In the early summer of 2000, the Hamburg group arrived in the United States to
begin flight training. Marwan al Shehhi came on May 29, arriving in Newark on a
flight from Brussels. He went to New York City and waited there for Mohamed Atta
to join him. On June 2, Atta traveled to the Czech Republic by bus from Germany
and then flew from Prague to Newark the next day. According to Ramzi Binalshibh,
Atta did not meet with anyone in Prague; he simply believed it would contribute
to operational security to fly out of Prague rather than Hamburg, the departure
point for much of his previous international travel.
457.2 THE 9/11 PILOTS IN THE UNITED STATES
Atta and Shehhi had not settled on where they would obtain their flight
training. In contrast, Ziad Jarrah had already arranged to attend the Florida
Flight Training Center (FFTC) in Venice, Florida. Jarrah arrived in Newark on
June 27 and then flew to Venice. He immediately began the private pilot program
at FFTC, intending to get a multi-engine license. Jarrah moved in with some of
the flight instructors affiliated with his school and bought a car.46
While Jarrah quickly settled into training in Florida, Atta and Shehhi kept
searching for a flight school. After visiting the Airman Flight School in
Norman, Oklahoma (where Zacarias Moussaoui would enroll several months later and
where another al Qaeda operative, Ihab Ali, had taken lessons in the mid1990s),
Atta started flight instruction at Huffman Aviation in Venice, Florida, and both
Atta and Shehhi subsequently enrolled in the Accelerated Pilot Program at that
school. By the end of July, both of them took solo flights, and by mid-August
they passed the private pilot airman test. They trained through the summer at
Huffman, while Jarrah continued his training at FFTC.47
The Hamburg operatives paid for their flight training primarily with funds
wired from Dubai by KSM's nephew, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali. Between June 29 and
September 17, 2000,Ali sent Shehhi and Atta a total of $114,500 in five
transfers ranging from $5,000 to $70,000.Ali relied on the unremarkable nature
of his transactions, which were essentially invisible amid the billions of
dollars flowing daily across the globe.48 Ali was not required to
provide identification in sending this money and the aliases he used were not
questioned.49
In mid-September, Atta and Shehhi applied to change their immigration status
from tourist to student, stating their intention to study at Huffman until
September 1, 2001. In late September, they decided to enroll at Jones Aviation
in Sarasota, Florida, about 20 miles north of Venice. According to the
instructor at Jones, the two were aggressive, rude, and sometimes even fought
with him to take over the controls during their training flights. In early
October, they took the Stage I exam for instruments rating at Jones Aviation and
failed. Very upset, they said they were in a hurry because jobs awaited them at
home. Atta and Shehhi then returned to Huffman.50
In the meantime, Jarrah obtained a single-engine private pilot certificate in
early August. Having reached that milestone, he departed on the first of five
foreign trips he would take after first entering the United States. In October,
he flew back to Germany to visit his girlfriend, Aysel Senguen. The two traveled
to Paris before Jarrah returned to Florida on October 29. His relationship with
her remained close throughout his time in the United States. In addition to his
trips, Jarrah made hundreds of phone calls to her and communicated frequently by
email.51
Jarrah was supposed to be joined at FFTC by Ramzi Binalshibh, who even sent
the school a deposit. But Binalshibh could not obtain a U.S. visa. His first
applications in May and June 2000 were denied because he lacked established ties
in Germany ensuring his return from a trip to the United States. In September,
he went home to Yemen to apply for a visa from there, but was denied on grounds
that he also lacked sufficient ties to Yemen. In October, he tried one last
time, in Berlin, applying for a student visa to attend "aviation language
school," but the prior denials were noted and this application was denied
as well, as incomplete.52
Unable to participate directly in the operation, Binalshibh instead took on
the role of coordinating between KSM and the operatives in the United States.
Apart from sending a total of about $10,000 in wire transfers to Atta and Shehhi
during the summer of 2000, one of Binalshibh's first tasks in his new role as
plot coordinator was to assist another possible pilot, Zacarias Moussaoui.53
In the fall of 2000, KSM had sent Moussaoui to Malaysia for flight training,
but Moussaoui did not find a school he liked. He worked instead on other
terrorist schemes, such as buying four tons of ammonium nitrate for bombs to be
planted on cargo planes flying to the United States. When KSM found out, he
recalled Moussaoui back to Pakistan and directed him to go to the United States
for flight training. In early October, Moussaoui went to London. When Binalshibh
visited London in December, he stayed at the same 16-room dormitory where
Moussaoui was still residing. From London, Moussaoui sent inquiries to the
Airman Flight School in Norman, Oklahoma.54
Confronting training or travel problems with Hazmi, Mihdhar, Binalshibh, and
Moussaoui, al Qaeda was looking for another possible pilot candidate. A new
recruit with just the right background conveniently presented himself in
Afghanistan.
