ABC News
Federal officials investigating the destruction of the World Trade Center said Sunday they hope a newly surfaced videotape showing both hijacked planes hitting the towers will shed light on why the north tower collapsed.

The tape's existence was reported by The New York Times on Sunday, two years after the terrorist attack felled the twin towers on Sept. 11, 2001.

It is the only videotape known to have captured images of both planes hitting the trade center. And while numerous videos and photos have provided details on the high-speed impact into the south tower, it is only the second showing the first strike, into the north tower.

The only other known footage of the first plane striking the north tower came from a French film crew that was making a documentary about a firefighter.

The tape was shot by a Czech immigrant construction worker, whose young son at one point came close to accidentally erasing it.