View source for Hani Hanjour

==Career==
===Early 1990s===
Hanjour was the first to arrive in the United States, much earlier than other hijackers. He first came to the United States in 1991 to study English for a few months. He arrived for the English language program on 3 October 1991, and stayed until early February 1992, when he returned to Saudi Arabia. Hanjour claimed that he was interested in being an airplane mechanic and claimed that such a position was considered highly in Saudi Arabia. In December 1991 Hanjour informed friends that he missed Saudi Arabia and would be leaving the United States due to homesickness.<ref name="mueller">{{cite web |url=http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2002_hr/092602mueller.html |title=Statement for the Record - FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III |work=Joint Intelligence Committee Inquiry |publisher=Federation of American Scientists (FAS) |date=26 September 2002 |access-date=1 September 2010 |archive-date=3 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120103193507/http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2002_hr/092602mueller.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Hanjour was the only hijacker to visit the United States prior to any intentions for a large-scale attack and was not linked to the [[Hamburg cell]] in Germany, which composed of the three hijackers who were taking flight lessons to become pilots. He was the first to receive a license out of the three other men, most likely due to arriving to the U.S. prior to the preparations for the attacks.

Over the next five years, Hanjour remained in Saudi Arabia, helping the family manage a lemon and date farm near Ta'if.<ref name="goldstein"/> His family often reminded Hanjour that he was getting past the age where he ought to get married and start a family, but Hanjour insisted he wanted to settle down more. While in Saudi Arabia, Hanjour applied for a job with [[Saudi Arabian Airlines]], but was turned down due to poor grades. The airline told Hanjour they would consider him if he obtained a commercial pilot's license in the United States.<ref name="fainaru"/>

===1996===
In April 1996, Hanjour returned to the United States, staying with family friends, Susan and Adnan Khalil, in [[Miramar, Florida]], for a month before heading to [[Oakland, California]], to study English and attend flight school.<ref name="chen">{{cite news |title=Man Traveled Across U.S. In His Quest to Be a Pilot|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F03EFDF153BF93BA2575AC0A9679C8B63 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=18 September 2001 |access-date=1 September 2010 |last=Chen |first=David W.}}</ref><ref group="notes">Hanjour obtained a visa in March 1996, and arrived in the United States on 2 April 1996. {{cite web |year=2004 |title=Staff Monograph on 9/11 and Terrorist Travel |url=http://www.9-11commission.gov/staff_statements/911_TerrTrav_Monograph.pdf |access-date=1 September 2010 |publisher=9/11 Commission}}</ref> Hanjour was admitted to the Sierra Academy of Aeronautics, but before beginning flight training, the academy arranged for Hanjour to take intensive English courses at ESL Language Center in Oakland. The flight school also arranged for Hanjour to stay with a host family, with whom he moved in on 20 May 1996.<ref name="chen"/><ref>FBI Hijackers' Timeline</ref> Hanjour completed the English program in August, and in early September 1996, he attended a single day of ground school courses at the Sierra Academy of Aeronautics before withdrawing, citing financial worries about the $35,000 cost.

Hanjour left Oakland in September and moved to [[Tucson, Arizona]], paying $4,800 for lessons at CRM Flight Cockpit Resource Management. Receiving poor marks, Hanjour dropped out of flight school,<ref name="goldstein"/> and returned to Saudi Arabia at the end of November 1996.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nefafoundation.org/miscellaneous/FeaturedDocs/FBI911Timeline.pdf |title=Hijackers' Timeline |author=Federal Bureau of Investigation |publisher=[[Nine Eleven Finding Answers Foundation|NEFA Foundation]] |date=4 February 2008 |access-date=6 October 2008 |page=12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012013300/http://www.nefafoundation.org/miscellaneous/FeaturedDocs/FBI911Timeline.pdf |archive-date=12 October 2008 }}</ref>

===Late 1990s===
Hanjour re-entered the United States on 15 November 1997,<ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=http://www.nefafoundation.org/miscellaneous/FeaturedDocs/FBI911Timeline.pdf |title=Hijackers' Timeline |author=Federal Bureau of Investigation |publisher=[[Nine Eleven Finding Answers Foundation|NEFA Foundation]] |date=4 February 2008 |access-date=6 October 2008 |page=14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012013300/http://www.nefafoundation.org/miscellaneous/FeaturedDocs/FBI911Timeline.pdf |archive-date=12 October 2008 }}</ref> taking additional English courses in Florida, then returning to [[Tucson, Arizona|Tucson]], where he shared an apartment with Bandar al-Hazmi near the University of Arizona, where he enrolled.<ref name="fainaru">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/13/AR2007081300752.html |title=Mysterious Trip to Flight 77 Cockpit; Suicide Pilot's Conversion to Radical Islam Remains Obscure |last=Fainaru |first=Steve |author2=Alia Ibrahim |date=10 September 2002 |newspaper=The Washington Post |pages=A17 |access-date=2 September 2010}}</ref>

After arriving in Florida in November 1997, Hanjour met a man Rayed Mohammed Abdullah Ali, a mutual friend through Bandar al-Hazmi. Al-Hamzi had suggested that Ali train to be a pilot in Florida.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Rayed Ali - student, pilot, mystery man |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/rayed-ali-student-pilot-mystery-man/Y5B3KHENPOHSCBMTDFDP7HMGVM/ |access-date=2 September 2022 |website=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |language=en-NZ}}</ref> Hanjour and Ali subsequently trained together both in Florida and Arizona, and became friends. Ali was a leader at the Islamic Cultural Centre in Tucson where, the [[FBI]] says, he "reportedly gave extremist speeches at the mosque".<ref name="Pilot with 9/11 links found in NZ">{{cite web |date=10 June 2006 |title=Pilot with 9/11 links found in NZ |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10385963 |accessdate=16 November 2006 |publisher=[[New Zealand Herald]] }}</ref> This, however, was disputed by a mosque staff member, who told the ''[[The New Zealand Herald|New Zealand Herald]]'' in June 2006 that Ali "was never a leader for the mosque and he never gave speeches at the mosque".<ref name=":0" />

The ''[[9/11 Commission Report]]'' reported that Abdullah attended the same Phoenix flight school as Hanjour and records show the pair used a flight simulator together on 23 June 2001.<ref name=":0"/> Ali later emigrated to New Zealand, where he settled in Auckland and then in [[Palmerston North]] to train as a pilot. He was identified as a friend and colleague of Hanjour in July 2006, less than six months after he first arrived in New Zealand. Immigration Minister [[David Cunliffe]] said that Ali "was directly associated with persons responsible for the terrorist attacks in the United States on Sept. 11, 2001".<ref name="Pilot with 9/11 links found in NZ"/>

In December, he resumed training at CRM Flight Cockpit Resource Management for a few weeks, before pursuing training at Arizona Aviation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nefafoundation.org/miscellaneous/FeaturedDocs/FBI911Timeline.pdf |title=Hijackers' Timeline |author=Federal Bureau of Investigation |publisher=[[Nine Eleven Finding Answers Foundation|NEFA Foundation]] |date=4 February 2008 |access-date=6 October 2008 |page=15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012013300/http://www.nefafoundation.org/miscellaneous/FeaturedDocs/FBI911Timeline.pdf |archive-date=12 October 2008 }}</ref> Bandar al-Hazmi and Hanjour stayed in Arizona, continued taking flight lessons at Arizona Aviation throughout 1998 and early 1999. After moving out of Bandar's place in March, Hanjour lived in several apartments in [[Tempe, Arizona|Tempe]], [[Mesa, Arizona|Mesa]] and Phoenix.<ref>FBI Hijackers' Timeline, p. 16&mdash;41</ref> In February, financial records showed that Hanjour had taken a trip to [[Las Vegas Valley|Las Vegas]], [[Nevada]].<ref>FBI Hijackers' Timeline, p. 18</ref> In addition to flight training at Arizona Aviation, Hanjour enrolled in [[flight simulator]] classes at the Sawyer School of Aviation where he made only three or four visits.<ref name="goldstein" /> [[Lotfi Raissi]] would begin taking lessons at the same school a month after Hanjour quit, part of what piqued the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]]'s interest in Raissi.

An FBI informant named [[Aukai Collins]] claims he told the FBI about Hanjour's activities during 1998, giving them Hanjour's name and phone number, and warning them that more and more foreign-born Muslims seem to be taking flying lessons. The FBI admits it paid Collins to monitor the Islamic and [[Arab]] communities in Phoenix at the time, but denies Collins told them anything about Hanjour.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/timeline/2002/ap052402.html |title=FBI Told of Hanjour Three Years Before Sept. 11, Self-Proclaimed Informant Says |access-date=30 July 2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040202113607/http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/timeline/2002/ap052402.html |archive-date=2 February 2004  }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/timeline/2002/foxnews052402.html |title=Interview with Aukai Collins |access-date=30 July 2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040106111713/http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/timeline/2002/foxnews052402.html |archive-date=6 January 2004  }}</ref>

Hanjour gained his [[Federal Aviation Administration|FAA]] commercial pilot certificate in April 1999, getting a "satisfactory" rating from the examiner. After receiving his commercial pilot certificate, Hanjour went on to train at other flight schools for more advanced flying. This caused concern among the instructors as they thought “he was so bad a pilot and spoke such poor English that they contacted the Federal Aviation Administration to verify that his license was not a fake.” The FAA verified his license and offered to provide him with English language tutors.<ref>{{cite news |title=For Agent in Phoenix, the Cause of Many Frustrations Extended to His Own Office |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10711FC3C5B0C7A8DDDAF0894DA404482 |date=19 June 2002 |work=The New York Times | first1=Jim | last1=Yardley | first2=Jo | last2=Thomas | access-date=4 May 2010}}</ref> Hanjour's bank records indicate that he travelled to [[Ontario, Canada]], in March 1999 for an unknown reason.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fas.org/irp/congress/2002_hr/092602mueller.html|title=STATEMENT FOR THE RECORD {{!}} FBI DIRECTOR ROBERT S. MUELLER III {{!}} JOINT INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE INQUIRY|date=25 September 2002|website=Federation of American Scientists|access-date=7 November 2018|archive-date=5 December 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205025548/http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2002_hr/092602mueller.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

He traveled to Saudi Arabia to get a job working with [[Saudi Arabian Airlines]] as a commercial pilot but was rejected by a civil aviation school in [[Jeddah]]. His brother, Yasser, relayed that Hanjour, frustrated, "turned his attention toward religious texts and cassette tapes of militant Islamic preachers."<ref>{{cite news |title=Why bin Laden plot relied on Saudi hijackers |first=Charles M. |last=Sennott |url=http://www.boston.com/news/packages/underattack/news/driving_a_wedge/part1.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020408114326/http://www.boston.com/news/packages/underattack/news/driving_a_wedge/part1.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 April 2002 |newspaper=The Boston Globe}}</ref> He told his family in late 1999 he was heading to the [[United Arab Emirates]] to find work. However, it is likely that he headed to [[al-Qaeda]] training camps in Afghanistan. He was known by al-Qaeda as Urwa al-Taa'ifi.

===2000===
In May 2000, a third person accompanied Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar to Sorbi's Flying Club where he waited on the ground as they took a flight lesson. It has been theorized this may have been Hanjour.
[[File:Hani Hanjour U.S. Visa.png|thumb|Hanjour's U.S. visa]]
In September Hanjour again sent his $110 registration to the ELS Language Center, which leased space on [[Holy Names College]] campus in [[Oakland, California]], to continue his English studies. He also applied for another U.S. student visa. Although he was accepted, after the attacks, it would be reported that his visa application was 'suspicious'. Granted an [[F-1 visa|F-1 student visa]] in [[Jeddah]], [[Saudi Arabia]], on 25 September 2000, he failed to reveal that he had previously traveled to the U.S. He never turned up for classes at the ELS Language Center, and when the school contacted its Saudi representative, he reported that he could not find Hanjour either.

On 5 December, Hanjour opened a [[CitiBank]] account in [[Deira, Dubai]]. On 8 December, Hanjour was recorded flying into the [[Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport]], and is thought to have met with [[Nawaf al-Hazmi]] in [[San Diego]] shortly thereafter.

===2001===
Hanjour came back to San Diego in December 2000, frequently visiting [[Abdussattar Shaikh]]'s house, which was shared with Nawaf al-Hazmi and [[Khalid Almihdhar|Khalid al-Mihdhar]]. During this time Hanjour may have visited the [[San Diego Zoo]] in February, as a security guard recalls having to page his name to reclaim a lost briefcase containing cash and [[Arabic language|Arabic]] documents and later recognized his photograph. Shortly afterwards, the three hijackers moved out of Shaikh's house to [[Falls Church, Virginia]].

The ELS Language Center at Oakland University said Hanjour reached a level of proficiency sufficient to "survive very well in the English language". However, in January 2001, Arizona JetTech flight school managers reported him to the FAA at least five times because his English was inadequate for the commercial pilot certificate he had already obtained. It took him five hours to complete an oral exam meant to last just two hours, said Peggy Chevrette. Hanjour failed UA English classes with a 0.26 GPA and a JetTech manager said "He could not fly at all." The certificate was a requirement for him to join the Saudi Arabian pilot's academy.<ref>{{cite news|title=A Trainee Noted for Incompetence|work=[[The New York Times]]|date= 4 May 2002|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/04/us/a-trainee-noted-for-incompetence.html}}</ref> His FAA certificate had become invalid late in 1999 when he failed to take a mandatory medical examination. In February, Hanjour began advanced simulator training in [[Mesa, Arizona]].

He and al-Hazmi moved out of Mesa at the end of March, and they were in [[Falls Church, Virginia]], by 4 April. Falls Church was the location of the [[Dar al-Hijrah]] [[mosque]] in the [[Washington, D.C., metropolitan area]]. [[Anwar Al-Awlaki]] was the recently appointed new Imam whom al-Hazmi had met with in San Diego.<ref>[http://www.cageprisoners.com/campaigns.php?id=412 Imam Anwar Al Awlaki - A Leader in Need] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070402074940/http://www.cageprisoners.com/campaigns.php?id=412 |date=2 April 2007 }}; Cageprisoners.com, 8 November 2006, accessed 7 June 2007</ref><ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/6521758/Fort-Hood-shooting-Texas-army-killer-linked-to-September-11-terrorists.html Sherwell, Philip, and Spillius, Alex, "Fort Hood shooting: Texas army killer linked to September 11 terrorists; Major Nidal Malik Hasan worshipped at a mosque led by a radical imam said to be a "spiritual adviser" to three of the hijackers who attacked America on Sept 11, 2001,"] ''[[Daily Telegraph]]'', 7 November 2009, accessed 12 November 2009</ref>

At the mosque, Hanjour and al-Hazmi soon met Eyad Alrababah, a Jordanian who later pleaded guilty to document fraud and was deported. They had told him that they were looking for an apartment to rent, and he found a friend who rented them an apartment in Alexandria where they stayed. On 4 April 2001, Hanjour asked to forward his utility deposits to 3159 Row Street, Falls Church, Virginia, which was the same address as the mosque.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scribd.com/document/13120414/FBI-Summary-about-Alleged-Flight-77-Hijacker-Hani-Hanjour|title=FBI Summary about Alleged Flight 77 Hijacker Hani Hanjour - Aviation|website=Scribd}}</ref>

When police raided the Hamburg apartment of [[Ramzi bin al-Shibh]] (the "20th hijacker") while investigating the 9/11 attacks, Awlaki's telephone number was found among bin al-Shibh's personal contact information.<ref name="wanted">[http://www.sfexaminer.com/world/69739347.html Al-Haj, Ahmed, and Abu-Nasr, Donna, "US imam who communicated with Fort Hood suspect wanted in Yemen on terror suspicions,"]{{Dead link|date=October 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} [[Associated Press]], 11 November 2009, accessed 12 November 2009{{dead link|date=October 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

On 2 May 2001, two new roommates joined them in Virginia: [[Majed Moqed]] and [[Ahmed al-Ghamdi]], both of whom had just flown into the United States from the Middle East.

Alrababah later suggested they all go together to look at apartments in [[Fairfield, Connecticut]]. On 8 May, Alrababah, Hanjour, al-Hazmi, Moqed, and al-Ghamdi traveled to Fairfield to look for housing. While there, they also called several local flight schools. They then travelled briefly to Paterson to look at that area as well. Rababah has contended that, after this trip, he never saw any of the men again.<ref name="911-ch7"/>

Sometime at the end of May 2001, Hanjour rented a one-bedroom apartment in [[Paterson, New Jersey]]. He lived there with at least one roommate and was visited by several other hijackers, including [[Mohamed Atta]]. During his time in [[New Jersey]], he and al-Hazmi rented three different cars including a sedan in June that Hanjour cosigned with the alias "Hani Saleh Hassan". He later made his last phone call to his family back in Saudi Arabia, during which he claimed to be phoning from a payphone in the [[United Arab Emirates]], where he was supposedly still working.

Hanjour, along with at least five other future hijackers, are believed to have traveled to Las Vegas several times in mid-2001, where they allegedly drank alcohol, gambled, and visited [[lap dances|lap dancing clubs]].<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Agents-of-terror-leave-their-mark-on-Sin-City-2873407.php | title=Agents of terror leave their mark on Sin City / Las Vegas workers recall the men they can't forget | first=Kevin | last=Fagan | date=4 October 2001 | work=The San Francisco Chronicle}}</ref>

On 20 July, Hanjour flew to the [[Montgomery County Airpark]] in Maryland from New Jersey on a practice flight with fellow hijacker [[Nawaf al-Hazmi]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historycommons.org/timeline.jsp?timeline=complete_911_timeline&the_alleged_9%2F11_hijackers=haniHanjour|title=Complete 911 Timeline: Hani Hanjour|work=History Commons|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830015453/http://www.historycommons.org/timeline.jsp?timeline=complete_911_timeline&the_alleged_9%2F11_hijackers=haniHanjour|archive-date=30 August 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=http://%7b%7bcite/|title=9/11 Commission Report|date=2004|page=242|access-date=1 October 2017|archive-date=12 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912055527/http://%7b%7bcite/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On 1 August, Hanjour and al-Mihdhar returned to Falls Church to obtain fraudulent documentation at a [[7-Eleven]] convenience store where an illegal side business operated for such a service. There they met [[Luis Martinez-Flores]], himself also an [[illegal immigrant]], who agreed to help them for a $100 fee. They drove together to a [[Department of Motor Vehicles|DMV]] office at a mall in nearby [[Springfield, Virginia]], where Martinez-Flores gave them a false address in Falls Church to use, and signed legal forms attesting that they lived there. Hanjour and al-Mihdhar were then granted state identity cards. (Martinez-Flores was later sentenced to 21 months in prison for aiding them, and giving false testimony to police.)<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20050514171209/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3827/is_200112/ai_n9017145 "Hijackers' helper faces two years max"], Timothy P. Carney, ''[[Human Events]]'', 24 December 2001</ref> On that same day, Hanjour was stopped by police for driving a [[Toyota Corolla]] {{convert|55|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} in a {{convert|30|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} zone in [[Arlington County, Virginia|Arlington, Virginia]], for which he paid a $70 fine.

Employees at Advance Travel Service in [[Totowa, New Jersey]] later claimed that Moqed and Hanjour had both purchased tickets there. They claimed that Hanjour spoke very little English, and Moqed did most of the speaking. Hanjour requested a seat in the front row of the airplane. Their credit card failed to authorize, and after being told the agency did not accept personal checks, the pair left to withdraw cash. They returned shortly afterwards and paid the $1,842.25 total in cash.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.boston.com/section/news|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160323184217/http://www.boston.com/section/news|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 March 2016|title=The latest Boston, local and national news|last=john-waller|date=11 January 2016|website=Boston.com}}</ref>

Hanjour began making cross-country flights in August to test security, and tried to rent a plane from [[Freeway Airport]] in Maryland; though he was declined after exhibiting difficulty controlling and landing a single-engine [[Cessna 172]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.newsday.com/ny-usflight232380680sep23.story |title=Tracing Trail Of Hijackers |access-date=27 March 2010 |last=Frank |first=Thomas |date=23 September 2001 |newspaper=Newsday |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020405020924/http://www.newsday.com/ny-usflight232380680sep23.story |archive-date=5 April 2002 }}</ref> He moved out of his New Jersey apartment on 1 September, and was photographed four days later using an [[Automatic teller machine|ATM]] with fellow hijacker [[Majed Moqed]] in [[Laurel, Maryland]], where all five Flight 77 hijackers had purchased a 1-week membership in a local [[Gold's Gym]]. There, Hanjour claimed that his first name translated as ''warrior'' when a gym employee asked if there was an English translation of their Arabic names. (''Hani'' actually translates as "contented.")

On 10 September 2001, Hanjour, al-Mihdhar, and al-Hazmi checked into the Marriott Residence Inn in [[Herndon, Virginia]] where [[Saleh Ibn Abdul Rahman Hussayen]], a prominent Saudi government official, was staying. No evidence was ever uncovered that they had met, or knew of each other's presence.<ref>{{cite news|last=Schmidt|first=Susan|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A31402-2003Oct1|title=Spreading Saudi Fundamentalism in U.S.: Network of Wahhabi Mosques, Schools, Web Sites Probed by FBI|publisher=The Washington Post, Page A01|date=2 October 2003|access-date=23 December 2009|archive-date=16 May 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516094503/http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A31402-2003Oct1|url-status=dead}}</ref>