by Claire O'Neill

It's been almost 10 years since the Sept. 11 attacks. And just when you think you've seen it all, a new perspective emerges. According to The Associated Press, the photos were taken from a police helicopter just moments after the attack. The photographers in that helicopter were the only ones allowed in the airspace around the wreckage that day. The images were obtained by ABC after it filed a Freedom of Information Act request last year with the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

  • These photos were taken by the New York City Police Department just after the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001. ABC News claims to have obtained them under the Freedom of Information Act. Smoke and ash engulf the area around the World Trade Center.
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    These photos were taken by the New York City Police Department just after the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001. ABC News claims to have obtained them under the Freedom of Information Act. Smoke and ash engulf the area around the World Trade Center.
    All photos by Detective Greg Semendinger/NYPD via ABC News/AP
  • A World Trade Center tower burns after being hit by a passenger jet in New York.
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    A World Trade Center tower burns after being hit by a passenger jet in New York.
  • This image and the next show one of the towers of the World Trade Center beginning to crumble.
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    This image and the next show one of the towers of the World Trade Center beginning to crumble.
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  • The following images show the city swallowed by smoke and ash.
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    The following images show the city swallowed by smoke and ash.
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