View source for Hijackers in the September 11 attacks

{{short description|Hijackers responsible for carrying out the 9/11 attacks}}
{{about|the 19 men who physically carried out the attacks|the people behind the attacks from an organizational standpoint|Responsibility for the September 11 attacks}}
{{Multiple image
| image1            = 9-11 LEAD HIJACKER COLLAGE.png
| caption1          = In order: {{bulleted list |[[Mohamed Atta]] ([[American Airlines Flight 11]]) |[[Marwan al-Shehhi]] ([[United Airlines Flight 175]]) |[[Hani Hanjour]] ([[American Airlines Flight 77]]) |[[Ziad Jarrah]] ([[United Airlines Flight 93]])}}
| header            = Lead hijackers in the September 11 attacks
| total_width       = 250
| perrow            = 2
}}

The [[aircraft hijackers]] in the [[September 11 attacks]] were 19 men affiliated with [[Jihadism|jihadist]] organization [[al-Qaeda]]. They hailed from four countries; 15 of them were citizens of [[Saudi Arabia]], two were from the [[United Arab Emirates]], one was from [[Egypt]], and one from [[Lebanon]]. To carry out the attacks, the hijackers were organized into four teams each led by a pilot-trained hijacker who would commandeer the flight with three or four "muscle hijackers" who were trained to help subdue the pilots, passengers, and crew. Each team was assigned to a different flight and given a unique target to crash their respective planes into. [[Mohamed Atta]] was the assigned ringleader over all four groups.

The first hijackers to arrive in the United States were [[Khalid al-Mihdhar]] and [[Nawaf al-Hazmi]], who settled in [[San Diego County, California]], in January 2000. They were followed by three hijacker-pilots, [[Hamburg cell]] members [[Mohamed Atta]], [[Marwan al-Shehhi]], and [[Ziad Jarrah]] in mid-2000 to undertake flight training at [[Huffman Aviation|Huffman Aviation flight-training school]] in [[Venice, Florida]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/network/personal/cron.html#:~:text=Atta%20and%20al%2DShehhi%20receive,of%20Atta%20and%20al%2DShehhi. | publisher=[[PBS]] | title=Chronology Of The Sept. 11 Terror Plot | access-date=2023-12-09 | archive-date=2019-02-26 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190226111223/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/network/personal/cron.html#:~:text=Atta%20and%20al%2DShehhi%20receive,of%20Atta%20and%20al%2DShehhi. | url-status=live }}</ref> The fourth hijacker-pilot, [[Hani Hanjour]], who was not a member of the Hamburg Cell, arrived in San Diego in December 2000. The rest of the "muscle hijackers" arrived in early- and mid-2001.

==Selection==
{{See also|Alleged Saudi role in the September 11 attacks}}

[[Khalid al-Mihdhar]] and [[Nawaf al-Hazmi]] were both experienced and respected [[Jihadism|jihadists]] in the eyes of al-Qaeda's leader [[Osama bin Laden]].

As for the pilots who would go on to participate in the attacks, three of them were original members of the [[Hamburg cell]] ([[Mohamed Atta]], [[Marwan al-Shehhi]] and [[Ziad Jarrah]]). Following their training at al-Qaeda training camps in [[Afghanistan]], they were chosen by Bin Laden and al-Qaeda's military wing due to their extensive knowledge of western culture and language skills, increasing the mission's operational security and its chances for success. Mohamed Atta himself was immediately given command over the planning and execution of the attack upon his arrival in Afghanistan in January 2000. The fourth intended pilot, [[Ramzi bin al-Shibh]], a member of the Hamburg cell, was also chosen to participate in the attacks, but he was unable to obtain a visa for entry into the United States. He was later replaced by [[Hani Hanjour]], a Saudi national.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2349195.stm | publisher=[[BBC News]] | title=The Hamburg connection | date=August 19, 2005 | access-date=June 13, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130530031910/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2349195.stm | archive-date=May 30, 2013 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report.pdf |title=The 9/11 Commission Report|website=www.9-11commission.gov |access-date=2013-06-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181221214714/https://9-11commission.gov/report/911Report.pdf |archive-date=2018-12-21 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi were also potential pilot hijackers but did not do well in their initial pilot lessons in San Diego. Both were kept on as "muscle" hijackers, who would help overpower the passengers and crew and allow the pilot hijackers to take control of the flights. In addition to al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi, 13 other muscle hijackers were selected in late 2000 or early 2001. All were from Saudi Arabia, with the exception of [[Fayez Banihammad]], who was from the [[United Arab Emirates]].

Shortly after the attacks the FBI concluded that the majority of the "muscle" hijackers did not know that they were on a suicide mission, as unlike the pilots they had not prepared last wills and testaments or given other indications that they expected their lives to end.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rose |first=David |date=October 14, 2001 |title=Attackers did not know they were to die |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/oct/14/terrorism.september111 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210806161001/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/oct/14/terrorism.september111 |archive-date=August 6, 2021 |access-date=August 17, 2021 |website=The Guardian}}</ref> According to an [[Videos and audio recordings of Osama bin Laden#December 13, 2001|audio recording of Osama Bin Laden from 2001]], the "muscle" hijackers were not in contact with the pilot hijackers and were not told the true nature of their mission until the day of the attacks.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec2001/d20011213ubl.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011214230828/http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec2001/d20011213ubl.pdf|archive-date=December 14, 2001|title=Transcript of Usama Bin Laden Video Tape|date=December 13, 2001|website= www.defenselink.mil|quote=UBL: The brothers, who conducted the operation, all they knew was that they have a martyrdom operation and we asked each of them to go to America but they didn’t know anything about the operation, not even one letter. But they were trained and we did not reveal the operation to them until they are there and just before they boarded the planes.}}</ref>

===Hijackers===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin: left"
! class="unsortable"|Flight
! class="unsortable"|Name
! Age
! class="unsortable"|Nationality
|- style="vertical-align:middle; height:50px; text-align:center;"
| rowspan="5"|[[American Airlines Flight 11]]<br>{{small|(Target: [[1 World Trade Center (1971–2001)|North Tower]])}}
| [[Mohamed Atta]]<br>{{small|(leader)}}
| {{Age|1968|09|01|2001|09|11}}
| {{flagu|Egypt}}
|- style="vertical-align:middle; height:50px; text-align:center;"
| [[Abdulaziz al-Omari]]
| {{Age|1979|05|28|2001|09|11}}
| rowspan="4"|{{flagu|Saudi Arabia}}
|- style="vertical-align:middle; height:50px; text-align:center;"
| [[Wail al-Shehri]]
| {{Age|1973|07|31|2001|09|11}}
|- style="vertical-align:middle; height:50px; text-align:center;"
| [[Waleed al-Shehri]]
| {{Age|1978|12|20|2001|09|11}}
|- style="vertical-align:middle; height:50px; text-align:center;"
| [[Satam al-Suqami]]
| {{Age|1976|06|28|2001|09|11}}
|- style="vertical-align:middle; height:50px; text-align:center;"
| rowspan="5"|[[United Airlines Flight 175]]<br>{{small|(Target: [[2 World Trade Center (1971–2001)|South Tower]])}}
| [[Marwan al-Shehhi]]<br>{{small|(leader)}}
| {{Age|1978|05|09|2001|09|11}}
|  rowspan="2"|{{flagu|United Arab Emirates}}
|- style="vertical-align:middle; height:50px; text-align:center;"
| [[Fayez Banihammad]]
| {{Age|1977|03|19|2001|09|11}}
|- style="vertical-align:middle; height:50px; text-align:center;"
| [[Mohand al-Shehri]]
| {{Age|1979|05|07|2001|09|11}}
|  rowspan="8"|{{flagu|Saudi Arabia}}
|- style="vertical-align:middle; height:50px; text-align:center;"
| [[Hamza al-Ghamdi]]
| {{Age|1980|11|18|2001|09|11}}
|- style="vertical-align:middle; height:50px; text-align:center;"
| [[Ahmed al-Ghamdi]]
| {{Age|1979|07|02|2001|09|11}}
|- style="vertical-align:middle; height:50px; text-align:center;"
| rowspan="5"|[[American Airlines Flight 77]]<br>{{small|(Target: [[The Pentagon]])}}
| [[Hani Hanjour]]<br>{{small|(leader)}}
| {{Age|1972|08|30|2001|09|11}}
|- style="vertical-align:middle; height:50px; text-align:center;"
| [[Khalid al-Mihdhar]]
| {{Age|1975|05|16|2001|09|11}}
|- style="vertical-align:middle; height:50px; text-align:center;"
| [[Majed Moqed]]
| {{Age|1977|06|18|2001|09|11}}
|- style="vertical-align:middle; height:50px; text-align:center;"
| [[Nawaf al-Hazmi]]
| {{Age|1976|08|09|2001|09|11}}
|- style="vertical-align:middle; height:50px; text-align:center;"
| [[Salem al-Hazmi]]
| {{Age|1981|02|02|2001|09|11}}
|- style="vertical-align:middle; height:50px; text-align:center;"
| rowspan="5"|[[United Airlines Flight 93]]<br>{{small|(Target: [[United States Capitol|U.S. Capitol]] or [[White House]])}}
| [[Ziad Jarrah]]<br>{{small|(leader)}}
| {{Age|1975|05|11|2001|09|11}}
| {{flagu|Lebanon}}
|- style="vertical-align:middle; height:50px; text-align:center;"
| [[Ahmed al-Haznawi]]
| {{Age|1980|10|11|2001|09|11}}
|  rowspan="3"|{{flagu|Saudi Arabia}}
|- style="vertical-align:middle; height:50px; text-align:center;"
| [[Ahmed al-Nami]]
| {{Age|1977|12|07|2001|09|11}}
|- style="vertical-align:middle; height:50px; text-align:center;"
| [[Saeed al-Ghamdi]]
| {{Age|1979|11|21|2001|09|11}}
|}
{{Bar chart
| title       = Origins of the 19 hijackers
| label_type  = Nationality
| data_type   = Number
| bar_width   = 20
| width_units = em
| data_max    = 19
| label1      = Saudi Arabia
| data1       = 15
| label2      = United Arab Emirates
| data2       = 2
| label3      = Egypt
| data3       = 1
| label4      = Lebanon
| data4       = 1
}}
{{Bar chart
| title       = Age of the 19 hijackers
| label_type  = Age
| data_type   = Number
| bar_width   = 20
| width_units = em
| data_max    = 19
| label1      = 20
| data1       = 3
| label2      = 21
| data2       = 1
| label3      = 22
| data3       = 4
| label4      = 23
| data4       = 2
| label5      = 24
| data5       = 2
| label6      = 25
| data6       = 2
| label7      = 26
| data7       = 2
| label8      = 28
| data8       = 1
| label9      = 29
| data9       = 1
| label10     = 33
| data10      = 1
}}

==Hijacked aircraft==
===American Airlines Flight 11: One World Trade Center, North Tower===
{{main|American Airlines Flight 11}}

: N.B.: '''Bold''' text notes the hijackers who piloted the planes.

'''Hijackers:''' '''[[Mohamed Atta]]''' (Egyptian), [[Abdulaziz al-Omari]] (Saudi Arabian), [[Wail al-Shehri]] (Saudi Arabian), [[Waleed al-Shehri]] (Saudi Arabian), [[Satam al-Suqami]] (Saudi Arabian).<ref name="cia.gov">[https://www.cia.gov/news-information/speeches-testimony/2002/DCI_18_June_testimony_new.pdf "DCI Testimony Before the Joint Inquiry into Terrorist Attacks Against the United States"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100324195110/https://www.cia.gov/news-information/speeches-testimony/2002/DCI_18_June_testimony_new.pdf |date=2010-03-24 }}, June 18, 2002.</ref>

Two flight attendants called the American Airlines reservation desk during the hijacking. [[Betty Ong]] reported that "the five hijackers had come from first-class seats: 2A, 2B, 9A, 9C and 9B."<ref name=probe>{{cite news|url=http://cache.boston.com/news/packages/underattack/news/planes_reconstruction.htm|title=Probe reconstructs horror, calculated attacks on planes|work=[[The Boston Globe]]|author=Glen Johnson|date=2001-09-23|access-date=2019-01-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106010844/http://cache.boston.com/news/packages/underattack/news/planes_reconstruction.htm|archive-date=2019-01-06|url-status=live}}</ref> Flight attendant [[Madeline Amy Sweeney|Amy Sweeney]] called a flight services manager at [[Logan International Airport|Logan Airport]] in [[Boston]] and described them as Middle Eastern.<ref name=probe/> She gave the staff the seat numbers and they pulled up the ticket and credit card information of the hijackers, identifying Mohamed Atta.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/sections/primetime/DailyNews/primetime_flightattendants_020718.html |title=Calm Before the Crash|work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]|date=2002-07-18 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20020921045555/https://abcnews.go.com/sections/primetime/DailyNews/primetime_flightattendants_020718.html |archive-date = 2002-09-21}}</ref>

{{Listen|filename=Mohamed Atta to ATC-1.ogg |title=Mohamed Atta at 08:23|description=Mohamed Atta's first announcement, heard by ATC at 08:23|format=[[Ogg]]}}
{{Listen|filename=Mohamed Atta to ATC-2.ogg |title=Mohamed Atta at 08:33|description=Mohamed Atta's second announcement at 08:33|format=[[Ogg]]}}
Mohamed Atta's voice was heard over the [[air traffic control]] system, broadcasting messages thought to be intended for the passengers.<ref>{{Cite news | last = Sherwell | first = Philip | title = 9/11: Voices from the doomed planes | work = The Telegraph | access-date = 2011-09-24 | url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/september-11-attacks/8754395/911-Voices-from-the-doomed-planes.html | location = London | date = 2011-09-10 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191220040523/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/september-11-attacks/8754395/911-Voices-from-the-doomed-planes.html | archive-date = 2019-12-20 | url-status = live }}</ref>

{{blockquote|"We have some planes. Just stay quiet and you'll be okay. We are returning to the airport."

"Nobody move. Everything will be okay. If you try to make any moves, you'll endanger yourself and the airplane. Just stay quiet."

"Nobody move please. We are going back to the airport. Don't try to make any stupid moves."}}

===United Airlines Flight 175: Two World Trade Center, South Tower===
{{main|United Airlines Flight 175}}

'''Hijackers:''' '''[[Marwan al-Shehhi]]''' (Emirati), [[Fayez Banihammad]] (Emirati), [[Mohand al-Shehri]] (Saudi Arabian), [[Hamza al-Ghamdi]] (Saudi Arabian), [[Ahmed al-Ghamdi]] (Saudi Arabian).<ref name="cia.gov"/>

A United Airlines mechanic was called by a flight attendant who stated the pilots had been murdered and the plane hijacked.<ref name=recon>{{cite news|url=http://www.boston.com/news/packages/underattack/news/planes_reconstruction.htm |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |title=Fighting Terrorism |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150816124917/http://www.boston.com/news/packages/underattack/news/planes_reconstruction.htm |archive-date=August 16, 2015 }}</ref>

===American Airlines Flight 77: Pentagon===
{{main|American Airlines Flight 77}}

'''Hijackers:''' '''[[Hani Hanjour]]''' (Saudi Arabian), [[Khalid al-Mihdhar]] (Saudi Arabian), [[Majed Moqed]] (Saudi Arabian), [[Nawaf al-Hazmi]] (Saudi Arabian), [[Salem al-Hazmi]] (Saudi Arabian).<ref name="cia.gov"/>

Two hijackers, Hani Hanjour and Majed Moqed were identified by clerks as having bought single, first-class tickets for Flight 77 from Advance Travel Service in [[Totowa, New Jersey]] with $1,842.25 in cash.<ref name="probe"/>

Renee May, a flight attendant on Flight 77, used a cell phone to call her mother in [[Las Vegas Valley|Las Vegas]]. She said her flight was being hijacked by six individuals who had moved them to the rear of the plane. Unlike the other flights, there was no report of stabbings or bomb threats. According to the ''[[9/11 Commission Report]]'', it is possible that pilots were not stabbed to death and were sent to the rear of the plane. One of the hijackers, most likely Hanjour, announced on the intercom that the flight had been hijacked.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/07/23/FLIGHTS.TMP |title=Investigating 9-11 – The doomed flights |work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |date=2004-07-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120523011824/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=%2Fchronicle%2Farchive%2F2004%2F07%2F23%2FFLIGHTS.TMP |archive-date=May 23, 2012 }}</ref>
Passenger [[Barbara Olson]] called her husband, [[Theodore Olson]], the [[Solicitor General of the United States]], stating the flight had been hijacked and the hijackers had knives and box cutters.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/lkl/date/2001-09-14/segment/00|title=Transcript: America's New War: Recovering From Tragedy|date=2001-09-14|work=CNN|access-date=2006-09-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060903052228/http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0109/14/lkl.00.html|archive-date=2006-09-03|url-status=live}}</ref>

Two of the hijackers had been on the FBI's watch list: Khalid al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi.<ref name="cbs">{{cite news |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/remains-of-9-sept-11-hijackers-held/ |title=Remains Of 9 Sept. 11 Hijackers Held |publisher=CBS News |date=2002-08-17 |access-date=2007-05-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080930021707/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/08/17/attack/main519033.shtml |archive-date=2008-09-30 |url-status=live }}</ref> Al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi flew to Los Angeles in January 2000 and later took flying lessons in San Diego, during which time they were allegedly assisted by [[Omar al-Bayoumi]] and Saudi diplomats Fahad al-Thumairy and Mussaed Ahmed al-Jarrah.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bennet|first=Brian|date=October 1, 2016|title=Hijackers' time in Southern California at center of allegations of Saudi government involvement in 9/11 attacks|url=https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-terrorism-saudi-20160929-snap-story.html|website=Los Angeles Times|access-date=May 14, 2020|archive-date=September 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200916015414/https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-terrorism-saudi-20160929-snap-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Isikoff|first=Michael|date=May 12, 2020|title=In court filing, FBI accidentally reveals name of Saudi official suspected of directing support for 9/11 hijackers|url=https://news.yahoo.com/in-court-filing-fbi-accidentally-reveals-name-of-saudi-official-suspected-of-directing-support-for-911-hijackers-224555851.html|access-date=2020-07-18|website=news.yahoo.com|language=en-US|archive-date=2020-07-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200718043842/https://news.yahoo.com/in-court-filing-fbi-accidentally-reveals-name-of-saudi-official-suspected-of-directing-support-for-911-hijackers-224555851.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===United Airlines Flight 93: Shanksville, Pennsylvania===
{{main|United Airlines Flight 93}}

{{listen | help = | filename = Mayday1.ogg | title = "Mayday – 09:28:17" | description = First mayday call by First Officer Leroy Homer at 09:28:17. | format = Ogg | filename2 = Mayday2.ogg | title2 = Mayday – 09:28:50 | description2 = Second mayday call by First Officer Leroy Homer at 09:28:50. | format2 = Ogg | | filename3 = Ua93.OGG | title3 = Attempts to communicate with Flight 93 – after 9:28&nbsp;am | format3 = Ogg}}
{{listen | help = no | filename = Ziad1.ogg | title = Jarrah – 09:31:57 | description = First announcement made by Ziad Jarrah. | format = Ogg | filename2 = Ziad2.ogg | title2 = Jarrah – 09:39:11 | description2 = Second announcement made by Ziad Jarrah. | format2 = Ogg}}
'''Hijackers:''' '''[[Ziad Jarrah]]''' (Lebanese), [[Ahmed al-Haznawi]] (Saudi Arabian), [[Ahmed al-Nami]] (Saudi Arabian), [[Saeed al-Ghamdi]] (Saudi Arabian).<ref name="cia.gov"/>

Passenger [[Jeremy Glick]] stated that the hijackers were Arabic-looking, wearing red headbands, and carrying knives.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.post-gazette.com/headlines/20011028flt93mainstoryp7.asp |title=Flight 93: Forty lives, one destiny |publisher=Post-gazette.com |date=2001-10-28 |access-date=2011-09-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225172526/http://old.post-gazette.com/headlines/20011028flt93mainstoryp7.asp |archive-date=2018-12-25 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=a937glick |title=Context of '(9:37 a.m.) 11 September 2001: Flight 93 Passenger Jeremy Glick Describes Hijackers, Bomb' |publisher=Cooperativeresearch.org |access-date=2011-09-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012081946/http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=a937glick |archive-date=12 October 2013 }}</ref>

Spoken messages (from Jarrah) intended for passengers were mistakenly broadcast over the air traffic control system.

{{blockquote|"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the captain. Please sit down. Keep remaining sitting{{sic}}. We have a bomb on board. So sit."

[...]

"Uh, this is the captain. Would like you all to remain seated. There is a bomb on board and are going back to the airport and to have our demands met. Please remain quiet."<ref> The ''[[9/11 Commission Report]]'', pp. [http://demos.vivisimo.com/cgi-bin/query-meta?input-form=simple&v%3Asources=911&v%3Aproject=911-demo&query=Keep+remaining+sitting.+We+have+a+bomb+on+board. 12] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717224743/http://demos.vivisimo.com/cgi-bin/query-meta?input-form=simple&v:sources=911&v:project=911-demo&query=Keep+remaining+sitting.+We+have+a+bomb+on+board. |date=2011-07-17 }}, [http://demos.vivisimo.com/cgi-bin/query-meta?input-form=simple&v%3Asources=911&v%3Aproject=911-demo&query=Uh%2C+this+is+the+captain.+Would+like+you+all+to+remain+seated. 29] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717224818/http://demos.vivisimo.com/cgi-bin/query-meta?input-form=simple&v:sources=911&v:project=911-demo&query=Uh,+this+is+the+captain.+Would+like+you+all+to+remain+seated. |date=2011-07-17 }}</ref>}}

Jarrah is also heard on the [[cockpit voice recorder]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://files.findlaw.com/news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/terrorism/flight93transcript.pdf |title=Cockpit Voice Recorder transcript |work=FindLaw |access-date=2007-05-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070523153733/http://files.findlaw.com/news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/terrorism/flight93transcript.pdf |archive-date=2007-05-23 |url-status=live }}</ref> In addition, DNA samples submitted by his girlfriend were matched to remains recovered in [[Shanksville, Pennsylvania|Shanksville]].<ref name="911myths_com">{{cite web|url=http://911myths.com/images/e/ef/Team5_Box62_AliasesAndIDs-FBIIDsHijackers-2.pdf|title=How The FBI Identified The 19 Hijackers's Identities|publisher=911 Myths|access-date=2009-06-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110918084810/http://911myths.com/images/e/ef/Team5_Box62_AliasesAndIDs-FBIIDsHijackers-2.pdf|archive-date=2011-09-18|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Investigation==

===Before the attacks===
{{quote box |width=20em|text='[W]e've got to tell the Bureau about this. These guys clearly are bad. One of them, at least, has a multiple-entry visa to the U.S. We've got to tell the FBI.' And then [the CIA officer] said to me, 'No, it's not the FBI's case, not the FBI's jurisdiction.' |author=[[Mark Rossini]] |source="The Spy Factory"<ref name=rossini1>{{cite news | url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/military/spy-factory.html | title=The Spy Factory | publisher=[[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]] |last=Bamford |first=James | author-link=James Bamford | author2=Willis, Scott | date=February 3, 2009 | access-date=July 2, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140411200414/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/military/spy-factory.html | archive-date=April 11, 2014 | url-status=live }}</ref>}}

Before the attacks, FBI agent [[Robert Wright, Jr.]] had written vigorous criticisms of FBI's alleged incompetence in investigating suspected extremists residing within the United States. Wright was part of the Bureau's Chicago counter-terrorism task force and involved in project Vulgar Betrayal, which was linked to [[Yasin al-Qadi]].<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110901133556/http://vids.rationalveracity.com/v/960/robert_wright_judicial_watch_briefing.html C-SPAN video]}}, address to the National Press Club on May 30, 2002, with [[Judicial Watch]], via rationalveracity.com</ref>

According to [[James Bamford]], the [[NSA]] had picked up communications of al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi back in 1999, but had been hampered by internal bureaucratic conflicts between itself and the CIA, and did not do a full analysis of the information it passed on to the agency. For example, it only passed on the first names, Nawaf and Khalid.<ref>Shadow Factory, James Bamford, Doubleday, 2008, Chapter 1: Intercept</ref>

Bamford also claims that the CIA's [[Alec Station]] (a unit assigned to bin Laden) knew that al-Mihdhar was planning to come to New York as far back as January 2000. Doug Miller, one of three FBI agents working inside the CIA station, tried to send a message (a CIR) to the FBI to alert them about this, so they could put al-Mihdhar on a [[wikt:watchlist|watch list]]. His CIA boss, Tom Wilshire, deputy station chief, allegedly denied permission to Miller. Miller asked his associate [[Mark Rossini]] for advice; Rossini pressed Wilshire's deputy but was rebuffed also.<ref>Bamford, Chapter 1</ref><ref>[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/military/spy-factory.html Spy Factory] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140411200414/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/military/spy-factory.html |date=2014-04-11 }}, Nova, interview with Mark Rossini 2.3.2009</ref>

Bamford also claims that al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi wound up living with Abdussattar Shaikh for a time to save money. Shaikh was, coincidentally, an FBI informant, but since they never acted suspiciously around him, he never reported them. The CIA Bangkok station told Alec Station that al-Hazmi had gone to Los Angeles. None of this information made it back to the FBI headquarters.<ref>Bamford, Chapter 2: San Diego</ref>

On August 23, 2001, less than three weeks before the attacks, the [[Mossad]] gave the American government the names of 19 residents suspected of intending to perpetrate an attack against the United States. Among the names were those of Mohamed Atta, Marwan al-Shehhi, Khalid al-Mihdhar, and Nawaf al-Hazmi. It is not known if the list contained all the names of the hijackers or if the list length itself were a coincidence; only those four have been made known.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=a082301mossad |others=August 23, 2001: Mossad Reportedly Gives CIA List of Terrorist Living in US; at Least Four 9/11 Hijackers Named |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930031428/http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=a082301mossad |archive-date=September 30, 2007 |title=Context of 'August 23, 2001: Mossad Reportedly Gives CIA List of Terrorist Living in US; at Least Four 9/11 Hijackers Named' |work=History Commons}}</ref>

===Attacks===
{{Further|9/11 Commission Report}}
Within minutes of the attacks, the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] opened the largest FBI investigation in United States history, operation [[PENTTBOM]]. The suspects were identified within 72 hours because few made any attempt to disguise their names on flight and credit card records.{{citation needed|date=September 2011}} They were also among the few non-US citizens and nearly the only passengers with Arabic names on their flights, enabling the FBI to identify them using such details as dates of birth, known or possible residences, visa status, and specific identification of the suspected pilots.<ref name=fbilist>[https://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel01/091401hj.htm FBI Announces List of 19 Hijackers], ''FBI, national Press Release'' September 14, 2001  {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221101634/https://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel01/091401hj.htm |date=February 21, 2015 }}</ref>  On September 14, three days after the attacks, the FBI announced the names of 19 hijackers,<ref name=fbilist/> and on September 27, they released photos of the hijackers, along with information about their possible nationalities and aliases.<ref>[https://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel01/092701hjpic.htm The FBI releases 19 photographs of individuals believed to be the hijackers of the four airliners that crashed on 11 September 2001] ''FBI, national Press Release'' 27 September 2001  {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150523084715/https://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel01/092701hjpic.htm |date=May 23, 2015 }}</ref> Fifteen of the suspected hijackers hailed from [[Saudi Arabia]], two from the [[United Arab Emirates]], and one each from [[Lebanon]] and [[Egypt]].

The passport of Satam al-Suqami was reportedly recovered "a few blocks from where the World Trade Center's twin towers once stood";<ref>[http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2001/Sep-16-Sun-2001/news/17011253.html Las Vegas Review Journal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110831113319/http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2001/Sep-16-Sun-2001/news/17011253.html |date=2011-08-31 }}, September 16, 2001.</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/1546927.stm Giuliani holds on to hope] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070711031500/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/1546927.stm |date=2007-07-11 }}, BBC News, 16 September 2001</ref> a passerby picked it up and gave it to an NYPD detective shortly before the towers collapsed. The passports of two other hijackers, Ziad Jarrah and Saeed al-Ghamdi, were recovered from the crash site of United Airlines Flight 93 in Pennsylvania, and a fourth passport, that of Abdulaziz al-Omari was recovered from luggage that did not make it onto [[American Airlines Flight 11]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.9-11commission.gov/archive/hearing7/9-11Commission_Hearing_2004-01-26.htm |title=National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States |publisher=9-11commission.gov |access-date=2011-09-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080407031735/http://www.9-11commission.gov/archive/hearing7/9-11Commission_Hearing_2004-01-26.htm |archive-date=2008-04-07 |url-status=live }}</ref>

According to the ''[[9/11 Commission Report]]'', 26 [[al-Qaeda]] conspirators sought to enter the United States to carry out a suicide mission. In the end, the FBI reported that there were 19 hijackers in all: five on three of the flights, and four on the fourth. After a controversy about an earlier remark, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary [[Janet Napolitano]] stated in May 2009 that the [[9/11 Commission]] found that none of the hijackers entered the United States through Canada.

Nawaf al-Hazmi and Hani Hanjour, attended the [[Dar al-Hijrah]] Falls Church, Virginia, Islamic Center where the Imam [[Anwar al-Awlaki]] preached, in early April 2001. Through interviews with the FBI, it was discovered that Awlaki had previously met Nawaf al-Hazmi several times while the two lived in San Diego. At the time, al-Hazmi was living with al-Mihdhar.<ref>{{cite news|date=November 8, 2009|title=Alleged shooter tied to mosque of 9/11 hijackers|publisher=Associated Press|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/alleged-fort-hood-shooter-tied-to-mosque-of-9-11-hijackers.amp|access-date=July 18, 2020|archive-date=July 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200718170013/https://www.foxnews.com/story/alleged-fort-hood-shooter-tied-to-mosque-of-9-11-hijackers.amp|url-status=live}}</ref> The hijackers of the same plane often had very strong ties as many of them attended school together or lived together prior to the attacks.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Uncloaking Terrorist Networks|year=2002 |doi=10.5210/fm.v7i4.941 |url=http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/941/863|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141102142229/http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/941/863|archive-date=2014-11-02|access-date=2013-05-24|last1=Krebs |first1=Valdis |journal=First Monday |volume=7 |issue=4 |doi-access= free}}</ref>

===Recovery of the hijackers' remains===
After the 9/11 attacks, remains of the victims and attackers were recovered from the [[World Trade Center site]], from the Pentagon, and in [[Shanksville, Pennsylvania]].

In New York, the remains of two hijackers, potentially from Flight{{spaces}}11, were identified and removed from [[National September 11 Memorial & Museum|Memorial Park]] in Manhattan and turned over to the FBI as evidence.<ref>{{cite news |last=Kelley |first=Tina |title= Officials Identify Remains of Two Hijackers Through DNA |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/01/nyregion/officials-identify-remains-of-two-hijackers-through-dna.html |date=March 1, 2003 |work=The New York Times |access-date=May 24, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131225060445/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/01/nyregion/officials-identify-remains-of-two-hijackers-through-dna.html |archive-date=December 25, 2013 }}</ref> The remains of the other hijackers on Flight 11 and Flight 175 have not been identified and are buried with other unidentified remains at this park.<ref>{{cite news |last=Standora |first=Leo |title=ID Remains OF 2 WTC Hijackers |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2003/03/01/2003-03-01_id_remains_of_2_wtc_hijackers.html |date=March 1, 2003 |work=Daily News |access-date=May 24, 2008 |location=New York|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090825204415/http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2003/03/01/2003-03-01_id_remains_of_2_wtc_hijackers.html |archive-date=August 25, 2009 }}</ref>

The remains of the five hijackers on Flight 77 were identified through a process of elimination by October 2, 2001, and were turned over to the FBI as evidence.<ref>{{cite news |last=Vogel |first=Steve |title=Remains Unidentified For 5 Pentagon Victims; Bodies Were Too Badly Burned, Officials Say |newspaper = The Washington Post |date=November 21, 2001}}</ref>

For Flight 93, the remains of Ziad Jarrah were identified and turned over to the FBI as evidence after DNA samples submitted by his girlfriend were matched to remains recovered in Shanksville.<ref name="911myths_com" /> The rest of the remains of the hijackers were identified by the process of elimination, and were turned over to the FBI as evidence.<ref>{{cite news |last=Burger |first=Timothy J |title=Hijackers' remains FBI gets fragments of Pentagon, Pa. 9/11 thugs |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/hijackers-remains-fbi-fragments-pentagon-pa-9-11-thugs-article-1.507154 |date=August 17, 2002 |work=[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]] |access-date=August 24, 2008 |archive-date=March 3, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140303231712/http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/hijackers-remains-fbi-fragments-pentagon-pa-9-11-thugs-article-1.507154 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Possible cases of mistaken identity==
Soon after the attacks and before the FBI had released the pictures of all the hijackers, several reports claimed some of the men named as hijackers on 9/11 were alive<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,265160,00.html |title=Panoply of the Absurd |work=[[Der Spiegel]] |date=2001-09-11 |access-date=2011-09-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061004140321/http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,265160,00.html |archive-date=2006-10-04 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Steve Herrmann |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/2006/10/911_conspiracy_theory_1.html |title=9/11 conspiracy theory |publisher=BBC News |date=2006-10-27 |access-date=2011-09-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110904072126/http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/2006/10/911_conspiracy_theory_1.html |archive-date=2011-09-04 |url-status=live }}</ref> and had their [[Identity theft|identities stolen]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1559151.stm |title=Hijack 'suspects' alive and well |publisher=BBC News |date=2001-09-23 |access-date=2011-09-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110905231420/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1559151.stm |archive-date=2011-09-05 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.islamonline.net/English/News/2001-09/17/article11.shtml |title=Islam Online – Saudi Suspects in U.S. Attacks Were Not in the U.S. |access-date=2006-06-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060619070246/http://www.islamonline.net/English/News/2001-09/17/article11.shtml |archive-date=2006-06-19 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.thedossier.info/articles/latimes_fbi-chief-raises-new-doubts-over-hijackers-identities.pdf |title=LA Times – FBI Chief Raises New Doubts Over Hijackers' Identities |access-date=2014-02-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222202553/http://www.thedossier.info/articles/latimes_fbi-chief-raises-new-doubts-over-hijackers-identities.pdf |archive-date=2014-02-22 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[20th hijacker]]
* [[Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act]]

==Notes and references==

===Notes===
{{reflist|30em}}

===References===
* {{cite book |author=Aust, Stefan |author2=''Der Spiegel'' Magazine |others=Schnibben, Cordt |title=Inside 9-11: What Really Happened |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers|MacMillan]] |year=2002 |isbn=0-312-98748-X |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/inside911whatrea00newy }}
* {{cite book |author=Bamford, James |title=Shadow Factory |publisher=Doubleday |year=2008 |isbn=978-0385521321 |url=https://archive.org/details/shadowfactory00bamf }}
* {{cite book |author=Burke, Jason |title=Al-Qaeda: The True Story of Radical Islam |year=2004 |publisher=[[I.B. Tauris]]| isbn=1-85043-666-5}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.nefafoundation.org/miscellaneous/FeaturedDocs/FBI911Timeline.pdf|title=Hijackers' Timeline|author=Federal Bureau of Investigation|publisher=[[NEFA Foundation]]|date=2008-02-04|access-date=2008-10-06|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012013300/http://www.nefafoundation.org/miscellaneous/FeaturedDocs/FBI911Timeline.pdf|archive-date=2008-10-12}}
* {{cite book |author=Fouda, Yosri |author2=Fielding, Nick |title=Masterminds of Terror: The Truth Behind the Most Devastating Terrorist Attack the World Has Ever Seen |url=https://archive.org/details/mastermindsofter00fawd |publisher=[[Arcade Publishing|Arcade]] |year=2003 |isbn=1-55970-708-9}}
* {{cite book |author=McDermott, Terry |title=Perfect Soldiers: The Hijackers: Who They Were, Why They Did It |url=https://archive.org/details/perfectsoldiersh00mcde |url-access=registration |year=2005 |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |isbn=0-06-058469-6}}
* {{cite web |title=9/11 Commission Report |url=http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report.pdf |publisher=National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States |year=2004 |access-date=2008-09-30}}
* {{cite web |title=Appendix |url=http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/staff_statements/911_TerrTrav_App.pdf |work=9/11 and Terror Travel |year=2004 |publisher=National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States |access-date=2008-09-30}}
* {{cite book |author=Smith, Paul J. |title=Terrorism and Violence in Southeast Asia: Transnational Challenges to States and Regional Stability |year=2005 |publisher=M. E. Sharpe |isbn=0-7656-1433-2}}
* {{cite book |author=Wright, Lawrence |title=The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 |url=https://archive.org/details/loomingtoweralqa00wrig |url-access=registration |year=2006 |publisher= [[Alfred A. Knopf]] |isbn=0-375-41486-X}}

==External links==
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011215001957/https://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel01/092701hjpic.htm |date=December 15, 2001 |title=FBI Press Release }}, September 27, 2001.

{{9-11 hijackers}}
{{Sept11}}

[[Category:Participants in the September 11 attacks|*]]
[[Category:Lists of deaths in 2001|*]]
[[Category:2001 suicides]]
[[Category:Al-Qaeda members]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Filmed suicides]]
[[Category:Mohamed Atta]]