while not making
calculations of their own, deemed an estimate of 200 jumpers as
accurate.
The New York Times counted 50 different jumpers in a review of
photographs and videotapes. USA TODAY's estimate attempts to
include people whose falls were not documented. Nearly all photos
were of the north tower's north and east faces, which were more
accessible to photographers coming from uptown Manhattan. But
witnesses reported that numerous people lept from the north tower's
south and west sides as well.
On the south side, firefighters reported 30 to 40 bodies on the roof of
the 22-floor Marriott Hotel, adjacent to the north tower.
On the west side, falling bodies crashed onto the awning covering the
circular VIP driveway. The thudding of bodies at this entrance can be
heard on a video taken near there by French cameraman Jules
Naudet, whose footage was broadcast on CBS on March 11.
On the east side, people plummeted into the plaza, best known for its
globe sculpture. Blood covered the glass walls and revolving doors
that led to the plaza from the second-floor mezzanine in the north
tower. People evacuating the north tower walked by this horrible sight.
"The windows were red ... and bits of bodies were outside. We were
stunned and amazed," says Richard Moller, who escaped from the
78th floor.
After the first jet crash, Port Authority police Officer David Lim took an
escalator from the lobby of the north tower to the plaza level, one floor
above. He saw a disfigured body near a stage where musical groups
performed on the plaza. "I said, oh my God! I've got to call this in. 'I've
got a DOA on the plaza.' The desk officer said, 'Are you sure he's
dead?' As I'm retransmitting, another body falls."
To be sure, some who fell didn't jump. Witnesses say a few people
seemed to have stumbled out of broken windows obscured by smoke.
But most say those jumping appeared to make a conscious choice to
die by falling rather than from smoke, heat or fire.
Ultimately, they were choosing not whether to die but how to die.
Nobody survived on the floors from which people jumped.
Victims who jumped had a profound influence on the evacuation.
Firefighters moved their command post away from the building to
avoid them. A falling body killed a firefighter. Fire Commissioner
Thomas Van Essen, rushing out of the north tower to meet Mayor
Rudy Giuliani, was nearly killed when a body landed 15 feet away.
To safeguard people from falling bodies and debris, authorities
blocked the main exits from the lobbies to the street. Instead, people
escaping from both towers were sent through an underground
shopping mall and under the outdoor plaza where bodies were falling.
The sight of people jumping saved lives, too. In the south tower,
people had a close-up view of people plunging to their deaths from a
building that was a mirror image of their own. "I looked at a couple of
people jumping, and that was it. I'd seen enough. I said, 'We've got to
get the hell out of here,' " says Jaede Barg, who worked for Aon on the
south tower's 100th floor.
Many south tower survivors say the sight of people jumping created
an urgency that caused them to leave immediately and ignore
announcements that it was safe to return to their desks. About 1,400
people evacuated the upper floors before the second jet hit.
Eric Thompson, who worked on the 77th floor of the south tower, went
to a conference room window after the first jet hit. He was shocked
when a man came to a north tower window and leapt from a few floors
above the fire. Thompson looked the man in the face. He saw his tie
flapping in the wind. He watched the man's body strike the pavement
below. "There was no human resemblance whatsoever," Thompson
says.
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