On the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, Gwen Briley said she still does not want to know whether her brother, Jonathan Briley, is the man captured in the iconic "Falling Man" photograph and that she prefers to think of the image as representing all who died in the towers.
The grainy image, taken from the street as a person plunged headfirst from near the top of the North Tower, remains one of the most haunting and disputed visual records of that day. The identity of the man has never been conclusively proven; investigators and journalists have long pointed to Jonathan Briley, a 43-year-old sound engineer who worked at the Windows on the World restaurant on the 106th and 107th floors, as the likeliest candidate based on clothing, stature and other circumstantial evidence.
Associated Press photographer Richard Drew captured a series of frames of the falling man, though only one image was widely published at the time and drew sharp reaction from readers and some newsrooms. In a number of frames the subject’s jacket appears to blow back, briefly revealing what looked like an orange T‑shirt similar to one Jonathan Briley reportedly wore; other observers have cited the man’s height, lanky frame and facial hair as consistent with Jonathan Briley, who stood about 6 feet 5 inches and had a goatee. Esquire journalist Tom Junod first linked the photograph to Jonathan Briley in a long-form account of the image and its aftermath.
Family members and colleagues have offered differing views. Some news reports early on suggested the man might be Norberto Hernandez, a pastry chef at Windows on the World, but Hernandez’s family later rejected that identification, saying the clothing in the photograph did not match what he wore to work and that he did not own an orange T‑shirt. Jonathan Briley’s wife of seven years, Hillary, packed his clothes away after his death, making it impossible to confirm whether he wore such a T‑shirt on Sept. 11.
Gwen Briley, now 71, spoke to the Daily Mail ahead of the anniversary and said she avoids looking at the photograph. "You know, I don't look at that picture anymore. And I'm more in the frame of mind of that picture representing every man, every person, that was caught in that building, and the suffering that they must have gone through," she said. She recalled Jonathan as a devout and gentle man who enjoyed working high above the city and had recently been ordained as a deacon at his church. She said her parents "aged 10 years in that day," and that both have since died.
The "Falling Man" image drew controversy when it circulated in the days after the attacks; some viewers and relatives of victims considered its publication insensitive. The photograph later entered private collections and was acquired by musician Sir Elton John, who called it "the most beautiful image of something so tragic" and in turn sparked further debate about the ethics of exhibiting distressing images from the attacks.
Drew has defended the photograph's significance, saying it is "a very quiet photograph" that invites viewers to imagine themselves in a similar circumstance. "People react to it in a way that they feel that they can relate to this photograph, that they might have been in the same situation," he said. The image is unique among the available photographs from that morning in showing a single figure in free fall and, by observers' accounts, conveyed a level of human specificity that other images did not.
Estimates suggest roughly 200 people fell from the upper floors of the two towers on Sept. 11, 2001. The attacks claimed 2,977 lives, and images such as the "Falling Man" remain central to public memory and debate about how the events are documented and commemorated. For survivors and relatives of the dead, the photograph has served both as a focal point for grief and a flashpoint for discussion about dignity, privacy and the responsibilities of the press.
Gwen Briley said she will watch the memorial readings on television and listen for her brother’s name on the anniversary. She described remembering the good times with her family rather than remaining fixed on the traumatic details of that morning. She said she believed her brother would not have harbored hatred and urged a focus on memory and compassion for those who continue to grieve.
Journalists and historians continue to examine the photograph and the surrounding evidence, but no definitive identification has been accepted by authorities. The photograph and the debates around it endure as part of the broader effort to record and make sense of the human toll of Sept. 11, and as survivors and families mark each anniversary with personal remembrances and public ceremonies.