Latest revision as of 19:37, 6 July 2012
9/11 Commission background
Mohamed Atta was born on September 1, 1968, in Kafr el Sheikh, Egypt, to a middle-class family headed by his father, an attorney. After graduating from Cairo University with a degree in architectural engineering in 1990, Atta worked as an urban planner in Cairo for a couple of years. In the fall of 1991, he asked a German family he had met in Cairo to help him continue his education in Germany. They suggested he come to Hamburg and invited him to live with them there, at least initially.After completing a course in German,Atta traveled to Germany for the first time in July 1992. He resided briefly in Stuttgart and then, in the fall of 1992, moved to Hamburg to live with his host family. After enrolling at the University of Hamburg, he promptly transferred into the city engineering and planning course at the Technical University of Hamburg-Harburg,where he would remain registered as a student until the fall of 1999. He appears to have applied himself fairly seriously to his studies (at least in comparison to his jihadist friends) and actually received his degree shortly before traveling to Afghanistan. In school, Atta came across as very intelligent and reasonably pleasant, with an excellent command of the German language.
When Atta arrived in Germany, he appeared religious, but not fanatically so.This would change, especially as his tendency to assert leadership became increasingly pronounced. According to Binalshibh, as early as 1995 Atta sought to organize a Muslim student association in Hamburg. In the fall of 1997, he joined a working group at the Quds mosque in Hamburg, a group designed to bridge the gap between Muslims and Christians. Atta proved a poor bridge, however, because of his abrasive and increasingly dogmatic personality. But among those who shared his beliefs, Atta stood out as a decisionmaker. Atta’s friends during this period remember him as charismatic, intelligent, and persuasive, albeit intolerant of dissent.
In his interactions with other students, Atta voiced virulently anti-Semitic and anti-American opinions, ranging from condemnations of what he described as a global Jewish movement centered in New York City that supposedly controlled the financial world and the media, to polemics against governments of the Arab world. To him, Saddam Hussein was an American stooge set up to give Washington an excuse to intervene in the Middle East. Within his circle,Atta advocated violent jihad. He reportedly asked one individual close to the group if he was “ready to fight for [his] belief” and dismissed him as too weak for jihad when the person declined. On a visit home to Egypt in 1998, Atta met one of his college friends. According to this friend, Atta had changed a great deal, had grown a beard, and had “obviously adopted fundamentalism” by that time.
Page 160/161
9/11 Commission Report
Timeline
April 11 1996: Mohamed Atta's will
- The will that would later be recovered from Mohamed Atta's luggage was actually written more than five years earlier.
On April 11, 1996, when Atta was twenty-seven years old, he signed a standardized will he got from the al-Quds mosque. It was the day Israel attacked Lebanon in Operation Grapes of Wrath. According to one of his friends, Atta was enraged, and by filling out his last testament during the attack he was offering his life as a response.
Page 307, The Looming Tower, Lawrence Wright
An alleged FBI translation of the will was first reported in Der Spiegel. An English translation was produced by ABC news.
Alleged English translation of Atta's willIn the name of God all mighty
Death Certificate
This is what I want to happen after my death. I am Mohamed the son of Mohamed Elamir awad Elsayed. I believe that prophet Mohamed is God's messenger and time will come, no doubt about that, and God will resurrect people who are in their graves. I wanted my family and everyone who reads this will to fear the Almighty God and don't get deceived by what is in life and to fear God and to follow God and his prophets if they are real believers. In my memory, I want them to do what Ibrahim (a prophet) told his son to do, to die as a good Muslim. When I die, I want the people who will inherit my possessions to do the following:
1. The people who will prepare my body should be good Muslims because this will remind me of God and his forgiveness.
2. The people who are preparing my body should close my eyes and pray that I will go to heaven and to get me new clothes, not the ones I died in.
3. I don't want anyone to weep and cry or to rip their clothes or slap their faces because this is an ignorant thing to do.
4. I don't want anyone to visit me who didn't get along with me while I was alive or to kiss me or say good-bye when I die.
5. I don't want a pregnant woman or a person who is not clean to come and say good-bye to me because I don't approve it.
6. I don't want women to come to my house to apologize for my death. I am not responsible for people who will sacrifice animals in front of my lying body because this is against Islam.
7. Those who will sit beside my body must remember Allah, God, and pray for me to be with the angels.
8. The people who will clean my body should be good Muslims and I do not want a lot of people to wash my body unless it is necessary.
9. The person who will wash my body near my genitals must wear gloves on his hands so he won't touch my genitals.
10. I want the clothes I wear to consist of three white pieces of cloth, not to be made of silk or expensive material.
11. I don't want any women to go to my grave at all during my funeral or on any occasion thereafter.
12. During my funeral I want everyone to be quiet because God mentioned that he likes being quiet on occasions when you recite the Koran, during the funeral, and when you are crawling. You must speed my funeral procession and I would like many people there to pray for me.
13. When you bury me the people with whom I will be buried should be good Muslims. I want to face East toward Mecca.
14. I should be laying on my right side. You should throw the dust on my body three times while saying from the dust, we created you from dust and to dust you will return. From the dust a new person will be created. After that everyone should mention God's name and that I died as a Muslim which is God's religion. Everyone who attends my funeral should ask that I will be forgiven for what I have done in the past (not this action).
15. The people who will attend my funeral should sit at my grave for an hour so that I will enjoy their company and slaughter animals and give the meat to the needy.
16. The custom has been to memorialize the dead every 40 days or once a year but I do not want this because it is not an Islamic custom.
17. I don't want people to take time to write things on paper to be kept in their pockets as superstition. Time should be taken to pray to God instead.
18. All the money I left must be divided according to the Muslim religion as almighty God has asked us to do. A third of my money should be spent on the poor and the needy. I want my books to go to any one of the Muslim mosques. I wanted the people who look at my will to be one of the heads of the Sunna religion. Whoever it is, I want that person to be from where I grew up or any person I used to follow in prayer. People will be held responsible for not following the Muslim religion. I wanted the people who I left behind to hear God and not to be deceived by what life has to offer and to pray more to God and to be good believers. Whoever neglects this will or does not follow the religion, that person will be held responsible in the end.
This was written on April 11, 1996; the Islamic calendar of zoelqada is 1416
Written by MOHAMED MOHAMED ELAMIR AWAD ELSAYED
Witnesses: ABDELGANI MUZWADI (signature)
Witnesses: ALMUTASADEQ MUNIR (signature)
Sourced from
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/network/personal/attawill.html
1997-1998: Early contact
It was the breakthrough that German investigators had been looking for. A red brick building with 21 employees in Wentorf, Hamburg, provided the evidence that seven now-infamous men, including Binalshibh, Atta and Alshehhi, definitely knew each other as early as 1997. Earning 15 Deutschmarks per hour, their job at the Hay Computing Service Company - where they worked for two years - was to re-pack computers sent by IBM or Philips before transporting them to a storage hall at the Hamburg free port for repair or modification.
Chapter 7, Masterminds of Terror, Yosri Fouda and Nick Fielding
1997-1998: Mohammed Haydar Zammar
Some sources have speculated that it was [Mohammed Haydar] Zammar who recruited Atta and the others to al Qaeda. There is no doubt that he was an important figure anongst the Islamic radicals in Germany and acted as a conduit to the burgeoning al Qaeda organisation busily establishing itself in Afghanistan.
From 1997 onwards, the Syrian-born German citizen was often seen by Atta's neighbours carrying boxes up to the Egyptian student's first-storey walk-up..."
Chapter 7, Masterminds of Terror, Yosri Fouda and Nick Fielding
At the end of 1997...: Travel to Afghanistan?
June 1998: New passport
- Atta gets a new passport, which causes the 9/11 Commission Report to speculate:
...Atta obtained a new passport in June 1998, even though his current one was still valid for nearly a year, a sign that he may have been following the al Qaeda practice of concealing travel to Pakistan. Federal Prosecutor General (Germany), response to Commission letter, June 25, 2004, p. 11.
Footnote #94 to Chapter 5, The 9/11 Commission Report
1st November 1998: 54 Marienstrasse
...Atta, Ramzi Binalshibh and Said Bahaji all moved in together to the tiny 58-square-metre apartment on the first floor of a three-storey, mid-terrace, post-war building at number 54 Marienstrasse ['just a few minutes walk from the Technical Univeristy in Hamburg-Harburg]. They were later joined by Marwan al-Shehhi and Zakariya Essaber. Al-Jarrah maintained a discreet distance from the group, staying in a separate apartment with his girlfriend.
Chapter 7, Masterminds of Terror, Yosri Fouda and Nick Fielding
August 1999-"a few weeks later": Atta's thesis
23rd October 1999: Green card lottery
- Atta submitted an application over the Internet to the National Visa Service, a company that for a $50 fee helps individuals enter into a lottery for a permanent residence status in the US, also known as a "green card". He makes another application in November, but both are unsuccessful. (Source)
29th November 1999: Travel to Afghanistan
- Atta flies from Hamburg to Istanbul on Turkish Airlines Flight TK1662, then from Istanbul to Karachi on Flight TK1056, under the name Mohamed Elamir. Eric Usmansky posted what he said were the manifests for these flights (http://www.ericumansky.com/2005/08/attas_visa.html), which apparently he obtained from Terry McDermott, journalist and author of Perfect Soldiers. His destination is claimed to be Afghanistan.
Manifest for Turkish Airlines Flight TK1662
Manifest for Turkish Airlines Flight TK1056
January 8th and 18th 2000: An al-Qaeda video
- An al-Qaeda video apparently shows Mohamed Atta and Ziad Jarrah in Afghanistan. Atta is visible in a crowd listening to bin Ladin on January 8th, according to the footage, while Jarrah and Atta are pictured together on January 18th 2000. (Source)
March 2000: Atta requests details on flight training
- A form at www.theacademy.net/info is used to send the following message [original spelling preserved].
Although the message is signed M. Atta, the sender name as entered in the form is Mahmoud Ben Hamad, with an email address of eyn72@hotmail.com. Source: Lakeland Academy document as submitted to the Moussaoui trial
The 9/11 Commission Report states that this email was only one of many.
In March 2000, Atta emailed 31 different U.S. flight schools on behalf of a small group of men from various Arab countries studying in Germany who, while lacking prior training, were interested in learning to fly in the United States. Atta requested information about the cost of the training, potential financing, and accommodations.
Page 168, The 9/11 Commission Report
March 27th 2000: Requests details on flight training
- Atta sends an email presumably to the US Academy of Lakeland enquiring about the cost of flight training (from 0 to ATPL) and visa requirements. It's detailed as from M. Atta at eyn72@hotmail.com. (Source)
March 31st 2000: Atta asks for more advice on the US
- Atta emails a friend to ask him about finding "the right University" in the US, visa regulations and so on.
April 13th, 2000: Academy of Lakeland email
- Atta sends a third email presumably to the US Academy of Lakeland, using the contact details: M Atta, Postlagernd, 20146 Hamburg, Germany. (Source)
8th May 2000: Atta received new passport
- Atta is issued with a new passport. (Source) This is new Egyptian passport #1617066, issued by the Egyptian Consulate in Hamburg. (Source)
17th May 2000: US visa application
18th May 2000: Atta received US VISA
30th May 2000 - 31st May 2000: Claims Atta in Prague
- It's been suggested that Atta was in Prague at this time. Here's the verdict of the 9/11 Commission.
Reports that Atta was in the Prague airport on May 30–31, 2000, and that he was turned back because he lacked a visa appear to be a case of mistaken identity: a Pakistani traveler with a name similar to Atta’s attempted to enter the Czech Republic from Saudi Arabia via Germany but was forced to return to Germany because he lacked a valid Czech visa. CIA cable, report re traveler to Prague, Dec. 8, 2001.
Footnote #69 to Chapter 7, The 9/11 Commission Report
1st June 2000: Czech visa
2nd June 2000: Flying to Czech Republic
- Atta booked a return trip from Newark to Prague for July 30, 2000, which he never used. (Source)
3rd June 2000: Arriving in Newark
4th June 2000: Cellphone
- Atta purchased a cellular phone and $50 phone card from Datavision in New York City. The cellular phone, number 646-479-0432, was activated the following day. (Source)
5th and 22nd of June 2000: Atta searches for a flight school
18th June 2000: New York apartment
- Atta and al-Shehhi leased apartment 5D, 106 Cabrini Boulevard, New York City. The lease, which Atta signed, ran from June 19 to June 26, 2000. (Source)
22nd June 2000: Century Flight Academy
- Atta filled out an information sheet at Century Flight Academy, Morristown, NJ. (Source)
25th June 2000: A Brooklyn apartment
- Atta and al-Shehhi leased an apartment at 198 12th St, Brooklyn, NY. They stayed at this apartment until July 2, 2000. (Source)
29th June - 17th September 2000: Wire transfers
Beginning of July 2000: Huffman Aviation
Note: Huffman's own documentation for Atta includes a temporary airman certificate and pilot profile giving 18th September 2000 as the date for his private pilot's licence, in contradiction with Dekkers' testimony that Atta had the licence when he arrived. However this isn't the original document, so more work will be required to definitely resolve the question.
2nd July 2000: Flying to Oklahoma City
3rd July 2000: Enrolling at Huffman
5th - 12th July 2000: 4890 Pompano Road
- Atta and al-Shehhi stay at the home of Charles and Drucilla Voss, 4890 Pompano Road, Venice Florida. Charles Voss was the bookkeeper for Huffman Aviation located in Venice, Florida. (Source)
6th July 2000: Flying lessons begin?
Apparently contradicted by an entry the following day.
7th July 2000: Buying a car
- Atta and al-Shehhi opened a joint checking account at the Nokomis, Florida branch of the SunTrust Bank, with a $7,000 cash deposit. The account was jointly held by Atta and al-Shehhi in Atta's name. (Source)
- Atta and al-Shehhi begin flight instruction at Huffman Aviation. Their first instructor was Mike Mikarts. (Source)
Apparently contradicted by a previous entry (see 6th July).
- Atta buys a 1989 Pontiac Grand Prix, FL D79DDV. He insures it until September 2001 with an Allstate Insurance vehicle policy. (Source) The car is purchased from Cramer Toyota in Venice, Florida. (Source) We found the alleged VIN for the Pontiac online, and ran a CARFAX check. This is what it produced.
- Atta subscribes to a Verizon wireless cellphone from this date until 17th January 2001. (Source)
11th July 2000: Payment for 516 W Laurel Rd
Atta and Alshehhi's account was used to pay $680.57 to the Rental Company of Venice for the 516 W Laurel Rd property. (Source)
12th July 2000: Rental of 516 W Laurel Rd
- Atta and al-Shehhi rented an apartment at 516 West Laurel Road, Nokomis, Florida. They signed a six-month lease that ended on January 14, 2001. (Source)
17th and 24th July 2000: Changing flight instructors
- On July 17, 2000, and July 24, 2000, respectively, al-Shehhi and Atta switched instructors, from Mike Mikarts to Erik Seiberlich. (Source)
24th July 2000: Atta issued medical
- Atta's Huffman Aviation personnel records show him entering this at the "Date of medical issued". (Source)
30th July 2000: Solo flights
31st July 2000: Atta flies solo
- A note in Atta's Huffman Aviation personnel records says "OK local solo" for this date. (Source)
August 2000: A bad flying report
4th August 2000: Flight computers
- Atta purchased a Timex watch and two E6B flight computers from Sporty's Pilot Shop, by mail order. They were sent to 516 West Laurel Road, Nokomis, Florida. (Source)
11th August 2000: Atta flies cross-country
- A note in Atta's Huffman Aviation personnel records says "OK solo X-country" for this probable date (it's hand-written, though, and not entirely clear). (Source)
13th and 14th August 2000: New flight instructors
- On August 13, 2000, and August 14, 2000, respectively, al-Shehhi and Atta switched instructors, from Erik Seiberlich to Bruno Delroy. (Source)
14th August 2000: Private pilot test passed
15th September 2000: Request to change immigration status
18th September 2000: Atta receives private pilot certificate
- A form in Atta's Huffman Aviation personnel records gives this as the date of his private pilots certificate. (Source)
28th September 2000 - 6th October 2000: Atta and al-Shehhi train at Jones Aviation
- Atta and al-Shehhi take a few training flights at Jones Aviation.
Moussaoui trial exhibit screen #1
Moussaoui trial exhibit screen #2
Moussaoui trial exhibit screen #3
Moussaoui trial exhibit screen #4
In late September, [Atta and al-Shehhi] decided to enroll at Jones Aviation in Sarasota, Florida, about 20 miles north ofVenice. 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.
Page 224, 9/11 Commission Report
October 11 2000: New flight instructor
5th November 2000 - Atta purchases Boeing flight deck videos
- An exhibit presented at the Moussaoui trial records Atta purchasing VHS flight deck videos for the Boeing 747-200 and 757-200 from "Sporty's Pilot Shop" on this date. He would purchase two more the following month, while Nawaf al-Hazmi buys an additional four videos in March 2001. (Source) Another document says Atta also bought a book with the first purchase, "Flying Jets - Aircraft and Simulators". (Source)
6th November 2000: Instrument rating passed
20th November 2000: Private pilot certificate received
- Atta receives a Temporary Airman Certificate saying he's certified as a private pilot ("airplane single engine land instrument airplane"). As taken from Atta's Huffman Personnal Folder 11a (Image:Atta Huffman Personnel Folder 11A.pdf).
December 2000: Last flight tests
12th December 2000 - Atta purchases two more Boeing flight deck videos
- An exhibit presented at the Moussaoui trial records Atta purchasing VHS flight deck videos for the Boeing 767-300ER and Airbus A320-200 from "Sporty's Pilot Shop" on this date. He purchased two other videos from the same store on 5th November, while Nawaf al-Hazmi buys an additional four videos in March 2001. (Source)
19th December 2000: Commercial pilot licence tests passed
21st December 2000 - Atta gets his commercial pilot rating
- Atta receives a Temporary Airman Certificate saying he's certified as a commercial pilot ("airplane multiengine land/ instrument airplane/ private pilot privileges/ airplane single engine land"). (Source)
24th December 2000: Leaves plane on runway
Before December 26 2000: Atta applies for flight training at Eagle Jet International
- Atta's faxed flight application to Eagle Jet International shows he was originally thinking of beginning training on December 22nd 2000. This is crossed out, though, and instead of providing a start date Atta says "I will be available full time and wish to train simultaneously with ALSHEHHI".
- Atta gives his contact address as 516 W Laurel Rd, Nokomis, FL 34275. Phone number is 941-685-0468. Atta's passport number is 1617066, issued 05/08/2000, expiration 05/07/2007. Source: Eagle Jet Application Form
December 29/ 30 2000: Atta and Marwan al-Shehhi take flight simulator training course
- Atta and al-Shehhi pay for 6 hours Boeing 727 flight simulator experience. They give their contact address as 516 W Laurel Rd, Norkomis [sic - Nokomis?], FL 34275. Credit card number taken is 4011-8008-4050-7778 EXP 07/02. (Source) During this time they stay at the Holiday Inn Express, Room 422, Miami, Florida. (Source)
- The training consisted of 3 hours each (Atta and al-Shehhi) on a 727 simulator at the SimCenter, Opa Locka, Florida; and training with an instructor on a Boeing 767 Flight Simulator at Pan Am International Flight Academy, in Opa Locka. Atta and al-Shehhi sat in the simulator together for the training, accompanied by "an unidentified male". (Source)
3rd January 2001: Travel to Madrid
- Atta takes American Airlines Flight 5372 from Tampa to Miami, then Iberia Airlines Flight 6122 from Miami to Madrid (see conflicting date of the 4th). (Source)
...Atta traveled to Germany in early January 2001 for a progress meeting with Ramzi Binalshibh. Binalshibh says Atta told him to report to the al Qaeda leadership in Afghanistan that the three Hamburg pilots had completed their flight training and were awaiting orders. Atta also disclosed that a fourth pilot, Hanjour, had joined Hazmi. Upon returning to Florida,Atta wired Binalshibh travel money. Binalshibh proceeded to Afghanistan, made his report, and spent the next several months there and in Pakistan...
Page 227, The 9/11 Commission Report
4th January 2001: Travel to Madrid
10th January 2001: Flying into Miami
- Atta takes American Airlines Flight 69 from Madrid to Miami, re-entering the US according to his INS I-94 entry document, then taking American Airlines Flight 2014 from Miami to Tampa. (Source)
Atta and Shehhi both encountered some difficulty reentering the United States, on January 10 and January 18, respectively. Because neither presented a student visa, both of them had to persuade INS inspectors that they should be admitted so that they could continue their flight training. Neither operative had any problem clearing Customs.
[Footnote to the above]. Atta was admitted as a tourist for an eight-month stay, even though the legal limit for tourists is six months. Shehhi was admitted for a four-month “business” stay. The Atta and Shehhi applications to change status were ultimately adjudicated on July 17 and August 9, 2001. Each received until October 1, 2001, to complete his studies.
Chapter 7 & Footnote 71, The 9/11 Commission Report
...Atta returned from Madrid to Miami. The primary immigration inspector who screened him told the Commission that he had been working as a primary inspector for less than a year when Atta presented himself. He said he knew that if he took more time than 45 seconds to determine a visitor’s admissibility or if he made too many referrals to secondary inspection, he could receive a poor performance appraisal. During an interview with the Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General (DOJ OIG), in November 2001, the primary inspector recalled some of his encounter with Atta. He told the interviewer that Atta presented an Egyptian passport with a tourist/business visa and an INS student/school form indicating that he was attending school. The inspector determined that Atta needed either an F-1 visa to attend an academic school or an M-1 visa to attend a vocational school, and had neither. The official’s “inspection results report” recorded Atta’s statement that he had “turned in” a student/school form to the INS in an attempt to change his status, but that he “has not had a response [from the INS], meanwhile he’s attending flight training school, already in school for 5/6 months.” The inspector, however, had already begun to process Atta for admission into the United States before noticing the visa problem. The I-94 arrival record, which was stamped and stapled into Atta’s passport, indicated that the primary inspector initially approved a one month stay as a B-1 business visitor.
The second red ink admission stamp (located on the top of Atta’s passport in the figure) was that of a B-1 visitor, but the length of stay was left blank. We know this was the work of the primary inspector, as the stamp bears his assigned number. The inspector told us that the blank length of stay on the admission stamp indicated that while he was almost finished processing Atta, he stopped, realizing that Atta needed more scrutiny. He sent him to a secondary immigration inspection for closer examination.
The immigration inspectors the Commission interviewed understood that INS policy permitted a commercial pilot coming to the United States for ongoing training to be admitted as a business visitor for the time necessary to complete his training. However, an alien wishing to pursue such training needed a vocational student visa. The primary inspector initially thought that Atta was already a pilot who was seeking continuing education, and then decided that Atta was studying to become a pilot and had the wrong visa.
The ten-year veteran immigration inspector who conducted Atta’s secondary examination admitted him as a tourist for eight months, though Atta had said he was still attending school and though as a tourist his stay should be legally limited to six months. This inspector initially recalled some aspects of this inspection in late 2001, when he was interviewed by the DOJ OIG; he said then that Atta was referred to secondary inspection as a possible overstay on a B1/B2 tourist visa. However, he told the Commission he no longer had any memory of this inspection and could not recall whether he asked Atta for his I-20 student/school form, checked the school/student system to verify Atta’s information, or asked Atta whether he was a part-time or full-time student, was attending flight school, or was still in school. The same inspector told the DOJ OIG that he had
checked INS computer databases for information on Atta and learned that the Egyptian had filed for a change of immigration status from tourist to student. He told the Commission that because the student tracking system at that time was “garbage”—full of information that was no longer valid and lacking updates—he would not have checked it to verify Atta’s story that he was still in school.
Yet the inspector told the DOJ OIG that he knew Atta had filed a change of immigration status from a computer check of his records. The inspector seems to have concluded that this application was still pending and that Atta was admissible. But under INS policy, Atta abandoned his application when he left the country. Other inspectors we interviewed were aware of this policy. Thus, Atta’s entry into the United States with the wrong visa should have been grounds for his removal.
The Commission sought to understand whether the secondary inspector’s understanding of Atta’s pending application affected the decision to admit him. In a subsequent 2002 interview with DOJ OIG, the inspector stated that if an alien departed the United States prior to his or her application for change of status being granted, then that application is considered abandoned. If that alien then seeks to reenter the United States as a student, he or she must obtain the correct student visa. Thus, according to the secondary inspector, Atta should not have been admitted. However, in response to a Commission staff question the inspector said that he thought the applicant in such a case “would still be in status; a gray area.”
In fact, this was not a gray area. Other inspectors we interviewed, including the primary inspector in this case, said that leaving the United States while an application for change of status was still pending made it necessary for the alien to get a new visa overseas. Indeed, the DOJ OIG concluded that the issue of the pending application was a red herring: all that mattered was whether Atta had the correct visa to enter the United States at the time he applied for entry.
The secondary inspector admitted Atta as a B-2 tourist, which automatically set the length of stay at six months. Only a supervisor could vary this period, allowing a tourist to stay up to one year in the country. Every inspector we interviewed verified this. However, this inspector gave Atta eight months, until September 8, 2001, without supervisory approval. Thus, both Atta’s admission as a tourist and his length of stay were improper.
In addition, Atta had overstayed his previous visa by one month when he departed the United States on January 4, 2001.89 That overstay should have been obvious to a secondary inspector tasked with giving a thorough look at Atta, for his passport would have contained an entry stamp into a foreign country from the week before, and an original U.S. admission stamp dated seven months earlier. Though the overstay did not make Atta automatically inadmissible, it could have been considered. But there is no indication that the secondary inspector who adjudicated Atta’s admission took his overstay into account.90 In contrast, other inspectors have told us that overstays are a typical travel pattern of an intending immigrant, and are normally a red flag for those attempting reentry.
The secondary inspector also could have admitted Atta into the United States for 30 days for a fee of $170, requiring Atta to present paperwork from his school to prove his current student status within 30 days. However, the inspector told us he had not considered the option of a deferred inspection. Such an inspection would have placed Atta in a difficult position: because he was already finished with school, he would have been unable to present paperwork indicating that he was still legally a student.
9/11 Terrorist Travel Monograph
16th January - 26th May 2001: New Wave cellphone account
- An exhibit at the Moussaoui trial mentions documents relating to Atta's New Wave cellphone account for number 914-350-2408, apparently used for this time period. (Source)
17th January 2001: Wire transfer
- Western Union money transfer computer records show a transfer from Mahmoud Elsayed (Mohamed Atta) to Ramsi Binalshibh on January 17, 2001 for $1500.00. (Source) (See January 3 entry)
25th January - 1st February 2001: Hotel
31st January 2001: Advanced Aviation
- Various documents show Atta attending Advanced Aviation flying school in Lawrenceville, Georgia. (Source)
- Atta rented a Piper Warrior airplane from Advanced Aviation, in Lawrenceville, Georgia, for a one-hour check ride with a flight instructor from that school. al-Shehhi accompanied Atta on the check ride. In renting the aircraft, Atta listed his address as A.M. Zentrum Haus 2, Hamburg, Germany. Atta also purchased a sectional chart from Advanced Aviation. (Source)
February-April 2001: Travel to Virginia
- The 9/11 Commission briefly summarise Atta's travels.
1st to 8th February 2001: Hotel
2nd February 2001: Gym
- Atta visits a gym, Everybodies Nutrition & Fitness, in Decatur, GA. (Source)
5th February to 5th March 2001: Atta joins a gym
- An exhibit at the Moussaoui trial says Atta was member of a gym, Everybodies Nutrition & Fitness, in Decatur, GA, for this month. The same document says he's a member of a Florida gym for a further month, starting about six weeks later. (Source)
6th February 2001: Advanced Aviation
- al-Shehhi rented an airplane from Advanced Aviation, in Lawrenceville, Georgia, for a one-hour check ride with a flight instructor from that school. Atta accompanied al-Shehhi on the check ride. In renting the aircraft, al-Shehhi listed his address as A.M. Zentrum Haus 2, Hamburg, Germany. Atta also purchased a sectional chart from Advanced Aviation. (Source)
8th - 15th February 2001: Gym
19th February 2001: ATM cash withdrawal
- Atta withdraws $500 from an ATM in Richmond, Virginia. (Source)
20th February 2001: Renting a mailbox
- Atta cashes a $4,000 cheque at a Virginia Beach branch of the SunTrust Bank. (Source)
21st February to 1st March 2001: Hotel
13th March to 27th March 2001: Hotel
22nd March 2001: Advanced Aviation
- Atta rented an aiplane from Advanced Aviation in Lawrenceville, Georgia, for a one hour check ride with a flight instructor from that school. He listed his address as A.M. Zentrum Haus 2, Hamburg, Germany. (Source)
27th March to 3rd April 2001: Hotel
Early April 2001: Nawaf al-Hazmi
Although Atta and [Nawaf al-]Hazmi appear to have been in Virginia at about the same time in early April, they probably did not meet then.Analysis of late April communications associated with KSM indicates that they had wanted to get together in April but could not coordinate the meeting. Atta and Hazmi probably first met in the United States only when Hazmi traveled round-trip from Newark to Miami between June 19 and June 25.
Page 242, Chapter 7, 9/11 Commission Report
3rd April 2001: Hotel
4th April 2001: Hotel
- Atta and al-Shehhi check out of the Diplomat Inn, Virginia Beach. They then close the mailbox they rented on February 20th, and Atta cashes an $8,000 cheque payable to "Cash" at a branch of SunTrust Bank in Virginia Beach. (Source)
Atta cashed an $8,000 check at a bank in Virginia Beach; he appears on a bank surveillance tape.
Footnote 70, Page 522
9/11 Commission Report
(see more about this period in the 9th April entry)
9th April 2001: Alleged Iraqi contact in Prague
- It's been alleged that Atta met with with Ahmad Khalil Ibrahim Samir al Ani, an Iraqi diplomat, at the Iraqi Embassy in Prague. Here's what the 9/11 Commission said about the claim.
Atta's Alleged Trip to PragueMohamed Atta is known to have been in Prague on two occasions: in December 1994, when he stayed one night at a transit hotel, and in June 2000, when he was en route to the United States. On the latter occasion, he arrived by bus from Germany, on June 2, and departed for Newark the following day.
The allegation that Atta met with an Iraqi intelligence officer in Prague in April 2001 originates from the reporting of a single source of the Czech intelligence service. Shortly after 9/11, the source reported having seen Atta meet with Ahmad Khalil Ibrahim Samir al Ani, an Iraqi diplomat, at the Iraqi Embassy in Prague on April 9, 2001, at 11:00 A.M. This information was passed to CIA headquarters.
The U.S. legal attaché (“Legat”) in Prague, the representative of the FBI,met with the Czech service’s source. After the meeting, the assessment of the Legat and the Czech officers present was that they were 70 percent sure that the source was sincere and believed his own story of the meeting. Subsequently, the Czech intelligence service publicly stated that there was a 70 percent probability that the meeting between Atta and Ani had taken place.The Czech Interior Minister also made several statements to the press about his belief that the meeting had occurred, and the story was widely reported.
The FBI has gathered evidence indicating that Atta was in Virginia Beach on April 4 (as evidenced by a bank surveillance camera photo), and in Coral Springs, Florida on April 11, where he and Shehhi leased an apartment. On April 6, 9, 10, and 11,Atta’s cellular telephone was used numerous times to call various lodging establishments in Florida from cell sites within Florida.We cannot confirm that he placed those calls. But there are no U.S. records indicating that Atta departed the country during this period. Czech officials have reviewed their flight and border records as well for any indication that Atta was in the Czech Republic in April 2001, including records of anyone crossing the border who even looked Arab. They have also reviewed pictures from the area near the Iraqi embassy and have not discovered photos of anyone who looked like Atta. No evidence has been found that Atta was in the Czech Republic in April 2001.
According to the Czech government,Ani, the Iraqi officer alleged to have met with Atta, was about 70 miles away from Prague on April 8–9 and did not return until the afternoon of the ninth, while the source was firm that the sighting occurred at 11:00 A.M. When questioned about the reported April 2001 meeting,Ani—now in custody—has denied ever meeting or having any contact with Atta. Ani says that shortly after 9/11, he became concerned that press stories about the alleged meeting might hurt his career. Hoping to clear his name, Ani asked his superiors to approach the Czech government about refuting the allegation. He also denies knowing of any other Iraqi official having contact with Atta.
These findings cannot absolutely rule out the possibility that Atta was in Prague on April 9, 2001. He could have used an alias to travel and a passport under that alias, but this would be an exception to his practice of using his true name while traveling (as he did in January and would in July when he took his next overseas trip). The FBI and CIA have uncovered no evidence that Atta held any fraudulent passports. KSM and Binalshibh both deny that an Atta-Ani meeting occurred. There was no reason for such a meeting, especially considering the risk it would pose to the operation. By April 2001, all four pilots had completed most of their training,and the muscle hijackers were about to begin entering the United States.
The available evidence does not support the original Czech report of an Atta-Ani meeting.
Page 228/ 229, The 9/11 Commission Report
11th April 2001: 122 Tara Gardens
- Atta and al-Shehhi lease apartment number 122 at Tara Gardens, 10001 W. Atlantic Boulevard, Hollywood, Florida. The lease period ran to May 17 2001, although they vacated before this (see May 13). (Source)
19th April 2001 to 18th May 2001: Atta joins a gym
- An exhibit at the Moussaoui trial says Atta was member of a gym, Twenty Four Fitness, at 9800 West Atlantic Blvd, Coral Springs, FL, for this month (although a separate exhibit says this was a one week guest exhibit only). (Source) The first document says he's a member of a Georgia gym for another month in February/ March. (Source)
26th April 2001: Traffic ticket
Atta already had the [international driver's] license with him and presented it during a traffic stop on April 26
Page 230, The 9/11 Commission Report
- Atta received a traffic ticket in Taramac, Florida, for operating a vehicle without a valid driver's licence. Al-Shehhi and two other males were passengers in the car. (Source)
Some time in April 2001: In Germany?
2nd May 2001: Driver's licence
- Atta is issued with a Florida driver's licence, # A300-540-68-321-0. (Source) Ziad Jarrah obtains his own driver's licence on the same day.
- Atta's immigration status undergoes a minor change, as reported by the 9/11 Commission:
Also on May 2, Atta and two unidentified companions appeared at the Miami District Immigration Office, where an inspector reduced Atta’s authorized length of stay by two months, correcting the mistake made back in January.
Footnote #82 to Chapter 7, The 9/11 Commission Report
On May 2, 2001, Atta and two companions stood in a long line at the Miami District Immigration Office. INS district offices adjudicate all types of immigration benefits inspections, including naturalization interviews, applications for permanent residency based on marriage to a U.S. citizen, and deferred inspections for students lacking the proper paperwork upon entry. But Atta had something else in mind. He wanted his companion, who was likely Jarrah, to obtain the same eight-month length of stay that he had (wrongfully) received in January.
By late morning, Atta finally made it to the inspection desk. An inspector from Miami International Airport was getting ready to take a break for lunch at about 11:30 A.M. when three men approached her at the counter. This inspector had worked primary and secondary inspections at airports, as well as of ship crews, since 1988 in Fort Lauderdale and Miami. However, because she had never before worked at this district office, she recalled the encounter with Atta vividly.
One of Atta’s companions, proficient in English, spoke first. He told the inspector, “My friends have a question about their I-94 arrival records.” When she asked, “Do you need to see immigration?” he said no. The inspector then instructed him to go sit down and that she would help him with his friends, and he complied. She told them that the person needing help should write his name on the sign-in sheet. In large capital letters, he wrote, “ATTA.”
Atta told the inspector that he wanted his friend to receive an eight-month length of stay as he had. The inspector recalled taking both passports to see if they had genuine visas. She also looked at the I-94 arrival records in the passports. Atta’s companion had received a six-month stay as a tourist, with an end date of September 8, 2001. She also noticed that Atta had been admitted as a tourist for eight months. During this time, Atta was quiet. She told Atta, “Someone gave you the wrong admission and I’m not giving your friend eight months.”
The inspector then went to her supervisor, informed him that Atta had been granted an incorrect length of stay, and asked permission to roll it back to six months. The supervisor agreed. The inspector then tore the I-94 record out of Atta’s passport, and created a new I-94 for six months, which allowed Atta to remain in the United States until July 9, 2001. On the record she wrote: “I-94 issued in error at MIA [Miami International Airport]. New I-94 issued.” The inspector then took a red-inked admission stamp, rolled the date back to January 10, and stamped Atta as a B-2 tourist. She wrote in a length of stay until July 9, 2001, and handed Atta back his passport and new I-94 record. Atta took the documents, said thank you, and left with his companions.
9/11 Terrorist Travel Monograph
9th - 10th May 2001: Unit #1, 1836 Lincoln Street
10th May 2001: AT&T cellphone account
- An exhibit at the Moussaoui trial mentions documents relating to Atta's AT&T cellphone account for number 305-632-2408. (Source)
13th May 2001 - 16th June 2001: 1818 Jackson St
- A Moussaoui trial exhibit mentions a $1110 receipt for Atta & al-Shehhi, covering the rental of the apartment 1818 Jackson St., #3A, Hollywood, FL. (Source)
21st May 2001: Renting a mailbox
- Atta signs up at Mail Boxes Etc, Hollywood, FL for a mailbox: Box 256, 3389 Sheridan St., Hollywood, FL 33021-3606. The service agreement specifies his address as 1818 Jackson St., Hollywood, FL 33020 (phone 954-815-3004). He then files a USPS (US Postal Service) form asking for mail to his 10001 W. Atlantic Blvd, Coral Springs address to be redirected to the mailbox. (Source)
28th May - 29th May 2001: Renting a car
- Atta (under the name Mohamed ElSayed) appears on a registration card for 3 people showing a 2-day start at Hill Totel, rm. 117, Hollywood, FL. Mohand al-Shehri is listed as Mohand Shahri; the third person is not named. (Source)
31st May 2001 - 2nd June 2001: Renting a car
10th June 2001 - 24th June 2001: Leasing a car
- Atta leases a beige Oldsmobile Alero, FL UEP54N, from Alamo. (Source)
22nd June 2001: Registered email account
- At 1:50:21pm Atta registered the e-mail account mohamedatta@hotmail.com while at Kinko's, in Florida. (Source)
24th June - 22nd July 2001: Renting a car
- Atta rents a Chevrolet Malibu, FL T52LCH, from Alamo. (Source)
27th June 2001: Flying to Boston
- Atta appears on the passenger list for Delta Airlines Flt 2598 from Ft Lauderdale to Boston. (Source)
28th June 2001: Flying ot San Francisco/ Las Vegas
- Atta takes United Airlines Flight 161 from Boston to San Francisco, then United Airlines Flight 955 from San Francisco to Las Vegas. He rents a Chevrolet Malibu from this day until 1st July 2001. (Source) He returned the car on July 1 2001, having driven 110 miles. (Source)
The 9/11 Commission Report tells us this flight was part of a larger pattern.
The three Hamburg pilots—Atta, Shehhi, and Jarrah—took the first of their cross-country surveillance flights early in the summer. Shehhi flew from New York to Las Vegas via San Francisco in late May. Jarrah flew from Baltimore to Las Vegas via Los Angeles in early June. Atta flew from Boston to Las Vegas via San Francisco at the end of June. Each traveled in first class, on United Airlines. For the east-west transcontinental leg, each operative flew on the same type of aircraft he would pilot on September 11 (Atta and Shehhi, a Boeing 767; Jarrah, a Boeing 757). Hanjour and Hazmi, as noted below, took similar crosscountry surveillance flights in August.
Page 242, The 9/11 Commission Report
29th June - 1st July 2001: Hotel
- Atta stays at the Econo Lodge Las Vegas, rm. 122, arriving on the 29th of June and departing on the 1st of July. (Source)
30th June 2001: Travelocity.com
- Atta logged on to his mohamedatta@hotmail.com account from the Cyber Cafe in Las Vegas. He logged onto accessed [sic] Travelocity.com three times. (Source)
1st July 2001: Flying to Boston
- Atta takes United Airlines Flight 2700 from Las Vegas to Denver, then United Airlines Flight 1220 from Denver to Boston, where he stays at the Holiday Inn Express, rm. 614, for 1 night. (Source)
2nd July 2001: Flying to New Jersey
- Atta takes Delta Flight 6181 from Boston to JFK, then stays at the Town House Motor Hotel, Elmwood Park, NJ, for 1 night. (Source) On the morning of the 2nd, cellular telephone 973-652-2555, registered to Hani Hanjour, called cellular telephone 305-632-2408, registered to Mohamed Atta. (Source)
- The 9/11 Commission Report suggests a possible reason for the New Jersey stop.
Atta and [Nawaf al] Hazmi probably first met in the United States only when Hazmi traveled round-trip from Newark to Miami between June 19 and June 25...
Atta probably met again with Hazmi in early July. Returning from his initial cross-country surveillance flight, Atta flew into New York. Rather than return immediately to Florida, he checked into a New Jersey hotel. He picked up tickets to travel to Spain at a travel agency in Paterson on July 4 before departing for Fort Lauderdale.
Page 243, The 9/11 Commission Report
- He may also have stayed at the King's Inn, rm. 230, Wayne, NJ on this same trip, however the document doesn't give a date. Although it may be relating to another document dated 26th July 2001. (Source)
3rd July 2001: Purchasing tickets for Zurich trip
- Atta purchased airline tickets at Apollo Travel, Paterson, New Jersey, for Swissair 227, Miami to Zurich on July 7, 2001, and Swissair 656, Zurich to Madrid on July 8, 2001. (Source)
4th July 2001: Flys to Fort Lauderdale
- Atta picks up the Swissair tickets he booked the previous day. (Source)
- Atta calls UAE cellular telephone 971 50 520 9905 using pre-paid calling cards at pay telephones in Elmwood, New Jersey. (Source)
- Atta takes Delta Airlines Flight 2361 from Newark to Ft. Lauderdale. (Source)
7th July 2001: Flying to Zurich
- Atta takes Swissair Flight 117 from Miami to Zurich. (Source)
8th July 2001: Flying to Madrid
- An exhibit at the Moussaoui trial records Atta purchasing a Victorinix Camper Knife and Victorinix Soldier's Knife at Zurich airport, Switzerland.
- Atta takes Swissair Flight 656 from Zurich to Madrid. (Source)
- Atta registers for an account at travelocity.com using a computer located at the airport. He uses this to book a car rental with SIXT Rent-A-Car for July 9 to 16, 2001.
At the start of the second week of July 2001, Atta flew to Madrid where he hired a rental car and drove to Tarragona in north-east Spain. On 9 July he arrived at the four-star Monica Hotel accompanied by an Arab-looking man investigators now believe was Said Bahaji, Atta's former flatmate in Hamburg. Under the name he used to go by in Germany, Mohammed el-Amir, Atta checked into the Saint Jordi Hotel in the same town. The next morning he met with Ramzi Binalshibh who was also accompanied by another man, possibly Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. The four, according to Spanish investigators, were later joined by Marwan al-Shehhi and two others. The 'summit' went on from 10 to 17 July. Neither Khalid nor Ramzi would discuss this meeting with Fouda.
Chapter 7, Masterminds of Terror, Yosri Fouda and Nick Fielding
- The 9/11 Commission reported on what they believe happened during the Spanish meeting.
Atta arrived in Madrid on July 8. He spent the night in a hotel and made three calls from his room, most likely to coordinate with Binalshibh. The next day, Atta rented a car and drove to Reus to pick up Binalshibh; the two then drove to the nearby town of Cambrils. Hotel records show Atta renting rooms in the same area until July 19, when he returned his rental car in Madrid and flew back to Fort Lauderdale. On July 16, Binalshibh returned to Hamburg, using a ticket Atta had purchased for him earlier that day. According to Binalshibh, they did not meet with anyone else while in Spain.
Binalshibh says he told Atta that Bin Ladin wanted the attacks carried out as soon as possible. Bin Ladin, Binalshibh conveyed, was worried about having so many operatives in the United States.Atta replied that he could not yet provide a date because he was too busy organizing the arriving hijackers and still needed to coordinate the timing of the flights so that the crashes would occur simultaneously. Atta said he required about five to six weeks before he could provide an attack date. Binalshibh advised Atta that Bin Ladin had
directed that the other operatives not be informed of the date until the last minute. Atta was to provide Binalshibh with advance notice of at least a week or two so that Binalshibh could travel to Afghanistan and report the date personally to Bin Ladin.
As to targets, Atta understood Bin Ladin’s interest in striking the White House.Atta said he thought this target too difficult, but had tasked Hazmi and Hanjour to evaluate its feasibility and was awaiting their answer. Atta said that those two operatives had rented small aircraft and flown reconnaissance flights near the Pentagon. Atta explained that Hanjour was assigned to attack the Pentagon, Jarrah the Capitol, and that both Atta and Shehhi would hit the World Trade Center. If any pilot could not reach his intended target, he was to crash
the plane. If Atta could not strike the World Trade Center, he planned to crash his aircraft directly into the streets of NewYork. Atta told Binalshibh that each pilot had volunteered for his assigned target, and that the assignments were subject to change.
During the Spain meeting, Atta also mentioned that he had considered targeting a nuclear facility he had seen during familiarization flights near New York—a target they referred to as “electrical engineering.” According to Binalshibh, the other pilots did not like the idea.They thought a nuclear target would be difficult because the airspace around it was restricted,making reconnaissance flights impossible and increasing the likelihood that any plane would be shot down before impact. Moreover, unlike the approved targets, this alternative had not been discussed with senior al Qaeda leaders and therefore did not have the requisite blessing. Nor would a nuclear facility have particular symbolic value. Atta did not ask Binalshibh to pass this idea on to Bin Ladin, Atef, or KSM, and Binalshibh says he did not mention it to them until after September 11.
Binalshibh claims that during their time in Spain, he and Atta also discussed how the hijackings would be executed. Atta said he, Shehhi, and Jarrah had encountered no problems carrying box cutters on cross-country surveillance flights.The best time to storm the cockpit would be about 10–15 minutes after takeoff, when the cockpit doors typically were opened for the first time. Atta did not believe they would need any other weapons. He had no firm contingency plan in case the cockpit door was locked. While he mentioned general ideas such as using a hostage or claiming to have a bomb, he was confident the cockpit doors would be opened and did not consider breaking them down a viable idea. Atta told Binalshibh he wanted to select planes departing on long flights because they would be full of fuel, and that he wanted to hijack Boeing aircraft because he believed them easier to fly than Airbus aircraft, which he understood had an autopilot feature that did not allow them to be crashed into the ground.
Finally, Atta confirmed that the muscle hijackers had arrived in the United States without incident. They would be divided into teams according to their English-speaking ability. That way they could assist each other before the operation and each team would be able to command the passengers in English. According to Binalshibh, Atta complained that some of the hijackers wanted to contact their families to say goodbye, something he had forbidden. Atta, moreover, was nervous about his future communications with Binalshibh, whom he instructed to obtain new telephones upon returning to Germany. Before Binalshibh left Spain, he gave Atta eight necklaces and eight bracelets that Atta had asked him to buy when he was recently in Bangkok, believing that if the hijackers were clean shaven and well dressed, others would think them wealthy Saudis and give them less notice.
Page 244-245, The 9/11 Commission Report
8th - 9th July 2001: Calling Germany
- Atta stayed in Madrid at the Diana Cazadora Hotel, room 111, on Avenida de La Hispanidad, 12 (SENSA). He made three telephone calls to German cellular phone 49 178 305 3805 from his hotel room. He paid for the room in cash. (Source)
9th July 2001: Renting a car
- Atta rented a Hyundai Accent from SIXT Rent-A-Car, Madrid, Spain, which he used to drive from Madrid to Tarragona. (Source)
13th - 16th July 2001: Tarragona
- Atta stayed in room 206 at the Hotel Sant Jordia, Tarragona. He paid for the room in cash. (Source)
16th July 2001: Hotel
- Atta checks in to the Casablanca Hotel Playa in Tarragona, where he'll stay for the 16th and 17th. He paid for the room in cash. (Source)
- Atta made an ATM withdrawal of 24,000 pesos (approximately $165) in Tarragona. (Source)
- At the airport in Reus, Spain, Atta called SIXT Rental and extended the rental period for his car. (Source)
17th - 19th July 2001: Hotel
- Atta stayed in room 15 at the Hotel Residencia Montsant, Tarragona. He paid for the room in cash. (Source)
19th July 2001: Flying to Atlanta
- Atta returns his Hyundai Accent to SIXT Rent-A-Car, Madrid, Spain. He had driven 1980 kilometres. Atta paid for the car using his SunTrust Visa debit card. (Source)
- Atta takes Delta Flight 109 from Madrid to Atlanta, where an INS I-94 document shows him re-entering the US. He then takes Delta Airlines Flight 454 from Atlanta to Ft Lauderdale. (Source)
- Atta made several calls from the Atlanta airport using calling card 888-284-8340 PIN 4232622109. (Source)
22nd July 2001 - 19th August 2001: Renting a car
- Atta rents a grey Mitsubishi Galant, FL T27IIQ, from Alamo. (Source) He returned the car on August 19, 2001, having driven 3,836 miles. (Source)
26th July 2001: Flying to Newark
- Atta takes Continental Airlines Flight 1032 from Ft. Lauderdale to Newark. (Source)
A week after he returned from meeting Binalshibh in Spain, Atta traveled to
Newark, probably to coordinate with [Nawaf al] Hazmi and give him additional funds.
Page 248, The 9/11 Commission Report
- Atta stays at the Kings Inn in Wayne, New Jersey, until 30th July. He pays for the room in cash. (Source)
30th July 2001: Return to Fort Lauderdale
- Atta takes Continental Airlines Flight 1037 from Newark to Ft. Lauderdale. (Source)
3rd August - 4th August 2001: Ramzi Binalshibh
- The 9/11 Commission described some communications between Atta and Binalshibh.
4th August 2001: Mohamed al Kahtani
- Mohamed Atta's rental car entered the garage area at Orlando International Airport at 4:18pm. The vehicle did not depart the airport until 9:04pm. These times correspond to the times that al Kahtani was due to arrive at the airport and the time he departed the airport. Additionally, pre-paid calling cards with PINS 8320622084 and 13296691964 were used from Orlando Airport to call 971 502 09905 on five occasions between 4:35pm and 8:15pm. (Source)
6th August - 13th August 2001: Renting a car
- Atta signs a lease agreement with Warricks for a white Ford Escort, FL D47KRK. (Source)
7th August 2001: Flying to Newark
- Atta flew from Ft Lauderdale to Newark on Spirit Airlines Flight 460. (Source)
- Atta stays at the Wayne Inn, rm. 223, Wayne, NJ. (Source) The 9/11 Commission Report speculates as to why he was in the area:
On August 7, Atta flew from Fort Lauderdale to Newark, probably to coordinate with Hazmi. Two days later, Ahmed al Ghamdi and Abdul Aziz al Omari, who had been living in New Jersey with Hazmi and Hanjour, flew to Miami—probably signifying that the four hijacking teams had finally been assigned. While Atta was in New Jersey, he, Hazmi, and Hanjour all purchased tickets for another set of surveillance flights.
Page 248, The 9/11 Commission Report
9th August 2001: William Paterson State College
- Khalid al-Mihdhar created email account kkhd20002@yahoo.com using an IP address registered to William Paterson State College. Atta used a pay telephone at the college approximately 40 minutes before al-Mihdhar used his email account, and around an hour afterwards. (Source)
13th August 2001: Flying to Las Vegas
- Atta takes America West Airlines Flight 244 from Washington National to Las Vegas, then stays at the Econo Lodge, Las Vegas again (this time in rm. 124), as he did at the end of June. (Source) The 9/11 Commission Report point out that he wasn't alone:
Like Shehhi, Jarrah, Atta, and Waleed al Shehri before them, Hazmi and Hanjour each flew in first class on the same type of aircraft they would hijack on 9/11 (a Boeing 757), and on transcontinental flights that connected to Las Vegas.This time, however, Atta himself also flew directly to Las Vegas, where all three stayed on August 13–14. Beyond LasVegas’s reputation for welcoming tourists, we have seen no credible evidence explaining why, on this occasion and others, the operatives flew to or met in LasVegas.
Page 248, The 9/11 Commission Report
14th August 2001: Return to Fort Lauderdale
- Atta takes Continental Airlines Flight 1936 from Las Vegas to Houston, then Continental Airlines Flight 1858 (possibly 1850?) from Houston to Ft. Lauderdale. (Source)
15th August - 29th August, 2001: Renting a car
- Atta signs a lease agreement with Warricks for a blue Chevrolet Corsica, FL D62R1E. (Source)
16th August 2001: Palm Beach Flight Training
- Atta rented a plane at Palm Beach Flight Training (Lantana, Florida) with instructor. Cost: $133.03. (Source)
- Atta's and al-Shehhi's debit card was used at 18:34 in the Delray Beach Winn Dixie (STB) - $15. (Source)
17th August 2001: Palm Beach Flight Training
- Atta rented a plane at Palm Beach Flight Training (Lantana, Florida). Cost: $123.23. (Source) He flew without an instructor. (Source)
- Atta's and al-Shehhi's debit card was used at 16:25 in the Boynton Beach Office Depot (STB). $25.46. (Source)
18th August 2001: ATM cash withdrawal
- Cash withdrawal from Atta's and al-Shehhi's account at 16:28 in a Boynton Beach, FL ATM machine (STB) - $100. (Source)
19th August 2001: Palm Beach Flight Training
- Atta rented an Archer aircraft at Palm Beach Flight Training (Lantana, FL). Cost: $143.90 (Source) He flew without an instructor. (Source)
20th August 2001: Palm Beach Flight Training
- Atta rented an aircraft, 12:08, at Palm Beach Flight Training (Lantana, FL). Cost: $143.90 (Source) He flew without an instructor. (Source)
- Atta received AAA roadside service at 755 Dotteral [sic] Rd. for a Chevy Corsica, 16:48, Nokomis, FL. (Source)
21st August 2001: Shopping
22nd August 2001: Buys ticket for a flight to Newark
- Atta purchased a one-way ticket from Ft. Lauderdale to Newart on Spirit flt 460 for travel on 23rd August; paid cash at Ft Lauderdale airport - $154.75. (Source)
- Atta's travelocity.com account was accessed from IP 204.120.56.1, 18:22:10 - 18:40:24, Florida. (Source)
- Atta's & al-Shehhi's debit card was used at Payless Shoes (STB), 19:24, Pompano Beach, FL - $19.07. (Source)
23rd August 2001: Flies to Newark
- Atta flew from Ft. Lauderdale to Newark, NJ on Spirit Airlines Flt. 460, 19:10. (Source) The 911 Commission Report suggested:
24th August 2001: Finances
25th August 2001: Establishes AAdvantage profile
- Atta's travelocity.com account was accessed from IP 63,220.49.239, 14:12:04-14:42:13. (Source) The computer used was "registered to Yuri.com"? (Source)
- Atta established AAdvantage profile #6H26LO4, 1:33 (possible wrong time?). (Source)
26th August 2001: Reserves flight to Miami
- Atta's travelocity.com account was accessed & booked a reservation for 28th August on US Air flt 2970 from BWI to Miami, 17:44 - $190.75. (Source) The computer he used was located at the Web Station in Fort Lee, New Jersey. (Source)
27th August 2001: Shopping
- Atta's & al-Shehhi's debit card was used (presumably by al-Shehhi as Atta was still away) at Payless Shoes (STB), Pompano Beach, FL - $19.07. (Source)
28th August 2001: Makes reservations for Flight 11
- Atta flew on US Air flt. 2970 from BWI (Baltimore, MD) to Ft. Lauderdale. (Source)
- Ramzi Binalshibh says Atta calls him in Hamburg "at 2.30am on 29th August 2001". He recites "a riddle" - "two sticks, a dash and a cake with a stick down". Binalshibh realises this is an 11 and a 9: the zero hour. (Chapter 7, Masterminds of Terror, Yosri Fouda and Nick Fielding).
29th August 2001: Renting a car
- Atta & al-Shehhi returned a Chevy Corsica and rented a Ford Escort, FL D47KRK, from Warrick's Car Rental, Pompano Beach, FL. Al-Shehhi paid with VISA card #4011 8008 4050 7778. They will keep the car until 9th September 2001 (Source 1) (Source 2) In the car's glove box on return was a SunTrust Bank ATM receipt, attached to which was a post-it note with the handwritten name and Delray Beach, Florida address of "Hamzah Saleh Alghamdi". (Source)
30th August 2001: Buys Leatherman utility tool
- Atta's and al-Shehhi's credit card used at Lowe's to purchase a Leatherman utility tool containing a knife (STB), 17:10, Boynton Beach, FL - $74.18. (Source)
31st August 2001: Shopping
2nd September 2001: Shopping
- Atta's and al-Shehhi's debit card was used at Winn-Dixie (STB), 17:42, Deerfield Beach, FL - $34.60. (Source)
3rd September 2001: Shopping
- Atta's travelocity.com account was accessed from IP 204.120.56.1, 00:27:29-00:33:52, Florida. (Source)
- Atta's and al-Shehhi's debit card was used at Circuit City (STB), 17:25, Delray Beach, FL - $47.68. (Source)
4th September 2001: FedEx package to the UAE
- Atta sent a FedEx package to the UAE from Kinko's, Hollywood, FL. (Source)
5th September 2001: Buys more airline tickets
- Atta went to Alvatour Travel Service, Lighthouse Point, FL, and paid in cash for Mohand al-Shehri & [[Fayez Banihammad]'s flight from Ft. Lauderdale to Boston on AirTran flt 188/284 for 8th September 2001 - $192. (Source)
- al-Shehhi & Atta paid cash for airline tickets at Costamar Travel, Lighthouse Point, FL. Atta was booked on US Air flt 2698 one-way on 7th September 2001 (Ft. Lauderdale to Boston). Al-Shehhi was booked on Delta 2462 one-way on 9th September 2001 (Ft. Lauderdeal to Boston). (Source). A second Moussaoui trial document places Atta on US Airways Flight 2719, though, and this is the one he eventually took. (Source)
6th September 2001: Cashes cheque
- Check cashed by Atta at SunTrust Bank, South Pompano Beach, FL - $5,300. (Source) Elsewhere described as: A cheque in the amount of $5,300, drawn on the SunTrust Bank account of Atta and al-Shehhi, was cashed. (Source)
7th September 2001: Sells car, organises wire transfer, flies to Baltimore
- Atta sold his 1986 Grand Prix to Sun Auto Leasing (Elite Select Used Cars), Ft Lauderdale, FL - $800. (Source)
- Wire transfer from al-Shehhi's and Atta's SunTrust account to Saudi Arabia, 15:58, Ft. Lauderdale, FL - $200. (Source)
- Atta travelled from Ft Lauderdale to BWI (Baltimore, MD) on US Air flt. 2719. (Source) The 9/11 Commission Report suggests this was "presumably to meet with the Flight 77 team in Laurel" (page 253).
Atta was still busy coordinating the teams. On September 7, he flew from Fort Lauderdale to Baltimore, presumably to meet with the Flight 77 team in Laurel. On September 9, he flew from Baltimore to Boston. By then, Shehhi had arrived there, and Atta was seen with him at his hotel.The next day, Atta picked up Omari at another hotel, and the two drove to Portland, Maine, for reasons that remain unknown. In the early morning hours of September 11, they boarded a commuter flight to Boston to connect to American Airlines Flight 11.The two spent their last night pursuing ordinary activities: making ATM withdrawals, eating pizza, and shopping at a convenience store. Their three fellow hijackers for Flight 11 stayed together in a hotel in Newton,Massachusetts, just outside of Boston.
Page 242, Chapter 7, 9/11 Commission Report
8th September 2001: Flights organised, wire transfer sent
- Atta's travelocity.com account was accessed from IP 204.120.54.1, 17:31:07-18:13:55, & a reservation was made on US Air flt 2979 from BWI to Boston on 9th September 2001 - $244.75. (Source)
- Atta sends $2860 from Western Union in Coral Springs, FL, to Mustafa Ahmed in Sharjah, then sends $5000 from Giant Foods to Mustafa Ahmad at the Wall Street Exchange Center in Dubai. (Source)
- Atta's travelocity.com account was accessed from IP 2.4.120.54.1, 18:14:51-18:16:09 - $5000. (Source)
9th September 2001: Flying to Boston
- Atta flew on US Air flight 2979 from BWI (Baltimore, MD) to Boston. (Source)
- Atta rented a Nissan Altima at Alamo, Logan Intl. Airport, 18:08, Boston, MA, using his VISA card - $86.23. (Source)
- Nissan Altima entered Central Parking garage at Logan Intl. Airport, 22:03, Boston, MA. (Source)
- ATM cash withdrawal at Terminal C, Logan Intl. Airport (STB), Boston, MA - $500. (Source)
- Nissan Altima left Central Parking garage at Logan Intl. Airport, Boston, MA. (Source)
- The 9/11 Commission Report tells us that Atta "apparently placed one last call to his own father on September 9" (page 249).
10th September 2001: Stays in South Portland
- Atta checked into the Comfort Inn (90 Maine Mall Road,South Portland), rm 233, 17:37, with Abdulaziz al-Omari; he paid with VISA #4011 8008 4050 7778 - $129.42. (Source)
Atta and al-Omari at an ATM
Atta and al-Omari at a gas station
Atta and al-Omari at Wal-Mart
A high-resolution shot from the gas station was later released at the Moussaoui trial.
Other shots here:
- The FBI issued a press release on the 14th October that included the following timetable.
11th September 2001: Boarding Flight 11
- Atta checked out of the Comfort Inn, 5:33, Portland, ME. (Source)
- Atta's Nissan Altima rental car entered the Portland Airport parking lot, Portland, ME. (Source)
When he checked in for his flight to Boston, Atta was selected by a computerized prescreening system known as CAPPS (Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System), created to identify passengers who should be subject to special security measures. Under security rules in place at the time, the only consequence of Atta’s selection by CAPPS was that his checked bags were held off the plane until it was confirmed that he had boarded the aircraft. This did not hinder Atta’s plans.
Page 1, Chapter 1
9/11 Commission Report
While Atta had been selected by CAPPS in Portland, three members of his hijacking team—Suqami,Wail al Shehri, and Waleed al Shehri—were selected in Boston.Their selection affected only the handling of their checked bags, not their screening at the checkpoint. All five men cleared the checkpoint and made their way to the gate for American 11. Atta, Omari, and Suqami took their seats in business class (seats 8D, 8G, and 10B, respectively). The Shehri brothers had adjacent seats in row 2 (Wail in 2A,Waleed in 2B), in the firstclass cabin. They boarded American 11 between 7:31 and 7:40. The aircraft pushed back from the gate at 7:40.
Page 2, Chapter 1
9/11 Commission Report
- The FBI issued a press release on the 14th October that included the following timetable.