Identifying the hijackers
Further information:
Organizers of the September 11 attacks
The FBI investigation into the attacks, codenamed operation
PENTTBOM, was able to identify the
19 hijackers within days, as they made little effort to conceal their names on flight,
credit card, and other records.
[6] By checking flight manifests and comparing them with other information, like watch lists, customs officials were able to quickly find the names of all 19 hijackers.
Passengers and crew aboard the flights provided information about the hijackers while the hijacking was in progress. Two
flight attendants on
American Airlines Flight 11, Betty Ong and Madeline Amy Sweeney, contacted airline personnel on the ground. Sweeney provided the seat numbers of the hijackers, and descriptions of the men, identifying Mohamed Atta as one of the hijackers.
[7][8][9] A flight attendant on
United Airlines Flight 175 called a United Airlines mechanic and reported that hijackers had killed the crew.
[9] While the hijacking was in progress on
American Airlines Flight 77, several passengers, including a flight attendant, Renee May, contacted and reported details of the hijacking to persons on the ground.
[10] Sales clerks identified two individuals to whom they sold tickets on Flight 77 as the hijackers
Hani Hanjour and
Majed Moqed.
[9] During the hijacking of
United Airlines Flight 93,
Jeremy Glick identified the hijackers as Arabic-looking and carrying box-cutters.
[11]
Mohamed Atta's luggage did not make the connection from his Portland flight to
American Airlines Flight 11. In his suitcase, authorities found a handwritten letter in
Arabic. As well, a handwritten letter was found at the crash site of
United Airlines Flight 93 near
Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and another in Hazmi's vehicle.
[12] When examining
Mohamed Atta's left-behind luggage, the FBI found important clues about the hijackers and their plans. Atta's luggage contained instructional videotapes for flying large aircraft, a fuel consumption calculator, and a flight plan, along with a copy of the Quran.
[13] His luggage also contained papers that revealed the identity of all 19 hijackers, along with a copy of Atta's last will and testament.
[14] The passport of hijacker
Abdulaziz Alomari was also found in
Mohamed Atta’s left-behind luggage.
Various items of evidence were found in vehicles left behind at the airports, in luggage that did not make it onto the flights, and at the crash scenes. A rental car belonging to the hijackers was found at Boston's
Logan International Airport, which contained an Arabic language flight manual and documents from
Huffman Aviation in Florida. There, investigators were able to find
Mohamed Atta and
Marwan al-Shehhi's previous address in
Hamburg, Germany.
[15] Nawaf al-Hazmi's 1988 blue Toyota Corolla was found on September 12 in Dulles International Airport's hourly parking lot. Inside the vehicle, authorities found a letter written by
Mohamed Atta, maps of
Washington, D.C., and New York City, a cashier's check made out to a Phoenix flight school, four drawings of a Boeing 757 cockpit, a
box cutter-type knife, and a page with notes and phone numbers.
[16]
In New York City, a passport belonging to
Satam al-Suqami was found by a passerby before the towers collapsed, and given to a NYPD detective.
[17][18] The passports of two of the hijackers of Flight 93 were also found intact at the crash site.
On September 27, 2001, the FBI released photos of the 19 hijackers, along with information about the possible nationalities and aliases of many.
[19]
now I remember why I hate this forum. Try to answer a legit question and someone has to make a VERY IMPORTANT POLITICAL POINT about everything.
ing asshole if he was really just trolling the other thread in the OT.