NEW YORK, United States: Newly shared 9/11 aerial photos taken by former NYPD helicopter pilot Greg Semendinger show the Twin Towers burning and collapsing during the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Semendinger, now 77, shared photographs from his archive with the USA TODAY Network for coverage marking the attacks’ 25th anniversary. Many of the images had not been shown publicly before.
The New York Police Department detective was dispatched toward the World Trade Centre shortly after the first plane struck the north tower at 8:46 a.m. He carried a camera because he routinely photographed Aviation Unit rescue operations.
This footage was recorded by NYPD officers aboard a rescue helicopter on September 11, 2001.
The helicopter crew was preparing to search for possible survivors on the rooftops of the World Trade Center, but instead captured the collapse of the South Tower.
A rare aerial record…
— Naveed Khan (@i_Naveediqbal) September 11, 2026Semendinger and pilot Jim Ciccone reached the scene about eight minutes after the first impact and searched for people on the tower’s roof who might need evacuation.
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The second hijacked plane struck the south tower at 9:03 a.m. Semendinger said seeing the explosion made clear that New York was under terrorist attack.
These images, captured from an NYPD helicopter on September 11, 2001, show the Twin Towers during some of the most critical moments of the attacks.
From the air, pilots observed the condition of the buildings and relayed information about the rapidly changing situation on the…
— Naveed Khan (@i_Naveediqbal) September 11, 2026He later photographed the south tower collapsing at 9:59 a.m. while flying over Brooklyn. As the helicopter approached the remaining north tower, Semendinger noticed structural changes and warned over police radio that the building could soon fall.
The north tower collapsed at 10:28 a.m. Semendinger’s digital archive ultimately grew to about 150 images documenting the destruction, with smoke and debris covering Lower Manhattan.
