9/11: The Plane That Hit The Pentagon Apr 2026

: Flight 77 departed from Dulles International Airport at 8:20 a.m.. Roughly 30 minutes into the flight, five hijackers took control of the cockpit and turned the plane back toward Washington, D.C..

: The strike destroyed the load capacity of roughly 30 first-floor columns and severely impaired 20 others. 9/11: The Plane that Hit the Pentagon

: Just 5 miles from the target, the plane executed a 330-degree descending spiral turn. It flew so low that it clipped five streetlights and a portable generator before slamming into the Pentagon's first floor. : Flight 77 departed from Dulles International Airport

In the immediate aftermath, the Department of Defense launched the , an aggressive effort to rebuild the damaged 400,000 square feet of office space. : Just 5 miles from the target, the

: The plane hit "Wedge 1," an area that had recently undergone a $250 million renovation. These upgrades, including blast-resistant windows and structural reinforcements, were credited with preventing an even higher death toll. Structural Damage and Response

: On impact, the aircraft's 7,256 gallons of fuel ignited into a fireball that rose 200 feet.

: The Arlington County Fire Department (ACFD) took command of the scene within ten minutes, leading a massive multi-agency effort. Most successful rescues of survivors occurred within the first 30 minutes following the crash. The Phoenix Project: Rebuilding from Ash