Details of what happened to the four hijacked jetliners on September 11, 2001, have been known for years, but when a US prosecutor read a simple minute-by-minute account of the attacks, the jury deciding the fate of confessed al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui hung on every word.

Two flight attendants on the doomed American Airlines plane that crashed into New York’s World Trade Centre on September 11 relayed vital details that helped the FBI identify the terrorists responsible.