The Falling Man

"The Falling Man" is a nickname given to a man who fell from the North Tower of the World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks in New York City, and is also the title of a photograph, magazine story and documentary film about the incident. The photo was taken by Richard Drew at 9:41:15 a.m. on September 11, 2001.

The subject of the image — whose identity remains uncertain, although attempts have been made to identify him — was one of the people trapped on the upper floors of the skyscraper who apparently chose to jump rather than die from the fire and smoke. As many as 200 people jumped to their deaths that day; there was no time to recover or identify those who jumped prior to the collapse of the towers.

This picture is somewhat deceptive; it gives the impression the man is falling straight down. In reality, this is just one of a dozen photographs of his fall. In the other photos, it is evident that he is tumbling through the air out of control.