A Second Plane Has Hit The X

2019catchphraseclassic

A Second Plane Has Hit The X is a Twitter phrasal template that repurposes the line used to brief President George W. Bush during the September 11, 2001 attacks. Users swap the object and the target to react to celebrity news, gaming drops, and other sudden headlines, with the format hitting peak virality around Queen Elizabeth II's death in September 2022.

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Overview

A Second Plane Has Hit The X is a phrasal template built on the line used to inform President George W. Bush of the September 11, 2001 attacks. The original wording, "a second plane hit the second tower," was rewired on Twitter into a fill-in-the-blank format where posters swap both the object doing the hitting and the target being struck1. The joke sits alongside the older George Bush Learning About 9/11 reaction meme and the Turning Red 9/11 Debate bit, borrowing the same source moment for a different punchline4.

The format is punchy and hyperbolic. People use it to react to sudden or absurd news, framing celebrity deaths, gaming announcements, or crypto scandals as if aides were briefing a shocked commander in chief2. It lands because the referenced quote is instantly recognizable to anyone who remembers the footage of Andrew Card whispering the news to Bush in a Florida classroom.

How It Spread

The format broke through on March 22, 2022, when @LiberacesWraith3 tweeted "a second plane has just hit the queen" in response to a dril post. That reply pulled in over 7,000 likes across six months and set the pattern of pairing the line with a beloved public figure4. On July 7, @linaposting5 escalated the bit with "my God, a second Shinzo Abe just hit the north tower," which reached more than 18,000 likes within two months.

Momentum peaked around Queen Elizabeth II's death in September 2022. On September 5, @patrickkateman2 posted "Mr president a second plane has just hit the quan," pulling more than 4,000 likes and 500 retweets. Three days later, @vampiretraums1 tweeted "A second plane has hit Her Majesty," which cleared 200,000 likes and nearly 21,000 retweets in under two weeks4.

Smaller entries appeared between the viral spikes. @viperwave floated "A second Money Plane has hit the towers" on September 8, 2020, referencing the low-budget action film of the same name, while @irishloubega tweeted "a second plane has hit the bored ape yacht club" on January 11, 2022, tying the format to the NFT bust4.

How to Use This Meme

The template typically opens with "Mr. President" or "sir," then lands on "a second [noun] has hit the [target]." The blanks work best when both halves reference something breaking or trending, so posts often piggyback on celebrity news, sports moments, or product launches. Users commonly deliver it deadpan as a plain-text tweet, with no accompanying image needed for the reference to land1.

Frequently Asked Questions

A Second Plane Has Hit The X

2019catchphraseclassic

A Second Plane Has Hit The X is a Twitter phrasal template that repurposes the line used to brief President George W. Bush during the September 11, 2001 attacks. Users swap the object and the target to react to celebrity news, gaming drops, and other sudden headlines, with the format hitting peak virality around Queen Elizabeth II's death in September 2022.

snowclone memes catchphrase memes twitter memes dark humor memes delayed virality memes

Overview

A Second Plane Has Hit The X is a phrasal template built on the line used to inform President George W. Bush of the September 11, 2001 attacks. The original wording, "a second plane hit the second tower," was rewired on Twitter into a fill-in-the-blank format where posters swap both the object doing the hitting and the target being struck1. The joke sits alongside the older George Bush Learning About 9/11 reaction meme and the Turning Red 9/11 Debate bit, borrowing the same source moment for a different punchline4.

The format is punchy and hyperbolic. People use it to react to sudden or absurd news, framing celebrity deaths, gaming announcements, or crypto scandals as if aides were briefing a shocked commander in chief2. It lands because the referenced quote is instantly recognizable to anyone who remembers the footage of Andrew Card whispering the news to Bush in a Florida classroom.

How It Spread

The format broke through on March 22, 2022, when @LiberacesWraith3 tweeted "a second plane has just hit the queen" in response to a dril post. That reply pulled in over 7,000 likes across six months and set the pattern of pairing the line with a beloved public figure4. On July 7, @linaposting5 escalated the bit with "my God, a second Shinzo Abe just hit the north tower," which reached more than 18,000 likes within two months.

Momentum peaked around Queen Elizabeth II's death in September 2022. On September 5, @patrickkateman2 posted "Mr president a second plane has just hit the quan," pulling more than 4,000 likes and 500 retweets. Three days later, @vampiretraums1 tweeted "A second plane has hit Her Majesty," which cleared 200,000 likes and nearly 21,000 retweets in under two weeks4.

Smaller entries appeared between the viral spikes. @viperwave floated "A second Money Plane has hit the towers" on September 8, 2020, referencing the low-budget action film of the same name, while @irishloubega tweeted "a second plane has hit the bored ape yacht club" on January 11, 2022, tying the format to the NFT bust4.

How to Use This Meme

The template typically opens with "Mr. President" or "sir," then lands on "a second [noun] has hit the [target]." The blanks work best when both halves reference something breaking or trending, so posts often piggyback on celebrity news, sports moments, or product launches. Users commonly deliver it deadpan as a plain-text tweet, with no accompanying image needed for the reference to land1.

Frequently Asked Questions