The Falling Man: Richard Drew's Iconic 9/11 Photograph

Richard Drew's photograph of a man falling from the North Tower on September 11, 2001, remains one of the most haunting images of the attacks. Captured at 9:41 a.m., the image shows an unidentified individual plummeting from the 106th floor, possibly from the Windows on the World restaurant. Drew, an Associated Press photographer, recounted in a Time magazine video that many people were seen jumping from the towers, but none were identified due to the impossibility of recovering bodies after the collapse. The subject, dubbed the 'Falling Man' after an Esquire article, has never been conclusively identified, though he is believed to have been a Windows on the World employee. The photograph encapsulates the tragedy of those trapped in the burning Twin Towers, facing death on an ordinary morning.