r/NoStupidQuestions • u/JMRooDukes808 • 6d ago

Do you think the 9/11 hijackers knew that the WTC buildings would collapse?

I really don’t know where else to ask this. There is obviously an overload of information about the event itself online, but one thing I can’t find out is if the hijackers intended to, or knew that the WTC buildings would collapse. Do you think they just planned on the impact and fires to be the extent of the damage caused? As far as I know, no steel structure buildings in history had collapsed from fire at that point, so it makes me wonder if they actually “succeeded” in their plan more than they intended.

Edit: no conspiracies please, that was not the point of my post

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u/Christmas2025 6d ago

100% no—everyone was incredibly surprised that day when they did.

If the hijackers had anticipated the physics of what would’ve happened, they would’ve hit the buildings as low as possible and after 9:00 AM, as this would’ve resulted in tens of thousands of more deaths. In the North Tower (the first hit), no one above the floor where the airplane impacted survived, as all the staircases were severed. If Atta had hit a lower floor and after 9:00 AM (instead of 8:45 AM), tens of thousands more would’ve assuredly died from that tower alone, and the tower also would’ve collapsed much sooner, and potentially toppled over, which would’ve caused even more deaths below.

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u/_munkee_ 6d ago edited 6d ago

Actually in 1993 they drove a van of explosives under the WTC and tried to blow up a pillar. Someone wanted to bring the towers down.

1993 WTC bombing

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u/Christmas2025 6d ago

Exactly, and I think the fact that the 1993 bombing didn’t bring them down is what further cemented people’s belief by 2001 that it couldn’t be brought down as easily as may have been thought before 1993.