Clint Haynes, the man that went to the store to buy earplugs before work so that he could sleep that night, did not realize that those would be entirely unnecessary after what was about to happen. “I’ll never forget that Manhattan was always insanely loud, with the taxis, and cars, and buses, and people, but that night it was like a ghost town,” said Haynes, “It was the strangest thing to see it like that.” What rendered Manhattan to a silent city, was considered the worst terrorist attack in history, and that was the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

“I have never felt an earthquake, but that is about what I would guess it feels like,” said Haynes, “We felt the tower sway back and forth, and we wondered what had just happened. The plane had hit about 12 floors up.” Haynes was in the South Tower, when both the North and the South Tower were hit.

One of the reason Americans are so terrified by the attacks is how unopposed they occurred. So, this is what has changed as a result of the Sept. 11 attacks.

THEN: It took over half an hour from the time the first flight was thought to have been hijacked to the time that jets were scrambled. That does not include the time it took to find the planes and fly to their location, and by then it was too late. Having such a long time to deploy wastes precious seconds during a crisis situation, and therefore allowed for the planes to fly to their objectives (excluding Flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania when passengers attempted to take the plane back).

NOW: There are several different air bases ready to scramble jets when ordered. Also, because of other new security measures, jets have more time to deploy in the case of an emergency.

THEN: On Sept. 11, the hijackers had very little difficulty in breaching the flight’s cockpit and proceeding to take control of the airliner. This was a major flaw in the security of the United States. If the cockpit had not been so easy to breach, the pilots could have made contact with ground control or other contacts, and the large lag time for jets being scrambled would not have been an issue.

NOW: The cockpit is to remain closed during flight, and are outfitted with bullet-proof doors, so as to make it even harder for passengers to take control of the plane. There is also extensive background checks to ensure terrorists are not hired as pilots or co-pilots for airline companies.

THEN: Some of the hijackers did not have correct identification in order to board the planes, yet they were allowed on.

NOW: Passengers are not allowed to board planes for any reason or situation unless they have proper ID.

THEN: The World Trade Center buildings were not properly reinforced for intense flames and structural failures. When the plane crashed into the building, some of the support for it was ripped away. The strength of the building comes from its vertical support beams that go up the building next to the windows. Also, when the flames from the airliners’ fuel hit the support beams of the building, the beams began to sag downward. Eventually, they failed, which resulted in that level falling. Due to the force of the floors above it falling, the next floor fell, and the next, and the next, causing a domino effect that brought the entire building down.

NOW: Skyscrapers are built so that if an event like the one on Sept. 11 were to happen, there are multiple engineering feats to ensure that the whole building does not collapse, such as reinforced beams, that are even more resistant to high temperatures than before. To ensure construction material and fire resistance building is keeping up with safety, legislation has been passed that regulates how skyscrapers are built.

THEN: Stairwells were designed in the event of only a couple of floors having a fire, as an inferno was not expected to transcend more than a couple of floors.

NOW: There are a multitude of different options to escape skyscrapers (depending on the size), and they are stronger and separated more than those in the World Trade Center. There are improved sprinkler systems, and clearer paths to take in the event of an emergency.

THEN: Americans were defeated by a terrorist group in the Middle East. The twin towers of the world trade center, something the United States was known for, was brought down by a couple of airliners, and thousands of lives were lost.

NOW: The United States has found and assassinated Al Qaeda mastermind Osama bin Laden causing the organization to only be a shadow of what it once was. Safety regulations and measures have been taken to ensure that nothing like the Sept. 11 attacks happen again, at least not on United States soil. While Americans may have been knocked down for a moment, many historians believe that they are stronger than ever. The One World Trade Center is set to open completely this year, and stands at 104 stories tall, only six less than that of the original Twin Towers. Surpassing all of the expectations and regulations of new skyscrapers, it is a symbol of America’s determination and freedom. In the future, there will be more than four buildings in the new World Trade Center.