Hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 from Dulles International Airport, bound for Los Angeles, crashed into the Pentagon in Washington D.C. at 9:38 a.m., less than an hour after the attacks against the World Trade Center in New York. The Boeing 757 struck the helicopter landing pad adjacent to the Pentagon on the west side of the complex, and eyewitnesses reported a 50- to 60-foot fireball at the point of impact followed by plumes of smoke visible for miles. Extensive casualties and an unknown number of fatalities were reported, and the Pentagon suffered extensive damage. Immediately after the attack, wounded people were carried to the inner center courtyard as the building was evacuated and secondary explosions were reported. Military and medical personnel entered primarily through corridors 3 and 4 to reach the injured, but rescue efforts were twice delayed by about 10 minutes when false reports of an impending second attack caused workers to pull back. The plane appeared to hit the Pentagon midway between corridors 4 and 5, cutting a wedge that extended past the C, D, and E Rings into the B Ring. A staging area for medical personnel was established in the South Parking Lot, and rescue helicopters, ambulances, and private cars transported the injured to area hospitals.