The September 11 Attacks - Tom Kaminski's footage & ++ (editor's cut)

This video is a montage of material from various sources, directly from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), through NIST FOIA #09-42 request and which is not available on NIST's cloud server, WCBS Newsradio 880, and the Federal Aviation Administration, made available via the National Archives and Records Administration.

The video contains primarily aerial footage from news helicopter N8BQ a.k.a. Chopper 880 and a recording of WCBS Newsradio 880 New York (WCBS-AM radio), with traffic reporter Tom Kaminski reporting from this helicopter. For illustrative purposes during the WCBS radio broadcast, a small segment of video footage by Jim Smith (CBS2 / WCBS-TV) is also included.
The video starts, however, with real-time audio recording from LaGuardia Air Traffic Control Tower, illustrated with real-time radar-data animation, and footage by WNYW-TV (FOX5 New York) videographer David Stollak.

Chopper 880 helicopter crew: Videographer & Reporter Tom Kaminski, Pilot Arthur Anderson;
WCBS Newsradio 880 studio: Pat Carrol & Jeff Caplan;
WCBS-TV: Voices of Lisa Cooley Hill, Michael Palmer & Jim Smith
Helicopter: Bell 206-L4, S/N 51108, Tail number (Registration) N8BQ;
Location: Over the Hudson River between the George Washington Bridge and Hoboken, New Jersey;

WNYW-TV news crew: Videographer David Stollak & Reporter Dick Oliver;
Location: Park Row, south of City Hall Park, Manhattan, New York;

Real Time covered by this video: 08h45:00 a.m. - 09h17:32 a.m. EDT, September 11, 2001.
Time uncertainty under one second.

»» 00:00:17 »» FAA radar animation starts @ 08h45:00 a.m. EDT;

»» 00:00:32 »» Pilot Arthur Anderson (N8BQ) calls LaGuardia ATC Tower Class B Airspace @ 08h45:15 a.m. EDT;

»» 00:01:40 »» David Stollak's footage starts @ 08h46:23 a.m. EDT;

»» 00:01:48 »» North Tower (1 WTC) got hit @ 08h46:31 a.m. EDT;

»» 00:01:52 »» Dick Oliver asks: "What the hell was that?" @ 08h46:35 a.m. EDT;

»» 00:02:00 »» Pilot Arthur Anderson (N8BQ) calls LaGuardia Tower Class B Airspace again @ 08h46:43 a.m. EDT;

»» 00:02:28 »» FAA radar animation resumes @ 08h47:11 a.m. EDT;

»» 00:03:08 »» LaGuardia ATC Tower calls Newark ATC Tower @ 08h47:51 a.m. EDT;

»» 00:03:29 »» WCBS Newsradio 880 starts with Pat Carroll's intro for Tom Kaminski @ 08h48:12 a.m. EDT;

»» 00:05:52 »» Aerial footage from Chopper 880 (N8BQ) starts @ 08h50:35 a.m. EDT;

»» 00:18:17 »» South Tower (2 WTC) got hit @ 09h03:00 a.m. EDT;

»» 00:24:30 »» Aerial footage Chopper 880 ends @ 09h09:13 a.m. EDT, followed by a short segment of Jim Smith's aerial footage as it was broadcast on CBS2 (WCBS-TV).

On a side note: The recorded conversation via aeronautical radio is between helicopter N8BQ (Arthur Anderson piloting Chopper 880) and the Class B Airspace work position in the LaGuardia Air Traffic Control Tower. This work position only handles traffic under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) in the control zone, like news helicopter or sightseeing aircraft. The Controller separates this traffic from the landing and departing traffic at the airport itself, which is handled by a separate work position on a different radio frequency.
The real-time radar animation is updated on average every 4.6 seconds, since the approach radar antenna (source: ASR-9 Newark) makes 13 rotations per minute, resulting in 13 target reports per minute.

Nice to know: Against widespread (mis)belief, Tom Kaminski was not the first reporter to break the news, neither was WCBS Newsradio 880. The race between WCBS Newsradio 880 and FOX5 New York (WNYW-TV) was won by FOX5, with Dick Oliver coming on the air, even with live pictures shot by David Stollak, four seconds earlier than Tom Kaminski.

Nice to know also: In the ere of outsourcing, it became unusual for radio and TV stations to have their own news helicopter. Back in 2001, Metro/Shadow Traffic was the major player in the U.S. to produce actually tailor-made reports for most stations. Chopper 880 also belonged to Metro/Shadow Traffic. It is also quite common that one reporter produces for more than only one station. Tom Kaminski's live pictures are publicly known as WABC-TV pictures, or ABC7 Eyewitness News New York.

I refrain from digital image manipulation. In my opinion, any so-called 'enhancement', as observed in similar video creations elsewhere, is tampering with evidence. I consider this video document as material evidence in the disaster investigation. My objective is to use as much raw footage as ever available for a highly authentic document, and to avoid edited material if possible. I also conserved artifacts 'as is', and interruptions of the video/audio stream. The footage in this video has, unfortunately, encountered earlier compression losses.
However, I adapted all footage to NTSC standard (SD), doubled the frame rate to 59.94 fps (60000/1001), and tried to restore the audio, if possible, when necessary. Though working with mostly uncompressed footage, this online version is presented in the HEVC/H.265 video compression format.

This video has been created for exclusively educational, non-profit purposes. The usage of commercial footage shall be regarded under the conditions of 17 U.S. Code § 17 / 17 U.S. Code § 512 (f) (Fair use).
Dedicated to the lives lost on September 11, 2001, and in the aftermath of that day. May they rest in Peace.
Thank you for taking the time to inform yourself.