Looking at these images never gets any easier. The photos that follow depict the horrible images of the September 11, 2001 attacks and the aftermath of the recovery efforts where some 2800 innocent people died, including those aboard hijacked flights American 11 and United 175. ABC News recently obtained these images after filing a Freedom of Information Act request in 2009 with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which had collected as part of an investigation into the collapse of the World Trade Center. (Det. Greg Semendinger/NYC Police Aviation Unit)
These images reveal the recovery efforts and disaster relief from a broader perspective than just an aerial view. They show the burning buildings from the water and as far away as the Statue of Liberty.
Featured in this slideshow are selections from the thousands of images provided to ABC News. While many of the visuals depict images from that day that the public generally has seen before, some are from slightly different vantage points or angles.
A boat offshore is pictured here as plumes of smoke from the buildings’ collapse rise to the sky.
The images include hundreds of shots taken from New York Police Department helicopters that show the vast size of the dust and debris cloud created when the towers fell. This aerial image gives a close-up look at one of the burning towers.
In this powerful image, boats rush to the scene where nearly 3,000 people lost their lives. The wake left in the water by the boats conveys the urgency with which rescue teams were deployed to Ground Zero.
A dust-and-debris cloud begins to settle over lower Manhattan after the collapse of the World Trade Center towers.
Thick plumes of smoke rise around the towers. This aerial view depicts the monumental devastation inflicted upon New York City.
VIỆT THỨC [Set of images obtained by ABC offer perspective on WTC collapse of 9/11]
