15+ Rare Photos Of 9/11 You Probably Haven’t Seen Before

It has been 16 years since the devastating attacks of September 11. Coverage of the tragedy during which nearly 3,000 perished was the main priority for most Western news agencies (the scenes were witnessed by an estimated two billion people – a third of the human race). Together with amateur records, this has produced an incredible amount of footage; some of it is rarely seen today.

A&D has collected some of the least seen 9/11 pictures from the internet. From street shots of the towers going down to satellite images of New York City, these unforgettable photos reveal new angles of the horrific day that changed the world forever. For more similar September 11 shots, check out this powerful book by David Friend. (H/T)

01. A Knot Of Bystanders At Park Row And Beekman Street Look Up As The South Tower Begins To Collapse

Patrick Witty

02. As Seen Through A Fish-Eye Lens From An Apartment Four Blocks Away, Smoke Streams From The North Tower Within Minutes Of The First Plane’s Attack

Patricia McDonough

03. A Man Has A Job To Do

Melanie Einzig

04. At Rector Street And Broadway, A Photographer Leaned Out His Window With A Medium-format Camera And Caught The Moment Before The Second Plane’s Impact

Rob Howard

05. People Run Down Broadway As A Smoke And Dust Cloud Comes Up The Street From The Collapsing World Trade Center Buildings In New York

Kelly Price

06. American Airlines Flight 11 (Visible In The Upper Right-Hand Corner Of The Photo) Approaches The North Tower Of The World Trade Center On September 11, 2001

American Airlines Flight 11 (visible in the upper right-hand corner of the photo) approaches the north tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. This largely unknown triptych (the subsequent images follow), shot from a Brooklyn window, was part of an ongoing Internet art exhibition that displayed updated panoramas of downtown Manhattan every four seconds. A time code can be seen in the lower right-hand corner of each frame. Wolfgang Staehle

07. Not Yet Realizing A Terrorist Attack Was In Progress, Architect And Amateur Pilot Isabel Daser, Eight Months Pregnant, Asked A Co-Worker To Take Her Portrait As A Record Of The Day

Daser Bessler

08. The South Tower Disintegrates, Raining Debris Behind A Cross Atop Trinity Church

James Nachtwey / VII for Time

09. People Falling From The Towers

David Surowiecki

10. I Was 4 Years Old, And The Picture Was Taken Along The Westside Highway That Morning On 9/11

AustinSansone

11. The Second Plane Flew Directly Over My Head And Slammed Into The South Tower. It Took Me A Few Seconds To Get My Head Together, And This Was The Shot I Took

Marc A. Garrett

12. On A Brooklyn Rooftop Shortly After The Collapse Of The Twin Towers

On a Brooklyn rooftop shortly after the collapse of the Twin Towers, Jenna Piccirillo and three-month-old Vaughan embody innocence and resilience, according to the photographer: “Life continues in the face of disaster . . . despite the horrors we inflict on one another.” Alex Webb/Magnum Photos

13. A Lone Man Runs Down Broadway As A Smoke And Dust Cloud Comes Up The Street From The Collapsing World Trade Center Buildings In New York September 11, 2001

Kelly Price

14. The Photographer Considered This 9/11 Brooklyn Scene Too Tranquil At The Time. He Decided Not To Publish The Image Widely Until Four Years After The Attacks

Thomas Hoepker/Magnum Photos

15. South Tower Of The World Trade Center Collapsing

Bolivar Arellano

16. A Plane Explodes After Hitting The Second Tower Of The World Trade Center As The Other Tower Burns

Sara K. Schwittek

17. Smoke Plumes Are Clearly Visible In This Landsat 7 Satellite Image Of New York City Made Early On September 12

NASA

18. Twin Towers Of The World Trade Center Burn Behind The Empire State Building

Marty Lederhandler

19. Several Buildings In The Trade Center Complex Collapsed Following A Terrorist Attack

Petra Beter

20. 9/11

Luke Kurtis

21. Penman Got As Close To The Buildings As He Could, Before Police Put Up A Cordon. But That Meant He Was Right Next To The Buildings When The First Tower Collapsed

Phil Penman

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