Final answer:
The first plane hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center at 8:46 a.m. on September 11, 2001.
Step-by-step explanation:
On the morning of September 11, 2001, a devastating terrorist attack unfolded as four hijacked airliners were used as weapons by the Islamist terrorist group al-Qaeda. At 8:46 a.m., the first of these planes, American Airlines Flight 11, struck the North Tower (1 World Trade Center) in New York City. This horrific event marked the beginning of a sequence of attacks, including another airliner that crashed into the South Tower, one into the Pentagon, and one into a field in Pennsylvania, ultimately leading to nearly 3,000 deaths and the start of the 'War on Terror.'