No, this video doesn't disprove the 9/11 attack on the south tower of the World Trade Center

A few days after the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that took place on September 11, 2001, British former Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen cast doubt on the official narrative when he implied that a plane did not hit the south tower of the World Trade Center. In reality, the south tower was indeed hit by a United Airlines Boeing 767 which had been hijacked by al Qaeda terrorists. 

The former MP shared a video on September 15, 2026 that he claimed showed proof that a plane didn't actually hit the south tower. The video, which garnered more than a million views on X from his post alone, was filmed from a helicopter facing the Twin Towers showing the north tower already in flames. The video then shows an explosion taking place in the south tower, but no plane can be seen. "Where was the plane that caused it?” Andrew Bridgen asked.

A plane visible in the full version of the video

Bridgen's claims, however, are wrong. First, if you carry out a reverse image search (check out our handy guide here to find out how), you will see a longer version of the video Bridgen posted on YouTube. The video was filmed live by Chopper 4, a helicopter belonging to the US channel NBC. In this complete version of the video, you can actually see a plane. It appears as a small dot moving towards the south tower just before the explosion. In the longer version of the video shared by Andrew Bridgen on September 15, 2026, you can see a plane hitting the south tower during the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

While the plane's collision with the tower isn't directly visible in the video posted by Bridgen, this is because it hit the other side of the tower, which isn't visible from the helicopter.  

Collision on the south side of the south tower 

According to a report by the commission set up by the United States to investigate September 11, United Airlines flight 175 crashed into the south face of the south tower after being hijacked by terrorists. However, as shown when we geolocated the craft, the NBC helicopter was filming the south tower from the north, which meant that the plane's collision was hidden by the tower itself. The images above show the position of the NBC helicopter that was filming on September 11, 2001, as well as the position of the plane that hit the tower. Above, the video posted on September 15, 2026 by Andrew Bridgen. Below, a satellite image of the Twin Towers taken before September 11, 2001. Our team added the outlines to the images.

The moment when the United Airlines Boeing 767 hit the south tower is actually visible in a number of other videos filmed from different angles on September 11, especially the video filmed by cameraman Evan Fairbanks, who was standing at the foot of the south tower. This video, which became one of the most well-known of the attacks, clearly shows a plane striking the south side of the south tower.  The image above shows a plane hitting the south face of the south tower of the Twin Towers, filmed on September 11, 2001 by Evan Fairbanks. The image below shows it being geolocated by satellite image.

This article has been translated from the original in French by Brenna Daldorph.