Nameless but unforgotten: How 'The Falling Man' became 9/11's defining image

‘The Falling Man’ remains one of 9/11's most haunting images — a lone figure plunging from the burning Twin Towers before they fell on September 11, 2001.

What set this particular image apart, however, was its striking composition. (Wikipedia)Captured by Associated Press photographer Richard Drew moments after al-Qaeda hijackers slammed two planes into the towers, the image is of a man falling from the North Tower. It became one of 9/11's most enduring images, a stark symbol of the thousands of lives lost that day.

It wasn't the only photograph of people falling from the towers that day — but its composition set it apart, and made it endure.

Drew, who was at the site as the attacks unfolded, could hear victims falling or leaping to their deaths between the first jet collision and the collapse of the World Trade Center towers.

He, however, trained his 200mm zoom lens on one man and fired off several frames. At the time, he did not know that one of those images would become one of 9/11’s most enduring images.

The image: A lone figure falls between the towers, nearly upright, arms at his sides, one knee slightly bent — eerily still against the chaos around him.

The picture appeared in several US newspapers, including The New York Times, but criticism from readers led to it being briefly withdrawn.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer had travelled to New York's Bryant Park in Midtown Manhattan, about 3.5 miles from the World Trade Center, to attend a maternity fashion show when he learnt about the attack.

Moments later, his editor called him, saying: “Bag the fashion show. You have to go.”

Drew rushed to Times Square and took a subway train towards Chambers Street, one stop from the World Trade Center. By the time he emerged from the station, the second plane had struck the South Tower. Both towers were burning, and the streets were filled with smoke, sirens and anxious people trying to escape.

As Drew lifted his camera to capture 'the falling man', a first responder pulled him away towards safety. He, nonetheless, still managed to click the frame.

“I didn't take the picture. The camera took the picture of the falling man. And when these people were falling, I would then put my finger on the trigger of the camera and I'd hold the camera up, and I'd photograph and follow them going down, and then the camera would open and close and take the pictures as they were going down. I have, I think, eight or nine frames of this gentleman falling, and the camera just happened to cycle in that time when he was completely vertical. I didn't see that picture really until I got back to the office and then started looking at my stuff on my laptop. I didn't see it,” he was later quoted as saying by CBS news.

Back at the Associated Press office at Rockefeller Center, Drew went through the many photographs he had taken in quick succession and spotted one image that stood out.

“We're seeing him in the last moments of his life,” Drew later said.

Some reports identified the man as Norberto Hernandez, an employee at Windows on the World, a restaurant that was on top of the North Tower, according to The Toronto Globe and Mail.

Other reports identified the man as Jonathan Briley, an audio engineer who also worked at Windows on the World.

His identity was never confirmed but his fall needed no name to tell the truth: nearly 3,000 people died that morning, and each of them was someone.

Karishma Ayaldasani is a Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times, based in New Delhi, where she works with the digital team on fast-moving breaking stories from India and around the world. She enjoys covering national and global news, focusing on delivering updates quickly and clearly so readers can make sense of what’s happening as it unfolds. Comfortable in high-pressure newsroom settings, she regularly contributes to live blogs, explainers and real-time coverage. Before joining Hindustan Times, she was part of the digital team at The Indian Express, worked with the social media team at Firstpost, and spent time as a creative strategist at Clematis Advertising. Outside of work, she likes exploring different art forms and unwinds with music. With over three years of experience in fast-paced newsrooms, she brings curiosity, clarity and consistency to her work.Read More