ABSTRACT
Just as the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor represented a pivotal point in US foreign relations and ultimately the emergence of a Pacific Century, so the attack on the World Trade Center towers already represents a pivotal point in the relationship of the US to the international community. The events of 9/11 shifted the paradigm of hijacking which had become almost institutionalized in North America. The expectation, established in the 1960s and 1970s, that political hijackers would seize aircraft in order to make specific demands had been overturned by the time the fourth aircraft hijacked on 9/11 crashed during an attempt by passengers to regain control. The attacks triggered an immediate shut-down of US aviation, which had consequences for both US inter-urban travel and for the global civil aviation system.
