Four commercial airliners were hijacked by 19 al-Qaeda terrorists on September 11, 2001. Two planes crashed into the North and South towers of the World Trade Center, a third plane hit the Pentagon, and a fourth crashed in a field after passengers fought back. Both towers of the World Trade Center collapsed after burning, killing nearly 3,000 people including those on the planes and at the Pentagon. The attacks destroyed the World Trade Center and significantly impacted New York City and the United States.