Hani Hanjour
From Debunk911myths
Hani Hanjour
Hani Hanjour (also spelled Hanjoor) was the pilot-trained hijacker on American Airlines Flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon. When renting rooms, mailboxes, banking, and other activities, he varied his name, using "Hani Saleh", "Hany Saleh", and "Hami Hanjoor" in addition to Hani Hanjour and Hani Hanjoor.[1]
Background
Hani Hanjour came from Ta'if in Saudi Arabia, which is located in western Saudi Arabia, on the other side of the Al-Sarawat mountains from Mecca.
According to his older brother, Hani Hanjour went to Afghanistan for the first time in the late 1980s, as a teenager, to participate in the jihad. Because the Soviets had already withdrawn, Hani worked for a relief agency there. Hanjour first came to the United States in 1991, to study at the Center for English as a Second Language at the University of Arizona. He obtained a B-2 (tourist) visa in September 1991.[2] He then arrived in Tucson on October 3, 1991, via New York on a Saudi Arabian flight. He stayed in Arizona until mid-February 1992, when he returned to Saudi Arabia.[3]
1996 - Flight training
On November 2, 1996, Hani Hanjour applied for and received a U.S. visa.[4] He returned to the United States to pursue flight training, after being rejected by a Saudi flight school. He checked out flight schools around the country. He lived for a month in Miramar, Florida, where a family friend, Susan Khalil, provided accommodations for him.[5] While in Florida, Hanjour checked out flight schools. He also checked out flight schools in California, and Arizona; and he briefly started at a couple of them before returning to Saudi Arabia.
In 1997, he returned to Florida and then, along with two friends, went back to Arizona and began his flight training there in earnest. Hanjour trained at CRM Airline Training Center in Scottsdale, Arizona.[6] After about three months, Hanjour was able to obtain his private pilot's license.
Hani's brother, Yasser, described him as "a frustrated young Saudi who wanted desperately - but never succeeded - to become a pilot for the Saudi national airline." The airline requires pilots to be FAA-certified in the U.S. (this also explains why the high number of Saudi students in U.S. flight schools; Saudi Arabia has since changed this requirement)[7] Hani returned to the U.S. in 1999 and obtained a commercial pilot certificate, issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in April 1999. He then returned to Saudi Arabia.
Hanjour reportedly applied to the civil aviation school in Jeddah after returning home, but was rejected. He stayed home for a while. He was frustrated at not finding a job. His brother explained that Hani "spent hours online at a family-owned Internet cafe. He read voraciously about piloting, and increasingly turned his attention toward religious texts and cassette tapes of militant Islamic preachers."[7]
Hani then left Saudi Arabia, telling his family that he was going to the United Arab Emirates to work for an airline. Where Hanjour actually traveled during this time period is unknown. It is possible he went to the training camps in Afghanistan.
Spring 2000
By the spring of 2000, Hanjour was back in Afghanistan. According to KSM, Hanjour was sent to him in Karachi for inclusion in the plot after Hanjour was identified in al Qaeda's al Faruq camp as a trained pilot, on the basis of background information he had provided. Hanjour had been at a camp in Afghanistan for a few weeks when Bin Ladin or Atef apparently realized that he was a trained pilot; he was told to report to KSM, who then trained Hanjour for a few days in the use of code words.
On June 20, Hanjour returned home to Saudi Arabia.
Application for a U.S. visa
On September 10, Hani Hanjour applied for a B-1/B- (tourist/business) visa in Jeddah, but was denied. He presented a new passport issued on July 24, 2000, when applying. The reason that he was denied, was that he made a statement on the application that "he would like to stay for three years in the United States". In an interview with a consular officer, Hanjour told the officer that "he was going to attend flight training school in the United States and wanted to change his status to “student” from “tourist” once he arrived in the United States. The officer told Hanjour, “Look, you have spent enough time in the States” to know what you want to do there, and denied the tourist visa. Hanjour was allowed to return later with additional information in support of his application.[2]
Hanjour returned to the Jeddah consulate and, apparently having listened to what the consular officer told him, submitted another application for a student visa. This time, Hanjour stated a desire to attend the ELS Language Center in Oakland, California. A consular official—probably the intake screener—wrote a note on his application indicating that Hanjour had been denied a visa under section 221(g) on September 10. The same consular officer who had interviewed Hanjour in connection with his September 10 application also processed this one. Hanjour or someone acting on his behalf had submitted an INS school enrollment form, or I-20 required to qualify for a student visa to the consulate on September 25, 2000. The consular official explained, “It came to me, you know, at the end of the day to look at it. I saw he had an I-20, and it [his visa] was issued.”[2]
State Department electronic records indicate that this approval allowed Hanjour to “overcome” his September 10 visa denial, another indication that multiple applications can be considered “one case.” State Department records erroneously recorded the visa issued to Hanjour as a B-1/B-2 {business/tourist) visa when, in fact, it was an F (student) visa that was printed and put in Hanjour’s passport. In addition, Hanjour had already received an approved change of status to attend this same English language school in 1996. But that approval was granted by the INS in the United States, and the State Department had no record of it. The consular officer said that if he had known this information, he might have refused Hanjour the visa.[2]
After he obtained a U.S. student visa, he told his family he was returning to his job in the UAE. Hanjour did go to the UAE for a job, but to meet facilitator Ali Abdul Aziz Ali.
Returned to the U.S.
Ali opened a bank account in Dubai for Hanjour and providing the initial funds for his trip. On December 8, Hanjour traveled to San Diego, entering the U.S. on a student visa. The destination on his visa was an English language program in Oakland, California, which he had enrolled in before leaving Saudi Arabia. But, Hani Hanjour never showed up there. Instead, as mentioned earlier, he joined Nawaf al-Hazmi in San Diego.[8]
Hazmi and Hanjour left San Diego almost immediately and drove to Arizona. Settling in Mesa, Hanjour began refresher training at his old school, Arizona Aviation. He wanted to train on multi-engine planes, but had difficulties because his English was not good enough. The instructor advised him to discontinue but Hanjour said he could not go home without completing the training. In early 2001, he started training on a Boeing 737 simulator at Pan Am International Flight Academy in Mesa. An instructor there found his work well below standard and discouraged him from continuing. Again, Hanjour persevered; he completed the initial training by the end of March 2001.
At that point, Hanjour and Hazmi vacated their apartment and started driving east, anticipating the arrival of the "muscle hijackers"-the operatives who would storm the cockpits and control the passengers. By as early as April 4, Hanjour and Hazmi had arrived in Falls Church, Virginia.
Timeline
2000
- Spring - Hanjour was in Afghanistan.[9]
- June 20 - Hanjour returned home to Saudi Arabia[9]
- June - Spent time in Pakistan.[4]
- September 10 - Applied for a B-1/B- (tourist/business) visa in Jeddah, but was denied. Hanjour indicated that he wanted to stay for three years, and that he wanted to change his status to “student” from “tourist” once he arrived in the United States. The officer told Hanjour, “Look, you have spent enough time in the States” to know what you want to do there, and denied the tourist visa.[2]
- September 25 - Hanjour returned to the Jeddah consulate and, apparently having listened to what the consular officer told him, submitted another application for a student visa. He had enrolled at the ELS Language Center in Oakland, California, and submitted an INS school enrollment form, I-20 that was required. His student visa was approved and issued.[2]
- December 8 - Hanjour arrived in San Diego.[9] He entered the United States at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. He never attended the ELS Language Center in Oakland, California, the stated destination on his second visa application of September 25, 2000. His records do not indicate the length of stay the primary immigration inspector gave him.[2]
- December - Soon after arriving, Hanjour and al-Hamzi left for Mesa, Arizona where he began refresher training at Arizona Aviation.[9]
2001
- March - Hanjour completes training in Arizona.
- March - Hanjour and Hazmi vacated their apartment and started driving east, anticipating the arrival of the "muscle hijackers".[9]
- April 4 (as early as) - Hanjour and al-Hazmi arrived in Falls Church, Virginia.[9]
- May 21 - Rents room R3 at 486 Union Ave in Paterson, New Jersey, with al-Hazmi as a roommate. Hanjour identified himself to landlord Jim Nouri, as a student at Passaic County Community College, and used the name "Hani Saleh".[10] They continued to rent the room through the end of August.[11][12]
- Summer - Hanjour received additional training and practice flights. Hanjour started receiving ground instruction at Air Fleet Training Systems in Teterboro, New Jersey, soon after arriving in New Jersey with Hazmi. While at Air Fleet Training Systems, he requested to fly the Hudson Corridor, which he did fly. However, his instructor declined a second request because of what he considered Hanjour's poor piloting skills. Shortly thereafter, Hanjour switched to Caldwell Flight Academy in Fairfield, New Jersey, where he rented small aircraft on several occasions during June and July. In one such instance on July 20, Hanjour-likely accompanied by Hazmi-rented a plane from Caldwell and took a practice flight from Fairfield to Gaithersburg, Maryland, a route that would have allowed them to fly near Washington, D.C. Other evidence suggests that Hanjour may even have returned to Arizona for flight simulator training earlier in June.[9]
- August 1 - Mihdhar and Hanjour fraudulently obtained Virginia identification cards in Falls Church.[2]
- August - Hani Hanjour flew test flights across the U.S.[9]
- September 5 - Hanjour obtained a Maryland identification card.[2]
- September 2 - Hanjour moves out of the room in Paterson, New Jersey,[13] and arrives at Valencia Motel in Laurel, Maryland.
- September 2–6 - Hanjour and the other four Flight 77 hijackers were seen working out at Gold's Gym in Greenbelt, Maryland. They worked out there, as guest members; thus, were not required to provide their addresses.[14]
Piloting skills
Claim
Hani Hanjour had poor piloting skills, and couldn't have executed a 270° (or 330°) turn that the aircraft made before its final approach in hitting the Pentagon.
Fact
The main concerns that flight instructors had about Hani were his poor English language skills and behavior problems.
- "He didn't do his homework, didn't attend on time and he would sort of come and go," said Duncan Hastie of Cockpit Resource Management.[15]
- "He wasn't the greatest of students in terms of his attitude, but most of that was his lack of ability to communicate in English, and I don't speak Arabic." said one of his flight instructors in Arizona.[5]
- Peggy Chevrette, the manager for the now-defunct JetTech flight school in Phoenix, "Hanjour's English was so poor that it took him five hours to complete a section of a mock pilot's oral exam that is supposed to last just a couple of hours."[16]
Hani Hanjour did have a commercial pilots license, as well as instrument rating. Many concerns expressed about his ability had to do with his poor English language skills. The FAA requires commercial pilots to be able to speak and write fluently in English.[17]
The New York Daily News spoke with an expert who said, "steering a large jet into a huge building wouldn't require a great deal of skill because taking off and landing are the most difficult maneuvers. A few hours in a twin-engine plane or a decent simulator could get you there."[18]
Freeway Airport in Bowie
Loose Change includes a clip from an interview with Marcel Bernard, chief flight instructor Freeway Airport in Bowie. That's where Hani Hanjour came in August to rent a small plane. They took him on three test runs and "found he had trouble controlling and landing the single-engine Cessna 172." (What does landing an airplane have to do with crashing an airplane into a building?) They wanted Hanjour to have more time with an instructor before allowing him to rent an aircraft on his own.[19]
Hanjour did have his commercial pilot's license and showed them his log book which cataloged over 600 hours of flying experience.[20] However, due to concern with his piloting skills, as well as the fact that Hanjour refused to provide an address and phone number (a standard part of the plane rental application), they declined his request to rent an aircraft.[14]
Despite Hanjour's poor reviews, he did have some ability as a pilot, said Bernard of Freeway Airport. "There's no doubt in my mind that once that [hijacked jet] got going, he could have pointed that plane at a building and hit it."[20]
330 degree turn
The 330 or 270 or whatever degree diving turn itself is consistent with a pilot scanning for visible landmarks and suddenly spotting his target, and not consistent with remote or autonomous systems. A pilot running remotely would not have the same visual acuity, -- looking through a camera, say -- and would absolutely have to be using other sensors (GPS, terrain-following radar, etc.) in which case he'd have the Pentagon pretty clearly marked. There would be no need for a sudden correction like that. He'd have a better flight plan from the beginning.[21]
The plane (or drone) was remotely piloted
While theoretically possible, it would be enormously difficult to have piloted Flight 77 remotely or automatically. Remote guidance of the aircraft would not have improved its flying characteristics or performance. Quite the opposite, in fact. An autonomous aircraft control system will stay away from the limits of performance whenever possible, simply because the autonomous control system may not be stable there -- it may not react quickly enough, may accidentally overshoot, or it may have never encountered those conditions and behave unpredictably. Similarly, a remotely controlled aircraft will avoid challenging flight regimes because the pilot suffers additional delay, and cannot completely sense what his aircraft is doing.[21]
Was Hani Hanjour really on Flight 77?
After the 9/11 attacks, the Arab News in Saudi Arabia reported that Hani Hanjour's family in Taif (Saudi Arabia) was accepting condolences. They understood and believed Hani was on the flight and had died.[22]
Documents
First page of Hanjour’s Sept. 10, 2000 visa application |
Second page of Hanjour’s visa application |
References
- ↑ http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov/notablecases/moussaoui/exhibits/prosecution/OG00020-09.pdf
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Staff Monograph on 9/11 and Terrorist Travel. 9/11 Commission (2004).
- ↑ Statement for the Record - FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III. Joint Intelligence Committee Inquiry (September 26, 2002).
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Zacarias Moussauoi v. the United States, trial testimony on March 7, 2006.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Chen, David W.. "Man Traveled Across U.S. In His Quest to Be a Pilot", The New York Times, September 18, 2001.
- ↑ Williams, Carol J., John-Thor Dahlburg, H.G. Reza. "The conspirators with borrowed names blended in, trading one seedy room for the next. They took flying lessons--and plotted", Los Angeles Times, September 27, 2001.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Driving a Wedge - Bin Laden, the US and Saudi Arabia (Part 1)", The Boston Globe, March 3, 2002.
- ↑ McDermott, Terry (2005). Perfect Soldiers. HarperCollins, p. 204.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report_Ch7.htm
- ↑ Martin, John P.. "Landlord identifies terrorists as renters", The Star-Ledger, September 27, 2001.
- ↑ http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov/notablecases/moussaoui/exhibits/prosecution/OG00020-09.pdf
- ↑ Martin, John P.. "Landlord identifies terrorists as renters", The Star-Ledger, September 27, 2001.
- ↑ Martin, John P.. "Landlord identifies terrorists as renters", The Star-Ledger, September 27, 2001.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Wilber, Del Quentin and Michael James. "In Md., errands, exercise filled hijackers' final days; Bowie flight school, Greenbelt gym used", The Baltimore Sun, September 18, 2001.
- ↑ http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/05/10/attack/main508656.shtml
- ↑ http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/05/10/attack/main508656.shtml
- ↑ FAA alerted by flight school in early 2001 about man who became Sept. 11 hijacker May 10, 2002, Associated Press
- ↑ Buettner, Russ. "FBI Eying Flight School Rosters for Clues, Training a key link in probe", Daily News (New York), September 20, 2001.
- ↑ Headden, Susan. "The banality of evil", U.S. News & World Report, October 1, 2001.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Frank, Thomas. "Where System Failed;Tracing Trail Of Hijackers", Newsday (New York), September 23, 2001.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 JREF post by R.Mackey
- ↑ "Some Light Shed On Saudi Suspects; Many Raised in Area of Religious Dissent", The Washington Post, September 25, 2001.
Other references
- Hanjour a Study in Paradox - The Washington Post (October 15, 2001)
- Three Hijackers Had San Diego Ties, 10news.com
- A Hub for Hijackers Found in New Jersey - New York Times (about his time in Paterson, NJ)