* The opening scene, a real-life recording of 911 calls as the World Trade Center collapsed.
** "A plane has flown into World Trade Center 1, [[FalseReassurance we're fine!]] [[DramaticIrony we're in World Trade Center 2...]]"
** The woman talking to a 911 operator who keeps repeating "I'm going to die, aren't I?"
** The infamous "OH GOD!" scream from Kevin Cosgrove as the phone cuts off, happening just as the South Tower fell.
** It should also be noted that the opening scene has no visual elements. It's just sound recordings playing over a black screen.
* The near [[ParanoiaFuel constant tension present]] after you learn that a car bomb can go off just about anywhere. Later on, there's the tension when Maya nearly gets killed by a gunman at her apartment, which is so terrifying that she withdraws entirely back from the field.
* The raid on Bin Laden's compound. Instead of a short, guns-blazing action sequence, it's a drawn-out scene as the SEALS search every inch of the compound with the occasional brief firefight. There's a constant tension throughout the scene. NothingIsScarier, indeed.