25 years on from 9/11: Shock, grief, and resilience as New York is attacked from a clear blue sky

Reporting from New York on the 25th anniversary, Paul Hosford hears stories of people who lived through the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center on this day in 2001

Tuesday, September 11, 2001: Smoke billows from Ground Zero where the twin towers of the World Trade Center once stood. File picture: Daniel Hulshizer/AP

Everybody remembers the clear blue skies. Talk to New Yorkers about September 11, and they will start there.

The skies above the five boroughs were what aviators call a “severe clear”, meaning there were no clouds in the sky and visibility was effectively limited only to the eye’s ability.