Could controlled demolition have brought down the World Trade Center towers?

Nature · Published 7 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: On September 11, 2001, the world watched as the Twin Towers collapsed. While conspiracy theories suggest the buildings fell due to explosives, scientists have turned to unexpected methods, such as blasting a college dormitory, to investigate whether controlled demolition was actually possible.

The attacks on September 11, 2001, remain the deadliest terrorist events in history, resulting in the deaths of 2,976 people. The destruction involved four hijacked airliners: American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 struck the Twin Towers in New York City, American Airlines Flight 77 hit the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and a fourth plane crashed in rural Pennsylvania. The North Tower was struck at 8:46 a.m., and the South Tower was hit 17 minutes later at 9:03 a.m. The North Tower was hit by American Airlines Flight 11. The South Tower was struck by United Airlines Flight 175. The third aircraft was an American Airlines flight that hit the Pentagon. The final plane crashed in a rural area of Pennsylvania.

The scale of the tragedy prompted the FBI to launch its largest investigation ever, code-named PENTTBOM. This massive operation involved following more than half-a-million investigative leads and managing the largest crime scenes in the bureau's history. Investigators worked to identify the hijackers and their sponsors while coordinating with intelligence communities globally to prevent future incidents.

Amidst the devastation, questions arose regarding the mechanism of the buildings' collapse. Some have questioned if the towers were brought down by controlled demolition. To address such claims, researchers have utilized scientific experiments, including the controlled blasting of structures like college dormitories, to model the physics of building collapses and determine if the plane impacts and subsequent fires were sufficient to cause the structural failure observed that day.

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