- Danny Lewin was on the first flight to be hijacked by terrorists on 9/11
- Having served in the Israeli military's most elite counter-terrorism unit, Lewin tried to single-handedly take on the five hijackers
- But he was killed during the struggle - making him the first victim of 9/11
- Ironically, it was his company Akamai Technologies which kept the internet up and running that day
The remarkable story of the first victim of the September 11 terrorist attacks has been revealed for the first time in a new biography.
Internet entrepreneur Danny Lewin was 31-years-old when he was killed on American Airlines Flight 11 as he fought to stop hijackers from taking over the plane.
The Boeing 767 from Boston was the first of four planes to be hijacked that day before it was crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
The first victim of 9/11: Danny Lewin, left, was killed by terrorist Satam al-Suqami, right, as he tried to stop five hijackers from gaining control of American Airlines Flight 11 which crashed into the Twin Towers
Heroic: Lewin was killed in his attempt to stop the five terrorists who took over Flight 11 before flying it into the North Tower of the World Trade Centre, pictured above shortly after the impact. Hijacked United Airlines Flight 175 can be seen to the left heading for the South Tower just before 9am on September 11
The moment that shocked the world: American Airlines Flight 11 was the first of four hijacked planes to crash at approximately 8.46am on September 11
The plane had been on course for the first 16 minutes of the flight until it passed Worcester, Massachusetts, and five terrorists, armed with box cutters and knives, hijacked the plane.
The hijackers then turned the plane north instead of south - heading it towards New York airspace.
As Lewin, who had served in the most elite counter-terrorism unit of the Israel Defence Force and understood Arabic, was sitting towards the front of the plane in seat 9B it is believed he was one of the first to suspect the plane was being hijacked and tried to single-handedly overpower the terrorists.
Early reports by the 9/11 Commission claimed that terrorist Satam al-Suqami shot and killed Lewin between 8.15am and 8.20am.
But two flight attendants on board the flight told authorities on the ground that the first passenger to be killed was seated in 9B and was stabbed to death.
After numerous interviews with various officials on the ground who spoke to the attendants, a later report by the Commission suggested that hijacker al-Suqami slit Lewin's throat.
Half an hour later the flight, which had been bound nonstop for Los Angeles, crashed into the Twin Towers at 8.46am.
The second hit: The moment Hijacked United Airlines Flight 175, which departed from Boston en route for Los Angeles, crashes into the South Tower of the World Trade Centre
Devastation: An explosion rips through the South Tower of the World Trade Centre after the hijacked United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into it. The North Tower is shown burning after American Airlines Flight 11 crashed a little over 15 minutes earlier
All 81 passengers, nine crew members, and two pilots on the flight died but Lewin is believed to be the first person killed during the 9/11 atrocities.
Lewin's best friend Marco Greenberg told Slate: 'He was the first victim of the first war of the 21st century.'
Shortly after Flight 11 crashed, another hijacked plane, United Airlines Flight 175, hit the South Tower of the World Trade Centre at 9.03am.
That same day, another hijacked plane crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, before the final plane crash landed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
A new book by Molly Knight - No Better Time: The Brief, Remarkable Life of Danny Lewin, the Genius Who Transformed the Internet - not only reveals Lewin's brave actions on that day but the commando-turned-computer scientist's remarkable life before he was killed.
The author said she wanted to write about Lewin's life because she feel it deserves to be celebrated.
She told CNN: 'It was about the way he lived. 'I felt like if he was motivating me as much, I felt like I could do the same for readers.'
Killers: Waleed M Alshehri, pictured left, and Wail Alshehri, pictured right, were two of the hijackers on Flight 11
Terrorists: Abdulaziz Alomari, pictured left, and Mohamed Atta, pictured right, also helped to take over the plane
9/11: Nearly 3,000 people died when four hijacked planes were used in coordinated strikes on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center towers (pictured). The fourth plane crashed in Pennsylvania
As news of the 9/11 terrorist attacks spread around the world, ironically it was Lewin's own technology which allowed the internet to keep up with the increased amount of traffic.
Israeli-American Lewin co-founded Akamai Technologies which is responsible for more than 30 per cent of the world’s internet traffic.
His company's October 1999 share market float made Lewin an overnight billionaire and he became one of the world's richest high-tech entrepreneurs before he was even 30-years-old.
The multibillion dollar company's clients today still include Sony, Apple and News Corp.
Before his business success, Lewin, who was brought up in Denver, Colorado, before his family moved ot Israel when he was 14, served with one of the country’s most elite counter-terrorism unit, Sayeret Mat’kal.
After reaching the rank of captain, he decided to return to graduate school to study maths and computer science.
He studied at the Israeli Institute of Technology before going on to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on a full scholarship where he came up with an idea to make the internet work faster.
The set of algorithms he created and called 'consistent hashing' formed the basis of his company Akamai which he set up with MIT professor Tom Leighton in 1998.
Memorial: President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Jill Biden observe a moment of silence to mark the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington
Memorial: President Obama, the First Lady, Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill remember the moment of the attacks
Emotional: President Barack Obama, accompanied by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, wipes his face as he speaks during a 9/11 remembrance ceremony at the Pentagon on Wednesday morning
Describing Lewin, Leighton told CNN: 'He was really exceptionally smart. MIT has a lot of really smart people, and Danny stood out even among that rarified environment.
'He liked working on the hardest problems, as opposed to the easier ones, because they would make more of a difference.'
He dded he was intrigued by Lewin's idea because it would make a real beneficial impact on the world.
He said: 'In the area where we worked, in algorithms and the theoretical side of computer science, often that work is good, deep work, but it doesn't change the world. It doesn't impact people directly.
'With this work, we thought it would have relevance in the real world, and make the Internet be faster, more reliable, more secure. It was a chance that was pretty rare for us.'
Akamai is responsible for keeping some of the world's most popular websites running smoothly, including Facebook and iTunes.
Lewin had boarded Flight 11, which took off shortly before 8am on September 11, to attend a Akamai business meeting in Los Angeles.
After the terrorist attacks, almost every major news site remained up and running that day despite the hug volume of traffic because of Lewin's creation.
If he was still alive today, it is likely he would be placed in the ranks alongside Steve Jobs and Bill Gates.
Lewin is survived by his wife Anne and sons Eitan and Itamar.
US President Barack Obama, left-rear, and others salute during the playing of the US National Anthem during a memorial service at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial
Paying their respects: The World Trade Center Flag is presented as friends and relatives of the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks gather at the National September 11 Memorial
Tributes: Flowers and pictures are displayed by a name along the north reflecting pool at the 9/11 Memorial to mark the anniversary of the attacks
No comments:
Post a Comment