Through the Freedom of Information Act, the National Institute of Standards and Technology obtained this 17-minute long NYPD helicopter video of the World Trade Center attack. The raw footage, sent anonymously to Cryptome, provides a grim and riveting close-up of the catastrophe as it unfolded.

At the 7 minute mark of the distressing video, after the south tower falls and smoke billows out over the Hudson, you can hear one of the officers yell to another, "We got outta there right at the right time!" 2,750 people died in NYC that day as a result of the attacks, according to the official tally.

[Cryptome via Gawker]