2/6/2021 Complete 911 Timeline: FBI's Penttbom 9/11 Investigation and Identification of Alleged Hijackers

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Complete 911 Timeline Key Events
FBI's Penttbom 9/11 Investigation and Identification of Alleged Hijackers Key Day of 9/11 Events
Project: Complete 911 Timeline (102)
Open-Content project managed by matt, Derek, Paul, KJF, mtuck, paxvector Key Hijacker Events (145)
Key Warnings (95)
Day of 9/11
add event | references All Day of 9/11 Events
(1414)
Page 1 of 2 (154 events) Dick Cheney (57)
previous | 1, 2 | next Donald Rumsfeld (37)
Flight AA 11 (146)
Flight AA 77 (157)
Flight UA 175 (87)
After 8:46 a.m. September 11, 2001: Hijacker’s Passport    Flight UA 93 (243)
Allegedly Found near the World Trade Center George Bush (132)
The passport of 9/11 hijacker Satam Al Suqami is reportedly found a Passenger Phone Calls (74)
Pentagon (140)
few blocks from the World Trade Center. [ABC NEWS, 9/12/2001; ASSOCIATED Richard Clarke (35)
Satam Al PRESS, 9/16/2001; ABC NEWS, 9/16/2001] Barry Mawn, the director of the Shanksville, Pennsylvania
Suqami’s FBI’s New York office, will say that police and the FBI found it during a (25)
remarkably Training Exercises (56)
undamaged
“grid search” of the area. [CNN, 9/18/2001] However, according to the
World Trade Center (91)
passport, 9/11 Commission, the passport is actually discovered by a male passer-
marked The Alleged 9/11 Hijackers
by who is about 30 years old and wearing a business suit. The man
and Alhazmi and Almihdhar
wrapped gives it to New York City Police Department Detective Yuk H. Chin (345)
in plastic. shortly before 9:59 a.m., when the South Tower of the WTC collapses. Marwan Alshehhi (133)
It is
shown as The man leaves before he is identified. Chin, according to the 9/11 Mohamed Atta (207)
evidence Commission, will give the passport to the FBI later in the day. [9/11 Hani Hanjour (73)
in the COMMISSION, 1/26/2004; 9/11 COMMISSION, 8/21/2004, PP. 40  ] An FBI timeline
Ziad Jarrah (74)
2006 Other 9/11 Hijackers
Zacarias concerned with the 9/11 hijackers will state that the passport is found (175)
Moussaoui by a civilian “on the street near [the] World Trade Center,” and is Possible Hijacker
trial.
[Source: “soaked in jet fuel.” [FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, 10/2001, PP. 291  ] Associates in US (79)
FBI] According to FBI agent Dan Coleman, Al Suqami’s passport is handed to Alleged Hijackers' Flight
Training (73)
a New York City detective who is “down there, trying to talk to people Hijacker Contact w
as they were coming out of the buildings.” By the time the detective looks up Government in US (33)
again after receiving the passport, the man who handed it to him has run off, Possible 9/11 Hijacker
“which doesn’t make sense,” Coleman will say. The passport is then given to a Funding (42)
detective on the Joint Terrorism Task Force. Coleman will say that by this Hijacker Visas and
Immigration (135)
evening, “we realized… that this was the passport of one of the people that
Alhazmi and Almihdhar:
headquarters had identified as one of the 19 probable hijackers.” [FRANCE 5, Specific Cases
3/14/2010] Investigative journalist Nick Davies will later write that he talked to Bayoumi and Basnan Saudi
“senior British sources who said they believed that the discovery of a terrorist’s Connection (51)
passport in the rubble of the Twin Towers in September 2001 had been ‘a CIA Hiding Alhazmi &
throwdown,’ i.e. it was placed there by somebody official.” [DAVIES, 2009, PP. 248] Almihdhar (120)
Search for Alhazmi/
The Guardian will comment, “The idea that Mohamed Atta’s passport had Almihdhar in US (39)

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2/6/2021 Complete 911 Timeline: FBI's Penttbom 9/11 Investigation and Identification of Alleged Hijackers

escaped from that inferno unsinged [tests] the credulity of the staunchest Projects and Programs

supporter of the FBI’s crackdown on terrorism.” (Note that, as in this Guardian Al-Qaeda Malaysia Summit
(172)
account, the passport will frequently be mistakenly referred to as belonging to Able Danger (60)
Atta, not Al Suqami.) [GUARDIAN, 3/19/2002] Sibel Edmonds (61)
Entity Tags: Dan Coleman, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Satam Al Suqami, New York Phoenix Memo (27)
City Police Department, Barry Mawn, Yuk H. Chin Randy Glass/
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline Diamondback (8)
Category Tags: Key Hijacker Events, All Day of 9/11 Events, Other 9/11 Hijackers, FBI Robert Wright and Vulgar
9/11 Investigation Betrayal (67)
Remote Surveillance (241)
Yemen Hub (75)
9:30 a.m. September 11, 2001: Boston Airport Director Receives    Before 9/11
Passenger Manifests for Flights 11 and 175; Singles Out Arab Soviet-Afghan War (105)
Names Warning Signs (470)
A director at Boston’s Logan Airport receives the passenger manifests for Flight Insider Trading/
11 and Flight 175, and reportedly is able to quickly single out the names of the Foreknowledge (53)
US Air Security (81)
five hijackers on each of these flights. Ed Freni, the director of aviation Military Exercises (88)
operations at Logan, had phoned his contacts at American and United Airlines Pipeline Politics (67)
who are based at the airport roughly around 9:00-9:15. He had requested the Other Pre-9/11 Events
manifests for the two hijacked planes that took off from there (see (9:00 (66)
a.m.-9:15 a.m.) September 11, 2001). Several pages with names listed in long Counterterrorism before
9/11
columns now roll out of the fax machine in the Massachusetts Port Authority
Hunt for Bin Laden (158)
(Massport) aviation office at Logan, where Freni recently arrived. Freni looks Counterterrorism Action
over the manifest for Flight 11. Aware that Arab men attacked the World Trade Before 9/11 (225)
Center in 1993, he searches for any Arabic names. According to author Tom Counterterrorism
Murphy, he circles the names of the five men later accused of being the plane’s Policy/Politics (255)
hijackers: “In 2A and 2B, he circled two, both W. Alshehri. In 8D, M. Atta, and Warning Signs: Specific Cases
8G, A. Alomari. In 10B, he circled S. Al Suqami.” None of the names of the other Foreign Intelligence
Warnings (35)
individuals on the plane appear suspicious to him. Freni then looks over the Bush's Aug. 6, 2001 PDB
manifest for Flight 175. Again, according to Murphy, he singles out the names of (39)
the men later accused of being the plane’s hijackers: “He circled F. Presidential Level
Alquadibanihammad [presumably Fayez Ahmed Banihammad], A. Alghamdi, H. Warnings (31)
Alghamdi, M. Alshehri, and M. Alshehhi.” Freni asks John Duval, Logan’s deputy The Post-9/11 World
director of operations who is with him in the aviation office, “FBI here yet?” 9/11 Investigations (666)
9/11 Related Criminal
Duval replies, “They’re on the way over from downtown.” Freni says, “Tell ‘em Proceedings (22)
we got their guys.” [MURPHY, 2006, PP. 34-36] However, at 10:59 a.m., the FBI’s 9/11 Denials (30)
Chicago command post will receive a copy of the manifest for Flight 175, and, US Government and 9/11
according to an FBI document, this will have six Muslim names on it—one more Criticism (67)
than Freni reportedly singles out. [FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, 9/12/2001  ] 9/11 Related Lawsuits
(24)
Presumably the sixth Muslim name is that of Touri Bolourchi, a nurse originally Media (47)
from Iran. [NEW YORK TIMES, 6/30/2002] There were also at least another two Other Post-9/11 Events
passengers on Flight 11 with names that might appear to be Arabic, yet that (80)
Freni apparently does not single out: Waleed Iskandar was a Lebanese Investigations: Specific Cases
management consultant. [PALO ALTO WEEKLY, 12/12/2001; ASSOCIATED PRESS, 9/11/2002] 9/11 Commission (257)
And Rahma Salie was an IT consultant of Sri Lankan descent. [INDEPENDENT, Role of Philip Zelikow (87)
10/11/2001; NEW YORK TIMES, 7/14/2002] 9/11 Congressional Inquiry
Entity Tags: Ed Freni, John Duval (41)
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline CIA OIG 9/11 Report (16)
Category Tags: All Day of 9/11 Events, FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations FBI 9/11 Investigation
(154)
WTC Investigation (111)
Shortly After 9:37 a.m.: FISA Judge Grants Five Warrantless    Other 9/11 Investigations
Surveillance Requests Minutes after Pentagon Attack (135)
Royce Lamberth, head of the FISA court which grants warrants for intelligence Possible Al-Qaeda-Linked
Moles or Informants
cases, grants five warrantless surveillance requests minutes after the Pentagon Abu Hamza Al-Masri (103)
attack. Lamberth will later report being stuck in a carpool lane near the Abu Qatada (36)
Pentagon when it is hit. With his car enveloped in smoke, he calls US marshals to Ali Mohamed (78)
help him get to his office. Lamberth will later say that by the time officers Haroon Rashid Aswat (17)
reached him, “I had approved five FISA coverages [warrants] on my cellphone.” Khalil Deek (20)
Luai Sakra (12)
[ASSOCIATED PRESS, 6/24/2007] Presumably this represents the start of a flurry of Mamoun Darkazanli (36)
Nabil Al-Marabh (41)

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surveillance activity in response to the 9/11 attacks, but it is not known who Omar Bakri & Al-
was to be monitored or how their names were learned and acted on so quickly. Muhajiroun (25)
Reda Hassaine (23)
Entity Tags: Royce Lamberth
Other Possible Moles or
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Informants (169)
Category Tags: All Day of 9/11 Events, FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations
Other Al-Qaeda-Linked
Figures
9:42 a.m. September 11, 2001: FBI Arrives at the Pentagon;    Abu Zubaida (99)
Assumes Responsibility for Investigation Anwar Al-Awlaki (17)
Ayman Al-Zawahiri (81)
Within five minutes of the Pentagon being hit, the Hambali (39)
first group from the FBI’s National Capital Response Khalid Shaikh Mohammed
Squad arrives there. Due to this being a terrorist (140)
attack, the Pentagon and its grounds are Mohammed Haydar
Zammar (46)
immediately declared a federal crime scene. Under Mohammed Jamal Khalifa
the terms of a 1995 presidential directive, this (47)
makes them the exclusive responsibility of the FBI. Osama Bin Laden (229)
The FBI immediately begins collecting evidence and Ramzi Bin Al-Shibh (106)
is also responsible for recovering bodies. Its agents Ramzi Yousef (67)
Sheikh Omar Abdul-
are able to confiscate security videos from a nearby Rahman (57)
Logo of the FBI’s National gas station within minutes of the crash (see (After Victor Bout (23)
Capital Response Squad.
[Source: FBI] 9:37 a.m.) September 11, 2001). More than 700 FBI Wadih El-Hage (45)
agents, assisted by hundreds of individuals from Zacarias Moussaoui (159)
other organizations, will participate in the recovery operation. [US PRESIDENT, Al-Qaeda by Region
6/21/1995; WASHINGTON TIMES, 9/12/2001; US DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, "Lackawanna Six" (13)
7/2002, PP. A-7, A-23, C-1, C-54  ] Al-Qaeda in Balkans (168)
Entity Tags: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Pentagon Al-Qaeda in Germany
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline (190)
Category Tags: All Day of 9/11 Events, FBI 9/11 Investigation, Pentagon, 9/11 Al-Qaeda in Italy (55)
Investigations Al-Qaeda in Southeast
Asia (149)
Al-Qaeda in Spain (121)
(After 10:00 a.m.) September 11, 2001: Arizona FBI Agents Visit    Islamist Militancy in
a Local Flight School and Learn that a Suspected Hijacker Was a Chechnya (50)
Student There Specific Alleged Al-Qaeda
George Piro and Ken Williams, two agents at the FBI field office in Linked Attacks or Plots
1993 WTC Bombing (73)
Phoenix, Arizona, visit a flight school in Phoenix to see if any 1993 Somalia Fighting (13)
suspicious students have attended it recently and the manager 1995 Bojinka Plot (78)
immediately informs them about Hani Hanjour, one of the alleged 1998 US Embassy
George hijackers of Flight 77. As they watched the terrorist attacks unfolding Bombings (121)
Piro. on television, Piro and Williams decided they wanted to start Millennium Bomb Plots
[Source: (43)
FBI] responding to the crisis on their own initiative, rather than sitting 2000 USS Cole Bombing
around and waiting for an order. They know Phoenix has the second- (114)
highest concentration of flight schools in the nation. Piro therefore looked in the 2001 Attempted Shoe
Yellow Pages and found three programs that offer commercial pilot licenses. Bombing (23)
With this information in hand, the two agents set out to visit some flight 2002 Bali Bombings (36)
2004 Madrid Train
schools. The first one they go to is the Sawyer School of Aviation at Sky Harbor Bombings (82)
Airport in Phoenix. They ask the manager there if any suspicious students have 2005 7/7 London
attended recently. Almost without hesitation, she gives them the file of one Bombings (87)
such student: Hanjour. [GRAFF, 2011, PP. 325; WASHINGTONIAN, 5/5/2011] Hanjour Miscellaneous Al-Qaeda
received training at the flight school earlier this year and, previously, in 1998 Issues
Alleged Al-Qaeda Linked
(see 1998 and Summer 2001). [WASHINGTON POST, 10/15/2001; ASSOCIATED PRESS, Attacks (89)
12/29/2001; 9/11 COMMISSION, 7/24/2004, PP. 529] He allegedly flew Flight 77 into the Alleged Al-Qaeda Media
Pentagon (see 9:37 a.m. September 11, 2001). [FOX NEWS, 1/7/2016] Just after they Statements (102)
are given the file, Piro receives a call on his cell phone from an agent from the Key Captures and Deaths
FBI’s Boston office. The agent, who is currently at Logan International Airport in (124)
Boston, says he has a name from the passenger manifest for Flight 77 that the Geopolitics and Islamic
Militancy
Phoenix agents should look into: Hani Hanjour. To the agent’s surprise, Piro US Dominance (112)
replies, “I’m holding his file in my hands right now.” Piro and Williams then head Alleged Iraq-Al-Qaeda
back to their office to report their progress. At the office, Piro tells their squad Links (255)
leader, “I’ve identified one of the hijackers.” Incredulous at this news, the Iraq War Impact on
squad leader replies, “Get out of here—I don’t have time for jokes today.” Counterterrorism (83)
[GRAFF, 2011, PP. 325-326; WASHINGTONIAN, 5/5/2011] Israel (60)
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Entity Tags: George Piro, Ken Williams, Hani Hanjour, Sawyer School of Aviation Pakistan and the ISI (470)
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline Saudi Arabia (249)
Category Tags: All Day of 9/11 Events, 9/11 Investigations, FBI 9/11 Investigation Terrorism Financing (312)
Londonistan - UK
Counterterrorism (322)
(After 10:06 a.m.) September 11, 2001: Al-Qaeda Agents Heard    US Intel Links to Islamic
Saying ‘We’ve Hit the Targets’ Militancy (69)
According to Newsweek, “shortly after the suicide attacks,” US intelligence Algerian Militant Collusion
(41)
picks up communications among bin Laden associates relaying the message: Indonesian Militant
“we’ve hit the targets.” [NEWSWEEK, 9/13/2001] Collusion (20)
Entity Tags: Al-Qaeda, US intelligence Philippine Militant
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline Collusion (74)
Category Tags: All Day of 9/11 Events, Flight UA 93, Remote Surveillance, 9/11 Yemeni Militant Collusion
Investigations, FBI 9/11 Investigation (47)
Other Government-
Militant Collusion (23)
After 10:28 a.m. September 11, 2001: FBI Establishes a    Pakistan / ISI: Specific Cases
Temporary Field Office in Manhattan Pakistani Nukes & Islamic
FBI agents in New York quickly set up a temporary field office in an FBI parking Militancy (37)
garage, where they will be based for the next few weeks, after the attacks on Pakistani ISI Links to 9/11
the World Trade Center rendered their original office unusable. The New York (73)
Saeed Sheikh (59)
office is the FBI’s largest field office, comprising some 1,100 special agents. It is Mahmood Ahmed (30)
located at 26 Federal Plaza, just a few blocks away from the WTC site. However, Haven in Pakistan Tribal
the collapses of the Twin Towers (see 9:59 a.m. September 11, 2001 and 10:28 Region (179)
a.m. September 11, 2001) disabled its telephone service, thereby rendering it 2008 Kabul Indian
Embassy Bombing (10)
useless. Officials are also concerned that 26 Federal Plaza might be the target Hunt for Bin Laden in
of another terrorist attack. Pakistan (154)
New Facility Is Set Up in 24 Hours - Therefore, “Almost immediately” after the Terrorism Financing: Specific
Twin Towers came down, according to the New York Times, the FBI starts Cases
relocating to a garage in Manhattan. The block-long, multilevel garage at 26th Al Taqwa Bank (29)
Street and the West Side Highway is usually used by the FBI to store and repair Al-Kifah/MAK (54)
BCCI (37)
its fleet of vehicles. But within 24 hours of the attacks on the WTC, a temporary BIF (28)
field office is up and running there. The facility is equipped with about 100 BMI and Ptech (21)
laptop computers. Three hundred phone lines are installed, with phones hooked Bin Laden Family (62)
up to a satellite truck positioned outside the garage. Drugs (71)
Investigation Is Coordinated from the Temporary Facility - Officials from over 'War on Terrorism' Outside
Iraq
two dozen federal, state, and local agencies are then based at the makeshift
Afghanistan (300)
facility. Barry Mawn, director of the FBI’s New York office, and key federal Drone Use in Pakistan /
prosecutors, including Mary Jo White, US Attorney for the Southern District of Afghanistan (53)
New York, coordinate the work of almost 2,000 investigators from there. The Destruction of CIA Tapes
garage will serve as the command center for the first four weeks of the FBI’s (92)
Escape From Afghanistan
investigation of the terrorist attacks. [NEW YORK TIMES, 9/24/2001; WASHINGTON POST, (61)
10/20/2001; KESSLER, 2002, PP. 5, 424; JOURNAL OF PUBLIC INQUIRY, 3/2002  ] It will be High Value Detainees
“New York’s nerve center for information about the attacks,” according to the (179)
Associated Press. [ASSOCIATED PRESS, 9/27/2001] Agents will move back to their Terror Alerts (50)
original field office at 26 Federal Plaza early in October. [WASHINGTON POST, Counterterrorism Action
10/20/2001] After 9/11 (353)
Entity Tags: FBI New York Field Office, Barry Mawn, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Counterterrorism
Mary Jo White Policy/Politics (432)
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Internal US Security After
9/11 (125)
Category Tags: All Day of 9/11 Events, 9/11 Investigations, FBI 9/11 Investigation

(After 10:30 a.m.) September 11, 2001: Gate Agent Has Singled   
Out Boarding Passes of Suspicious Flight 93 Passengers Email Updates
A United Airlines manager finds that a gate agent has already singled out Receive weekly email updates
boarding passes belonging to four suspicious passengers who were on Flight 93. summarizing what contributors
have added to the History
Terri Rizzuto is the United Airlines station manager at Newark Airport, from Commons database
where Flight 93 departed. Some time after hearing that this plane has crashed,
she speaks on the phone with the FBI, which is requesting the plane’s manifest Email Address Here   Go

and its Passenger Name Record (PNR). After arranging permission to release
Donate
these, she goes to Gate 17, from where she knows Flight 93 departed, wanting
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2/6/2021 Complete 911 Timeline: FBI's Penttbom 9/11 Investigation and Identification of Alleged Hijackers

to talk to her staff there. When she arrives, a supervisor Developing and maintaining
this site is very labor
hands her four boarding passes. The supervisor tells her intensive. If you find it useful,
they are “The men, who did this maybe,” and points her please give us a hand and
donate what you can.
toward one of the gate agents who had boarded the Donate Now
passengers onto the flight. When Rizzuto asks the gate
agent, “How do you know?” he replies: “They were too
Volunteer
well-dressed. Too well-dressed for that early in the
morning. And their muscles rippled below their suits.… If you would like to help us
[A]nd their eyes.” [MURPHY, 2006, PP. 71-73] However, this with this effort, please
contact us. We need help with
report of men with rippling muscles contradicts the 9/11 programming (Java, JDO,
Terri Rizzuto. [Source: Commission’s description of the so-called “muscle” mysql, and xml), design,
networking, and publicity. If
ReclaimingTheSky.com] hijackers (i.e. the non-pilot hijackers) on the four you want to contribute
targeted planes: They “were not physically imposing,” information to this site, click
with the majority of them being “slender in build.” [9/11 COMMISSION, 6/16/2004] the register link at the top of
the page, and start
Entity Tags: Terri Rizzuto contributing.
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline Contact Us
Category Tags: All Day of 9/11 Events, FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations

10:45 a.m. September 11, 2001: Coroner Surprised by Lack of   

Human Remains at Flight 93 Crash Site
Wallace Miller, the coroner of Somerset County, who is one of the first
people to arrive at the Flight 93 crash scene, is surprised by the
absence of human remains at the site. He will later say: “If you didn’t
know, you would have thought no one was on the plane. You would
Wallace have thought they dropped them off somewhere.” [LONGMAN, 2002, PP.
Miller.
[Source: 217] The only recognizable body part Miller sees is a piece of spinal
Steve cord with five vertebrae attached. He will tell Australian newspaper
Mellon / The Age: “I’ve seen a lot of highway fatalities where there’s
Pittsburgh
Post- fragmentation. The interesting thing about this particular case is that I
Gazette] haven’t, to this day, 11 months later, seen any single drop of blood.
Not a drop.” [AGE (MELBOURNE), 9/9/2002] Dave Fox, a former firefighter,
also arrives early at the crash scene, but sees just three chunks of human tissue.
He will comment, “You knew there were people there, but you couldn’t see
them.” [PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 9/11/2002] Yet, in the following weeks,
hundreds of searchers will find about 1,500 scorched human tissue samples,
weighing less than 600 pounds—approximately eight percent of the total body
mass on Flight 93. Months after 9/11, more remains will be found in a secluded
cabin, several hundred yards from the crash site. [WASHINGTON POST, 5/12/2002]
Entity Tags: Dave Fox, Wallace Miller
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: All Day of 9/11 Events, Shanksville, Pennsylvania, 9/11 Investigations,
FBI 9/11 Investigation

After 11:00 a.m. September 11, 2001: Investigators Refuse to   

Let a Manager at Dulles Airport Get Involved with Interviews of
His Personnel
Investigators at Washington’s Dulles International Airport sternly refuse
to let Steve Wragg, a manager, get involved with interviews of his
employees, even just to help as a translator for workers with limited
English-speaking skills. [TRENTO AND TRENTO, 2006, PP. 128-129] Flight 77
took off from Dulles Airport at 8:20 a.m. (see (8:20 a.m.) September
Steve
Wragg. 11, 2001) and crashed into the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m. (see 9:37 a.m.
[Source: September 11, 2001). [9/11 COMMISSION, 7/24/2004, PP. 8, 10] Wragg works
Steve as the district manager in charge of the airport for Argenbright
Wragg]
Security, which handles the passenger security checkpoints, baggage,
and other services there for American Airlines and United Airlines. [ATLANTA
BUSINESS CHRONICLE, 10/12/2001; TRENTO AND TRENTO, 2006, PP. 125] Having just returned
from a trip to Boston, he was away from work when the crashes at the World
Trade Center took place. [BRIGHTON ARGUS, 9/26/2001] But after learning of the
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attacks, he headed to Dulles Airport to check on Ed Nelson, a security manager

who works for him, and the airport’s screeners. He arrived at around 11:00 a.m.
and found the place in chaos, filled with people dressed in suits who were
wearing earpieces and carrying guns. He found Nelson and the two men headed
to the airport’s security checkpoints where they saw personnel standing around,
being interviewed by men in suits with clipboards.
Manager Is Told that the Investigation Is None of His Business - Wragg now heads
to his office, where screeners are being questioned by investigators, and sees
people who belong to numerous agencies, including the FBI, the CIA, airport
police, the Department of Transportation, and the Immigration and
Naturalization Service. However, he is unable to find anyone who can tell him
who is in charge, what is going on, or who he is meant to talk to. Instead, an
agent orders him to get out. “Anybody I spoke to said, ‘We need you to stay out
of this, we’re taking over, this is none of your business right now,’” he will later
recall.
Manager's Offer of Help with Translation Is Rejected - Wragg calls Argenbright
Security’s headquarters, and is told to “secure the records” and “make sure no
one touches anything.” He explains to his bosses what the situation is like at the
airport and asks what they want him to do. He is instructed to try and get
involved if investigators are speaking to Argenbright employees. He then
attempts to do this but the investigators refuse to let him participate. “You’re
not going to be a part of this,” they tell him. Wragg thinks the investigators will
need him to help translate, since many of his company’s employees are
immigrants with limited English-speaking skills. Some of them are saying yes to
investigators when they don’t know the answer to a question, just to pacify
their interrogators, and some of the investigators are getting frustrated at the
situation. Wragg wants to assist. “I’m not here for any other reason but to
help,” he tells the investigators, but they still order him to “get out.” [TRENTO
AND TRENTO, 2006, PP. 128-129]
Entity Tags: Argenbright Security, Central Intelligence Agency, US Immigration and
Naturalization Service, Ed Nelson, Steve Wragg, Federal Bureau of Investigation, US
Department of Transportation
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: All Day of 9/11 Events, 9/11 Investigations, FBI 9/11 Investigation

September 11, 2001: Germans Learn of 30 People Traveling for   

9/11 Plot
A few hours after the attacks, German intelligence intercepts a phone
conversation between followers of bin Laden that leads the FBI to search
frantically for two more teams of suicide hijackers, according to US and German
officials. The Germans overhear the operatives refer to “the 30 people traveling
for the operation.” The FBI scours flight manifests and any other clues for more
conspirators still at large. [NEW YORK TIMES, 9/29/2001] Two days later, authorities
claim to have identified teams of as many as 50 infiltrators who supported or
carried out the strikes. About 40 are accounted for as dead or in custody; ten
are missing. They also believe a total of 27 suspected operatives received some
form of pilot training. This corresponds with many analyses that the attacks
required a large support network. [LOS ANGELES TIMES, 9/13/2001] Yet there is no
evidence that any accomplices in the US shortly before 9/11 have since been
arrested or charged.
Entity Tags: Al-Qaeda, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Germany
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: All Day of 9/11 Events, FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations,
Possible Hijacker Associates in US

September 11, 2001: Existing Files on Hijackers Enables   

Investigation to Start Within Hours of Attacks
One day after 9/11, the New York Times will report that FBI agents in Florida
investigating the hijackers quickly “descended on flight schools, neighborhoods

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and restaurants in pursuit of leads.” At one flight school, “students said

investigators were there within hours of Tuesday’s attacks.” [NEW YORK TIMES,
9/13/2001] Also on September 12, the Times will report, “Authorities said they
had also identified accomplices in several cities who had helped plan and
execute Tuesday’s attacks. Officials said they knew who these people were and
important biographical details about many of them. They prepared biographies
of each identified member of the hijack teams, and began tracing the recent
movements of the men.” [NEW YORK TIMES, 9/13/2001] In September 2002, 9/11
victim’s relative Kristen Breitweiser, testifying before the 9/11 Congressional
Inquiry, will cite these news reports and will ask, “How did the FBI know exactly
where to go only a few hours after the attacks? How did they know which
neighborhoods, which flight schools and which restaurants to investigate so soon
in the case?… How are complete biographies of the terrorists, and their
accomplices, created in such short time? Did our intelligence agencies already
have open files on these men? Were they already investigating them? Could the
attacks of September 11th been prevented?” [US CONGRESS, 9/18/2002] In at least
some cases, it appears that US intelligence did quickly access existing files on
the hijackers. The Washington Post reports, “In the hours after Tuesday’s
bombings, investigators searched their files on [Satam] Al Suqami and [Ahmed]
Alghamdi, noted the pair’s ties to [Nabil] al-Marabh and launched a hunt for
him.” A top Customs official claims that by checking flight manifests and
comparing them with other information such as watch lists, he is able to
determine the names of all 19 hijackers by 11:00 a.m.(see (11:00 a.m.)
September 11, 2001). [WASHINGTON POST, 9/21/2001]
Entity Tags: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Ahmed Alghamdi, Satam Al Suqami, Kristen
Breitweiser, Nabil al-Marabh
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: FBI 9/11 Investigation, All Day of 9/11 Events, 9/11 Investigations

(12:00 Noon) September 11, 2001: Senator Hatch Repeats   

Intelligence Community’s Conclusion that Osama Bin Laden Is
Responsible
Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), a member of both the Senate Intelligence and
Judiciary Committees, says he has just been “briefed by the highest levels of
the FBI and of the intelligence community.” He says, “They’ve come to the
conclusion that this looks like the signature of Osama bin Laden, and that he
may be the one behind this.” [SALON, 9/12/2001]
Entity Tags: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Osama bin Laden, Orrin Hatch
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: All Day of 9/11 Events, George Bush, 9/11 Investigations, FBI 9/11
Investigation

(12:00 p.m.) September 11, 2001 and After: FBI Searches   

Pentagon Surroundings for Plane Debris
Beginning shortly before midday
on September 11, 2001, and
continuing until September 12,
the FBI conducts a careful
search across the grounds of the
Pentagon, looking for remnants
of the aircraft that hit the
building. [PBS, 9/12/2001;
WASHINGTON POST, 9/12/2001;
FBI
GOLDBERG ET AL., 2007, PP. 159]
Special Agent Tom O’Connor is
in charge of the initial evidence
recovery operation at the
Pentagon. His first priority is to
locate and gather all the

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Personnel from several agencies searching for evidence at
airplane parts and other pieces
the Pentagon. [Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation]
of evidence from the lawn on
the west side of the building. He sends out all available agents to conduct a grid
search. The lawn is divided into quadrants, and then agents walk back and
forth, sticking a small flag near any evidence they find, getting the evidence
photographed in its place, and then scooping it into a bag. [CREED AND NEWMAN,
2008, PP. 180] Arlington police officers, military personnel, and others also
participate in the search. [GOLDBERG ET AL., 2007, PP. 159] They also look for
evidence across grass and roadways several hundred yards from the Pentagon.
[PBS, 9/12/2001] Some pieces of the aircraft that hit the Pentagon are found nearly
1,000 feet away from the building, on the other side of Washington Boulevard.
Thousands of tiny pieces of aluminum have also carried forward over the
Pentagon, into its center courtyard. Other pieces of debris landed on its roof,
along with body parts from at least one victim. [CREED AND NEWMAN, 2008, PP. 29]
According to the Defense Department’s book about the Pentagon attack, the
searchers find “many scraps and a few personal items widely scattered on the
grass and heliport. Plane remnants varied from half-dollar size to a few feet
long.” [GOLDBERG ET AL., 2007, PP. 159] Authors Patrick Creed and Rick Newman will
describe: “Agents found what looked like a big Plexiglas windowpane on the
lawn, which might have been part of an airplane window, except it was too
big.… Somebody suggested it could be one of the blast-proof windows from the
Pentagon, somehow blown 500 feet from the building.” [CREED AND NEWMAN, 2008,
PP. 180]
Entity Tags: Tom O’Connor, Arlington County Police Department, Federal Bureau of
Investigation
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: All Day of 9/11 Events, Pentagon, FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11
Investigations

(12:15 p.m.) September 11, 2001: FBI Limits What Evidence   

Needs to Be Photographed at Pentagon
Photographers who are taking pictures at the Pentagon,
to document the scene of the attack there in as close as
possible to its original state, are told to limit what
evidence they photograph. FBI Special Agent Tom
O’Connor—who is in charge of the initial evidence
recovery operation at the Pentagon—and his superiors
have put out the word that it is unnecessary to
document every piece of the airplane. This is because,
reportedly, “the smaller fragments didn’t prove
anything, except that there was an airplane there,
which was obvious enough from other evidence.” FBI
Garrett McKenzie. [Source: Special Agent Garrett McKenzie, who is coordinating the
Rudi Williams]
effort to photograph evidence at the Pentagon, pulls
together a dozen photographers for a briefing. He instructs them: “We don’t
need to photograph all the plane parts, only unique airplane parts or something
specific. Like the pilot’s yoke, or anything with part of a serial number on it. If
we have to prove what kind of plane this was, the serial numbers will be what
we need.” [CREED AND NEWMAN, 2008, PP. 181-183]
Entity Tags: Tom O’Connor, Garrett McKenzie
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: All Day of 9/11 Events, Pentagon, FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11
Investigations

(12:15 p.m.) September 11, 2001: FBI Establishes Command Post   

near Pentagon
The FBI establishes a command post for its response to the Pentagon attack at
the Virginia State Police Barracks, overlooking the Pentagon. [FIRE ENGINEERING,
11/2002] Around midday, Assistant Special Agent in Charge Robert Blecksmith

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arrived at the Pentagon

and took over from
Special Agent Chris
Combs as the FBI’s on
scene commander. He
had quickly decided that
the area around the
Arlington County Fire
Department’s incident
command post by the
Pentagon was too
crowded and lacked
support facilities. He
The Navy Annex, located next to the Virginia State Police Barracks. therefore decides it will
[Source: Arlington County After-Action Report]
be safer for the FBI to
carry out its operations at the Virginia State Police Barracks, located next to the
Navy Annex, a few hundred yards from the Pentagon. Along with Combs,
Blecksmith establishes the FBI’s command post there, and starts moving the FBI
up to it. The two men will spend most of the afternoon at the barracks, where
they work on establishing a Joint Operations Center (JOC) at nearby Fort Myer.
[US DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, 7/2002, PP. A23 AND C50  ; CREED AND
The JOC will open early the following morning (see
NEWMAN, 2008, PP. 178]
September 12, 2001). [GOLDBERG ET AL., 2007, PP. 161]
Entity Tags: Chris Combs, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Robert Blecksmith
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: All Day of 9/11 Events, Pentagon, FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11
Investigations

(12:15 p.m.) September 11, 2001: FBI Still Lacks Full   

Investigative Capability at Pentagon
Due to the chaos and gridlock resulting from the morning’s attacks, the FBI is
hampered in mobilizing its investigative operation at the Pentagon. Because the
Pentagon is a crime scene, it is the FBI’s job to gather and document every
piece of evidence there. [CREED AND NEWMAN, 2008, PP. 177] Special Agent Chris
Combs, the FBI’s representative at the crash site, has been setting up the FBI
operation since arriving at 9:49 a.m. [US DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES,
7/2002, PP. A20 AND 1-1  ; CREED AND NEWMAN, 2008, PP. 178] Since before 10:00 a.m.,
the bureau’s evidence recovery team has been arriving. But although every
available agent has been paged, many are stuck in traffic, and it will take
several hours before the entire FBI contingent makes it to the Pentagon. The FBI
also has a fleet of sophisticated command vehicles and helicopters, plus other
specialized equipment. But even though the crash site is within the “FBI’s
backyard,” according to authors Patrick Creed and Rick Newman, by around
12:15 p.m. none of this has arrived yet. The bureau’s rapid-deployment gear,
which includes everything needed to gather and document evidence, is stored in
a warehouse in Washington, DC. But with traffic in the region at a standstill, it is
almost impossible to get this through the streets to the Pentagon. Chris Combs
asks his boss at the FBI’s Washington field office if any helicopters are available
to get equipment to the Pentagon quickly. But several choppers at the FBI
facility in Quantico, just 30 miles south of the Pentagon, are reserved for
specific duties during government emergencies and are currently locked down.
And according to Creed and Newman, other government helicopters the bureau
relies upon for backup are tied up, though what they are being used for is
unstated. [US DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, 7/2002, PP. A22  ; CREED AND
NEWMAN, 2008, PP. 177-179] Furthermore, NBC News has reported that the FBI’s top
teams have been away from Washington for the last two days for a major
training exercise in California (see 10:03 a.m. September 11, 2001). This means
about 50 personnel, plus helicopters and equipment, are currently out of place
and unavailable. [NBC 4, 9/11/2001]
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Entity Tags: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Chris Combs
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: All Day of 9/11 Events, Pentagon, FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11
Investigations

(12:30 p.m.) September 11, 2001: FBI Questions Deena Burnett   

about Husband’s Calls from Flight 93
Deena Burnett is visited at her home in San Ramon, California, by three FBI
agents, and questioned about the calls she received from her husband, Tom
Burnett, who was a passenger on Flight 93. Deena has now learned of the plane
crashing in Pennsylvania, and a police officer staying with her informed her that
this was her husband’s plane. The FBI agents spend over an hour with Deena,
asking her about her husband and what he’d said in his four calls from Flight 93.
[BURNETT AND GIOMBETTI, 2006, PP. 71-72 AND 74-75] She describes to them how Tom
called her using his cell phone and told her his flight had been hijacked. In his
final call he’d described how a group of the passengers was going to “do
something.” She says her husband was a former college football player and very
intelligent, so if he’d concluded he was going to die, he would have taken
action. [FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, 9/11/2001  ] Deena remembers that she’d
taken notes, writing down the details of her husband’s calls. But she does not
want the agents to have these, saying, “You wouldn’t be able to read it
anyway.” They do not take the notes with them when they leave. They will
return later in the day and tell Deena specifically not to say anything to anyone
—especially the media—about her cell phone conversations with her husband,
because it is part of their investigation. [BURNETT AND GIOMBETTI, 2006, PP. 75 AND 81]
Entity Tags: Tom Burnett, Deena Burnett, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: All Day of 9/11 Events, Passenger Phone Calls, FBI 9/11 Investigation,
9/11 Investigations

(12:40 p.m.) September 11, 2001: FBI Agents Arrive at Dulles   

Airport and Start Investigating the Flight 77 Hijacking
The FBI arrives at Washington’s Dulles International Airport and begins its
investigation of the hijacking of Flight 77, which departed from the airport this
morning. [9/11 COMMISSION, 9/29/2003  ; GOLDBERG ET AL., 2007, PP. 161] Flight 77 took
off from Dulles Airport at 8:20 a.m. (see (8:20 a.m.) September 11, 2001) and
crashed into the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m. (see 9:37 a.m. September 11, 2001).
[9/11 COMMISSION, 7/24/2004, PP. 8, 10] The FBI’s Washington Field Office (WFO) was
reportedly notified of the hijacking of Flight 77 at around 9:20 a.m. (see (9:20
a.m.) September 11, 2001). [US DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, 7/2002, PP.
C-45  ] Dulles Airport has now been locked down, preventing people from
entering or leaving it, and the terminals have been evacuated (see (Between
9:38 a.m. and 11:37 a.m.) September 11, 2001). [9/11 COMMISSION, 10/16/2003  ;
TRENTO AND TRENTO, 2006, PP. 36; PRISKA NEELY, 10/21/2010]
Fifty FBI Agents Arrive at Dulles Airport - The FBI is responsible for investigating
the hijacking of Flight 77, and so Special Agent in Charge Arthur Eberhart has
sent a team of 50 agents to the airport to look into it and provide additional
security to prevent another hijacking. [US DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES,
7/2002, PP. A-23, C-45  ] However, the agents only arrive there at around 12:40
p.m., according to a 9/11 Commission memorandum. [9/11 COMMISSION, 9/29/2003 
] The first thing they do there is seize the security tape at the main terminal’s
west checkpoint, according to Ed Nelson, a security manager at the airport.
[TRENTO AND TRENTO, 2006, PP. 36] They also interview ticket agents, security
personnel, baggage and food handlers, and other personnel, and collect
evidence. [US NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER, 1/15/2002; GOLDBERG ET AL., 2007, PP. 161] They
order the confiscation of the 52 computer hard drives that record all electronic
television and security information at the airport. The hard drives contain all of
the video recorded by the airport’s surveillance cameras and all records of
electronic badges used to gain access to secure areas. [TRENTO AND TRENTO, 2006,
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PP. 34]
Agents Assess the Passengers on Grounded Planes - Airport officials have
received no guidance regarding how passengers on planes that have been
grounded in response to the terrorist attacks this morning should be processed.
But the FBI agents at the airport now take the lead in reviewing the passengers
who have deboarded from planes. [9/11 COMMISSION, 9/29/2003  ] The FBI will set
up a command post and a substantial operation at Dulles Airport to carry out its
investigation of the hijacking of Flight 77. Van Harp, head of the WFO, will
assume responsibility for its response at the airport. [US NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER,
12/12/2001]
Entity Tags: Ed Nelson, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: All Day of 9/11 Events, 9/11 Investigations, FBI 9/11 Investigation

(After 12:40 p.m.) September 11, 2001: FBI Appears   

Uninterested in Flight 77’s Hijackers When Conducting Interviews
at Dulles Airport
FBI and Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) agents at
Washington’s Dulles International Airport, from where Flight 77
departed earlier this morning (see (8:20 a.m.) September 11, 2001),
are apparently uninterested in the alleged hijackers of Flight 77 when
Ed they interview airport personnel. [TRENTO AND TRENTO, 2006, PP. 36] The FBI
Nelson. arrived at Dulles Airport at around 12:40 p.m. (see (12:40 p.m.)
[Source:
DC September 11, 2001). [9/11 COMMISSION, 9/29/2003  ] FBI agents and INS
Bureau] agents then interview screeners there. However, nothing they are
asking the screeners makes sense to Ed Nelson, a security manager at
the airport, and he feels that “something [isn’t] adding up.” “They were not
asking about the hijackers—they were focusing on what my screeners might have
done wrong,” he will later comment. “It was as if they were working off a
script,” he will add. FBI agents assigned to Dulles Airport will indicate that their
actions are based on instructions they received from their superiors. One FBI
supervisor will recall: “The orders came from headquarters through the local
Washington-area FBI field offices and the Joint Task Force on Terrorism. The
teams of agents were told to ‘get the screeners to admit they had violated FAA
recommended procedures.’” [TRENTO AND TRENTO, 2006, PP. 36]
Entity Tags: Ed Nelson, Federal Bureau of Investigation, US Immigration and
Naturalization Service
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: All Day of 9/11 Events, 9/11 Investigations, FBI 9/11 Investigation

(After 12:40 p.m.) September 11, 2001: FBI Agents Immediately   

Identify the Flight 77 Hijackers on Airport Security Video
FBI agents are able to identify the alleged hijackers of Flight 77
surprisingly quickly on video recorded this morning by security cameras
at Washington’s Dulles International Airport, from where Flight 77 took
off. [TRENTO AND TRENTO, 2006, PP. 36-37; PRISKA NEELY, 10/21/2010] FBI agents
Susan
Trento. arrived at Dulles Airport at around 12:40 p.m. (see (12:40 p.m.)
[Source: September 11, 2001). [9/11 COMMISSION, 9/29/2003  ] The first thing they
DC
Bureau] did there was seize the security video of the west checkpoint in the
airport’s main terminal. [TRENTO AND TRENTO, 2006, PP. 36] The five alleged
hijackers passed through this checkpoint on their way to boarding Flight 77 (see
7:18 a.m. September 11, 2001, 7:35 a.m. September 11, 2001, and 7:36 a.m.
September 11, 2001) and were captured on video as they did so (see 7:15
a.m.-7:36 a.m. September 11, 2001). [FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, 9/19/2001;
9/11 COMMISSION, 7/24/2004, PP. 3]
FBI 'Knew Who the Hijackers Were' - FBI agents now bring Ed Nelson, the
supervisor in charge of the west checkpoint, the video recorded at the
checkpoint this morning for him to examine. As he watches it with them, he is
surprised that they already seem to know who the Flight 77 hijackers were and
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what they looked like. The agents “went right to the first hijacker on the tape
and identified him,” Nelson will later recall. “They would go ‘roll’ and ‘stop it,’
and showed me each of the hijackers,” he will say. He will remark that both of
the metal detectors at the checkpoint were open around the time the hijackers
were screened and “lots of traffic was moving through.” In light of this, he will
say, “picking people out [on a video recording] is hard.” And yet the agents
“knew who the hijackers were out of hundreds of people going through the
checkpoints.” When an interviewer asks him, “How would they know?” since the
“FBI claimed they had no idea who these hijackers were,” Nelson will reply:
“Oh, exactly. Yeah, it boggles my mind.” He will comment: “I wanted to know
how they had that kind of information. So fast. It didn’t make sense to me.”
[TRENTO AND TRENTO, 2006, PP. 36-37; PRISKA NEELY, 10/21/2010]
FBI Knew Who the Hijackers Were 'the Day Before,' Journalist Will Suggest - US
Customs reportedly provided the FBI with the passenger lists and the names of
the probable hijackers for the four hijacked flights within 45 minutes of the
terrorist attacks this morning (see (11:00 a.m.) September 11, 2001). [9/11
COMMISSION, 1/26/2004] Whether this helped the FBI agents at Dulles Airport to
identify the hijackers on the security video is unclear. Investigative journalist
Susan Trento will comment on their ability to recognize the hijackers so quickly,
stating, “What it says to me is… if they knew [the hijackers] that morning, they
knew who they were the day before and they should have been able to catch
them before they got to the airport.” [PRISKA NEELY, 10/21/2010]
Entity Tags: Ed Nelson, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: All Day of 9/11 Events, 9/11 Investigations, FBI 9/11 Investigation

After 12:40 p.m. September 11, 2001: Investigators Ask   

Managers at Dulles Airport to Identify the Screeners Who Let the
Hijackers onto Flight 77
Federal agents ask managers Steve Wragg and Ed Cox to help identify the
screeners who worked at the checkpoint at Washington’s Dulles International
Airport that the alleged hijackers of Flight 77 passed through this morning, and
suggest these screeners could be guilty of collusion with the hijackers. [TRENTO
AND TRENTO, 2006, PP. 129] Flight 77 took off from Dulles Airport at 8:20 a.m. (see
(8:20 a.m.) September 11, 2001) and crashed into the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m.
(see 9:37 a.m. September 11, 2001). [9/11 COMMISSION, 7/24/2004, PP. 8, 10] Wragg
works as the district manager in charge of the airport for Argenbright Security,
which handles the passenger security checkpoints, baggage, and other services
there for American Airlines and United Airlines. [ATLANTA BUSINESS CHRONICLE,
10/12/2001; TRENTO AND TRENTO, 2006, PP. 125] Cox is the airport security coordinator
at Dulles Airport. [9/11 COMMISSION, 10/16/2003  ] Wragg was away from work when
the crashes at the World Trade Center took place but promptly headed to Dulles
Airport when he learned of them (see After 11:00 a.m. September 11, 2001).
[TRENTO AND TRENTO, 2006, PP. 128] Cox, meanwhile, was at work in the airport
operations office when they occurred. [9/11 COMMISSION, 10/16/2003  ]
Agents Say They Are 'Looking for Collusion' - At some point this afternoon, CIA
and FBI agents who have come to the airport to look into the hijacking of Flight
77 ask the two men to help identify the screeners who were working at a
security checkpoint at the airport when the hijackers passed through it. The
agents apparently believe that some of the screeners may be complicit in this
morning’s attacks. “We want you to identify the screeners and quite frankly
we’re looking for collusion here,” they say. They show Wragg and Cox video on
which the alleged hijackers can be seen passing through the checkpoint (see
7:18 a.m. September 11, 2001, 7:35 a.m. September 11, 2001, and 7:36 a.m.
September 11, 2001). (It is unclear whether Wragg and Cox are shown footage of
all the hijackers going through the checkpoint or just some of them.)
Agents Seem Desperate to Find Incriminating Evidence - Wragg gets the
impression that the federal agents are desperate to find something incriminating
on the video. As one of the hijackers is shown walking through a metal detector,
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an agent asks, “Is he looking at your agent there?” Presumably referring to

hijacker Nawaf Alhazmi, an FBI agent asks: “Can you zoom in on that guy’s back
pocket? Zoom in. Is that a box cutter? Zoom in on that.” Wragg just laughs at
this, which strikes him as “absolutely just a stupid comment.” “You could not
identify what it was” in the pocket and the screener “had done everything
perfectly,” he will remark. A screener is shown randomly selecting Alhazmi to
have his carry-on luggage traced with the explosive detection system. “It was
perfect procedure,” Wragg will opine. The fact that the hijacker was chosen for
this procedure at random “just shows that we were doing everything we were
supposed to,” he will add.
Agents Copy All the Files with Details of the Screeners - The federal agents want
details of all the screeners who were working at Dulles Airport this morning and
so they go to Argenbright Security’s office at the airport and copy all of the files
with information about them. “Anything we had on them was copied, and we
copied and copied and copied,” Wragg will recall. He will add that the agents
“came back on more than one occasion and asked for the same copies they had
already taken earlier.” However, Wragg notices nothing incriminating in the
evidence he reviews with the federal agents. He sees no evidence “that any of
the hijackers had gone through security at Dulles with any weapon, legal or
illegal,” according to investigative journalists Joseph Trento and Susan Trento.
[9/11 COMMISSION, 8/26/2004, PP. 27; TRENTO AND TRENTO, 2006, PP. 129-130]
Entity Tags: Argenbright Security, Edward T. Cox, Central Intelligence Agency, Nawaf
Alhazmi, Steve Wragg, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: All Day of 9/11 Events, 9/11 Investigations, FBI 9/11 Investigation

After 1:00 p.m. September 11, 2001: FBI Fails to Consider   

Whether Hijackers Visited Dulles Airport the Previous Evening
FBI agents are apparently unwilling to look into the account of Eric Gill, an
employee at Washington’s Dulles International Airport, from where Flight 77
took off this morning, regarding a confrontation he had at the airport yesterday
evening with five suspicious Middle Eastern men. [TRENTO AND TRENTO, 2006, PP. 38-
39] The confrontation occurred sometime between 8:00 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. on
September 10 while Gill was supervising the west checkpoint in Dulles Airport’s
main terminal. Gill became suspicious of the men as they tried to get to a
secure area of the airport (see (Between 8:00 p.m. and 8:45 p.m.) September
10, 2001).
Employee Reported the Suspicious Incident to His Supervisor - He reported the
incident after coming into work at around 1:00 p.m. today and hearing about
the hijacking of Flight 77. [FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, 9/14/2002; 9/11
COMMISSION, 1/19/2004  ; TRENTO AND TRENTO, 2006, PP. 1-6] Thinking the men he’d
confronted might be involved, he went to his supervisor, Chandresh Patel, and
let him know what happened. He also let Patel know that his colleague, Nicholas
DeSilva, was at the checkpoint when the incident occurred. Patel therefore
arranged for him and DeSilva to be interviewed immediately by FBI agents who
had come to the airport to investigate the hijacking (see (12:40 p.m.)
September 11, 2001).
Employee Isn't Shown Video of the Hijackers - Gill is interviewed for about two
hours by two agents. The agents seem to consider his confrontation with the
Middle Eastern men to be significant. DeSilva, meanwhile, is able to confirm in
his interview with the FBI that the confrontation took place. However, the two
agents never show Gill video the FBI has taken possession of that shows the
alleged hijackers passing through the west checkpoint on their way to boarding
Flight 77 this morning, to determine if any of the hijackers were among the men
he encountered. [TRENTO AND TRENTO, 2006, PP. 38-39] And yet the FBI shows the
video to every employee who works on the security checkpoints at Dulles Airport
apart from Gill and DeSilva, according to Ed Nelson, a security manager at the
airport. [TRENTO AND TRENTO, 2006, PP. 43]
Employee Will Be Visited at Home by the FBI - The FBI will subsequently visit Gill
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at his home to show him some photos and ask if any of the Middle Eastern men
he encountered are on them. Gill will later give conflicting accounts of this
visit. In 2004, he will tell the 9/11 Commission that a young female agent visited
him at his home a few days after the attacks and showed him about five photos,
but he did not recognize the men he’d encountered in them. 9/11 Commission
staffers will determine, however, that the men in the photos did not include any
of the alleged 9/11 hijackers. [FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, 9/14/2002; 9/11
COMMISSION, 1/19/2004  ] A couple of years later, Gill will tell investigative
journalists Joseph Trento and Susan Trento that FBI agents visited him and
showed him some photos a couple of days after the attacks. The agents said
they were in a hurry to find out what actually happened, and so the images they
had were just photocopies and of poor quality. All the same, he recognized two
of the men he’d encountered in them. “The picture was bad… but I told them
[one of the men in the pictures] looked like he could be the one who had been
dressed in a ramp uniform with the ID card on the night of the 10th,” he will tell
the Trentos.
Employee Will Identify Two Men He Encountered as Hijackers - Gill will never
hear from the FBI again after this visit. [TRENTO AND TRENTO, 2006, PP. 39-40]
However, a superior will subsequently show him the photos of the alleged
hijackers that are published on the FBI website, and from looking at these he
will identify two of the men he confronted as Flight 77 hijacker Nawaf Alhazmi
and Flight 175 hijacker Marwan Alshehhi. A source in the FBI will say one reason
the bureau did not take Gill’s account seriously was that it had trouble
understanding how and why one of the Flight 175 hijackers could have been at
Dulles Airport on the evening before he took an early morning flight from
Boston. [TRENTO AND TRENTO, 2006, PP. 43-44]
Entity Tags: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Eric Gill, Nicholas DeSilva, Chandresh
Patel, Ed Nelson
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: All Day of 9/11 Events, 9/11 Investigations, FBI 9/11 Investigation

September 11-12, 2001: FBI Agents Denied Permission to   

Interview Moussaoui, Due to Lack of Emergency
The FBI’s Minneapolis office asks for permission to interview Zacarias Moussaoui
a few hours after the end of the 9/11 attacks, but permission is denied,
apparently on the grounds that there is no emergency. On 9/11, the office’s
counsel, Coleen Rowley, seeks permission from the Acting US Attorney to
question Moussaoui about whether al-Qaeda has any further plans to hijack
airliners or otherwise attack the US. The next day she asks again; this time the
request is sent to the Justice Department. Such questioning would not usually
be permitted, but Rowley argues that it should be allowed under a public safety
exception. However, permission is denied and Rowley is told that the emergency
is over so the public safety exception does not apply. Rowley will later
comment: “We were so flabbergasted about the fact we were told no public
safety emergency existed just hours after the attacks that my boss advised me
to document it in a memo which became the first document in the legal subfile
of the FBI’s ‘Penttbom’ case.” [HUFFINGTON POST, 5/2/2007] Some sources will
suggest that Moussaoui was to be part of a second wave of attacks (see
September 5, 2002). He is also an associate of shoe bomber Richard Reid, who
will attempt to blow up an airliner later this year (see Mid-2000-December 9,
2000 and December 22, 2001).
Entity Tags: FBI Minnesota field office, Coleen Rowley, Zacarias Moussaoui, US
Department of Justice
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: Zacarias Moussaoui, All Day of 9/11 Events, FBI 9/11 Investigation, 2001
Attempted Shoe Bombing, 9/11 Investigations

September 11, 2001: FBI Agents Are Able to Quickly Find   

Hijackers Alhazmi and Almihdhar Once the Attacks Are Over

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After the 9/11 attacks are over, the New York FBI office learns that one of the
hijackers was Khalid Almihdhar. One of the FBI agents at the office, Steve
Bongardt, had attempted to get permission to search for Almihdhar in late
August, but was not allowed to do so. He wrote an e-mail on August 29 (see
August 29, 2001) predicting that “someday someone will die… the public will not
understand why we were not more effective and throwing every resource we
had at certain ‘problems.’” He will later testify that upon seeing Almihdhar’s
name on one of the passenger flight manifests, he angrily yells, “This is the
same Almihdhar we’ve been talking about for three months!” In an attempt to
console him, his boss replies, “We did everything by the book” (see 2:30 p.m.
September 11, 2001). Now that Bongardt is allowed to conduct a basic Internet
search for Almihdhar that he had been denied permission to conduct before
9/11, he finds the hijacker’s address “within hours.” [WASHINGTON POST, 9/21/2002;
US CONGRESS, 12/11/2002  ] The FBI field office in San Diego also was not notified
before 9/11 that Almihdhar and Nawaf Alhazmi had been put on a no-fly watch
list on August 24, 2001 (see September 4-5, 2001). Bill Gore, the FBI agent
running the San Diego office on this day, will make reference to the fact that
Alhazmi’s correct phone number and address were listed in the San Diego phone
book, and say: “How could [we] have found these people when we didn’t know
we were looking for them? The first place we would have looked is the phone
book.… I submit to you we would have found them.” [US CONGRESS, 12/11/2002  ]
Entity Tags: Steve Bongardt, Khalid Almihdhar, Nawaf Alhazmi, Bill Gore, Federal
Bureau of Investigation, FBI New York Field Office
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: Key Hijacker Events, All Day of 9/11 Events, Alhazmi and Almihdhar, CIA
Hiding Alhazmi & Almihdhar, Search for Alhazmi/ Almihdhar in US, Al-Qaeda Malaysia
Summit, 9/11 Investigations, FBI 9/11 Investigation

2:30 p.m. September 11, 2001: New York FBI Agent Recognizes   
the Name of a Hijacker during a Conference Call with FBI
Headquarters
A number of FBI agents in New York are told the names of some
suspected hijackers during a conference call with FBI headquarters in
Washington, DC, and one of the agents, Steve Bongardt, is enraged
when he recognizes one of these men, Khalid Almihdhar, as someone
Dina the FBI has been investigating. Most agents from the FBI’s New York
Corsi.
[Source: office have assembled at a temporary field office at 26th Street and
FBI] the West Side Highway (see After 10:28 a.m. September 11, 2001). But
members of the FBI’s I-49 squad, which is focused on Osama bin Laden
and al-Qaeda’s central command, have returned to their office at 290 Broadway.
Three of them now participate in a conference call with FBI headquarters. Along
with Bongardt, Kenneth Maxwell, the agent in charge of counterterrorism in
New York, and John Liguori, a supervisor at the New York office, are on the call.
Those at headquarters who are on it include Michael Rolince, head of the FBI’s
international terrorism operations section, supervisor Rod Middleton, and
analyst Dina Corsi. Maxwell begins the discussion, asking: “What do we know? Do
we recognize any of the hijacker names?” Corsi says they have some names of
suspected hijackers and starts reading these out. When she mentions Almihdhar,
Bongardt interrupts her, asking: “Khalid Almihdhar? The same one you told us
about? He’s on the list?” [GRAFF, 2011, PP. 313; SOUFAN, 2011, PP. 290-291] “This is the
same Almihdhar we’ve been talking about for three months!” he yells angrily.
[WASHINGTON POST, 9/21/2002] “Steve, we did everything by the book,” Middleton
explains. “I hope that makes you feel better; tens of thousands are dead!”
Bongardt retorts. Maxwell then tries to calm his colleague down. He presses the
mute button on the phone and tells Bongardt: “Now is not the time for this.
There will be a time, but not now.” [GRAFF, 2011, PP. 313; SOUFAN, 2011, PP. 290-291]
Sometime tonight, Bongardt will submit a request to the FBI information center.
“Within hours,” he will later recall, the center gets back to him after finding

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Almihdhar’s address in San Diego, California, simply through searching “public

resources.” [US CONGRESS. SENATE. COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE, 9/20/2002]
Entity Tags: John Liguori, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Dina Corsi, Steve Bongardt,
Michael Rolince, Rod Middleton, Khalid Almihdhar, Kenneth Maxwell
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: All Day of 9/11 Events, 9/11 Investigations, FBI 9/11 Investigation

September 11, 2001: Weapons Found on Additional Planes   

Indicate Possible inside Help for Hijackers
Later in the day of 9/11, weapons are found planted on board three US
airplanes. A US official will say, “These look like inside jobs.” Time magazine
will later report, “Sources tell Time that US officials are investigating whether
the hijackers had accomplices deep inside the airports’ ‘secure’ areas.” [TIME,
9/22/2001] Penetrating airport security does not appear to have been that
difficult: Argenbright, the company in charge of security at all the airports used
by the hijackers, had virtually no security check on any of its employees, and
even hired criminals and illegal immigrants. Security appears to be particularly
abysmal at Boston’s Logan Airport, even after 9/11. [BOSTON GLOBE, 10/1/2001; CNN,
10/12/2001] An FAA official had similar concerns about two other security
contractors at Logan Airport: Huntleigh USA, a subsidiary of ICTS International
NV, a large Israeli security company, and Globe Aviation. [ASSOCIATED PRESS,
9/11/2001; CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR, 1/8/2002; 9/11 COMMISSION, 3/11/2004, PP. 6  ]
Entity Tags: Globe Aviation Services Corp., Huntleigh Corp., Logan International Airport,
Argenbright, ICTS International N.V.
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: All Day of 9/11 Events, FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations,
Possible Hijacker Associates in US

(10:30 p.m.) September 11, 2001: Attorney General Ashcroft   

Briefs Members of Congress about Attacks
Attorney General John Ashcroft briefs about 250 members of Congress on the
latest developments regarding the day’s terrorist attacks. [ASSOCIATED PRESS,
9/12/2001] Since he arrived there in the early afternoon (see (Between 1:00 p.m.
and 2:00 p.m.) September 11, 2001), Ashcroft has spent most of the day at the
Strategic Information and Operations Center at the FBI’s headquarters in
Washington, DC (see (2:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m.) September 11, 2001). He and other
senior Justice Department officials have repeatedly heard from members of
Congress who want more information about the attacks. Ashcroft will later
recall, “We tried our best to provide it, but we were still in the heat of battle.”
However, “No matter; Congress wanted answers.” Therefore, after attending a
meeting at the White House—presumably President Bush’s meeting with his
National Security Council and/or his subsequent meeting with his most senior
principal national security advisers (see (9:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.) September 11,
2001)—Ashcroft heads to the police station north of the Hart Senate Office
Building, to brief the House and Senate members who are gathered there. [9/11
COMMISSION, 12/17/2003  ; ASHCROFT, 2006, PP. 129] About 250 members of Congress
are at the briefing. [ASSOCIATED PRESS, 9/12/2001] Ashcroft will recall, “The place
was jammed with members of Congress, all shouting questions, some
complaining about apparent inconsistencies, many expressing dissatisfaction
that we didn’t know everything, and all wanting answers that I didn’t know or
couldn’t say.” [ASHCROFT, 2006, PP. 129] He reportedly tells those at the briefing
that “the US government now believes teams of three to five individuals
carrying knives commandeered those four airliners earlier today, destroying
them and themselves in the process.” [CNN, 9/11/2001; CNN, 9/12/2001] Ashcroft
stays at the police station until well after midnight, holding what he will
describe as “an intense discussion” with the members of Congress. He has to say
“I don’t know” over and over again, he will recall. [ASHCROFT, 2006, PP. 129]
Entity Tags: John Ashcroft
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline

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Category Tags: All Day of 9/11 Events, FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations

11:30 p.m. September 11, 2001: FBI Uninterested in Flight 93   

Witness’s Evidence
Susan Mcelwain, who lives two miles from the Flight 93 crash site, had seen a
small jet plane flying very low overhead as she was driving home. She later
recalls that it had been “heading right to the point where Flight 93 crashed and
must have been there at the very moment it came down.” But it was only later
in the afternoon, after returning home and turning on the TV, that she’d
realized what she’d seen was connected to the attacks in New York and
Washington. While she was confused that a Boeing 757—not a small jet plane—
was being reported as having gone down near where she’d been, she’d then
realized that the small plane was flying in a different direction to that being
described for Flight 93. So she got her husband to tell the police about what
she’d witnessed. Consequently, late in the evening, the FBI turns up to talk to
her about it. Yet, as Mcelwain later recalls, “They did not want my story.” They
keep asking her how big the plane she’d seen was. When she tells them it was
small, not much bigger than her van, one of the agents tells her, “You don’t
know what a 757 looks like.” She retorts, “Don’t be condescending towards me.
If you don’t want to believe me, that’s fine, but I thought I should report what I
saw. You ought to know there was something else in the air at the same time
this was going on. We want to make sure it was ours and not somebody else’s.”
After this, she will recall, the agent “did seem to get a little nicer. Told me that
it was a white Learjet. Somebody was taking pictures. And I said, ‘Before the
crash?’ and he says, ‘Well, we’ve got to go,’ and that was the end of it.” [BERGEN
RECORD, 9/14/2001; MIRROR, 9/12/2002; LAPPE AND MARSHALL, 2004, PP. 38-40] Numerous
other witnesses also saw a small jet plane flying above the crash site around the
time Flight 93 reportedly went down (see (Before and After 10:06 a.m.)
September 11, 2001).
Entity Tags: Susan Mcelwain, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: All Day of 9/11 Events, FBI 9/11 Investigation, Shanksville, Pennsylvania,
9/11 Investigations

September 11-13, 2001: 9/11 Hijackers Leave a Clear Trail of   

Evidence
Investigators find a remarkable
number of possessions left behind by
the hijackers:
Two of Mohamed Atta’s bags are
found on 9/11. They contain a
handheld electronic flight computer, a
simulator procedures manual for
Boeing 757 and 767 aircraft, two
videotapes relating to “air tours” of
the Boeing 757 and 747 aircraft, a
slide-rule flight calculator, a copy of
the Koran, Atta’s passport, his will, his
One page of a torn up 757 cockpit poster used by
the hijackers. It was found in a trash compactor at international driver’s license, a
the Days Inn, near the Newark Airport. [Source: religious cassette tape, airline
FBI]
uniforms, a letter of recommendation,
“education related documentation” and a note (see September 28, 2001) to
other hijackers on how to mentally prepare for the hijacking. [SYDNEY MORNING
HERALD, 9/15/2001; BOSTON GLOBE, 9/18/2001; INDEPENDENT, 9/29/2001; ASSOCIATED PRESS,
10/5/2001] Author Terry McDermott will later comment, “Atta’s bag contained
nearly every important document in his life… If you wanted to leave a roadmap
for investigators to follow, the suitcase was a pretty good place to start.”
[MCDERMOTT, 2005, PP. 306]
Marwan Alshehhi’s rental car is discovered at Boston’s Logan Airport containing
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an Arabic language flight manual, a pass giving access to restricted areas at the
airport, documents containing a name on the passenger list of one of the flights,
and the names of other suspects. The name of the flight school where Atta and
Alshehhi studied, Huffman Aviation, is also found in the car. [LOS ANGELES TIMES,
9/13/2001]
A car registered to Nawaf Alhazmi is found at Washington’s Dulles Airport on
September 12. This is the same car he bought in San Diego in early 2000 (see
March 25, 2000). Inside is a copy of Atta’s letter to the other hijackers, a
cashier’s check made out to a flight school in Phoenix, four drawings of the
cockpit of a 757 jet, a box cutter-type knife, maps of Washington and New York,
and a page with notes and phone numbers. [ARIZONA DAILY STAR, 9/28/2001; COX NEWS
SERVICE, 10/21/2001; DIE ZEIT (HAMBURG), 10/1/2002] The name and phone number of
Osama Awadallah, a friend of Alhazmi and Khalid Almihdhar in San Diego, is also
found on a scrap of paper in the car (see September 12, 2001 and After). [CNN,
2/1/2002]
A rental car is found in an airport parking lot in Portland, Maine. Investigators
are able to collect fingerprints and hair samples for DNA analysis. [PORTLAND PRESS
HERALD, 10/14/2001]
A Boston hotel room contains airplane and train schedules. [SYDNEY MORNING
HERALD, 9/15/2001]
FBI agents carry out numerous garbage bags of evidence from a Florida
apartment where Saeed Alghamdi lived. [CNN, 9/17/2001]
Two days before 9/11, a hotel owner in Deerfield Beach, Florida, finds a box
cutter left in a hotel room used by Marwan Alshehhi and two unidentified men.
The owner checks the nearby trash and finds a duffel bag containing Boeing 757
manuals, three illustrated martial arts books, an 8-inch stack of East Coast flight
maps, a three-ring binder full of handwritten notes, an English-German
dictionary, an airplane fuel tester, and a protractor. The FBI seizes all the items
when they are notified on September 12 (except the binder of notes, which the
owner apparently threw away). [MIAMI HERALD, 9/16/2001; ASSOCIATED PRESS, 9/16/2001]
In an apartment rented by Ziad Jarrah and Ahmed Alhaznawi, the FBI finds a
notebook, videotape, and photocopies of their passports. [MIAMI HERALD, 9/15/2001]
In a bar the night before 9/11, after making predictions of a attack on America
the next day, the hijackers leave a business card and a copy of the Koran at the
bar. The FBI also recovers the credit card receipts from when they paid for their
drinks and lap dances. [ASSOCIATED PRESS, 9/14/2001]
A September 13 security sweep of Boston airport’s parking garage uncovers
items left behind by the hijackers: a box cutter, a pamphlet written in Arabic,
and a credit card. [WASHINGTON POST, 9/16/2001]
A few hours after the attacks, suicide notes that some of the hijackers wrote
to their parents are found in New York. Credit card receipts showing that some
of the hijackers paid for flight training in the US are also found. [LOS ANGELES
TIMES, 9/13/2001]
A FedEx bill is found in a trash can at the Comfort Inn in Portland, Maine,
where Atta stayed the night before 9/11. The bill leads to Dubai, United Arab
Emirates, allowing investigators to determine much of the funding for 9/11.
[NEWSWEEK, 11/11/2001; LONDON TIMES, 12/1/2001]
A bag hijackers Alhazmi and Almihdhar left at a mosque in Laurel, Maryland, is
found on September 12. The bag contains flight logs and even receipts from
flight schools from San Diego the year before (see September 9, 2001).
On 9/11, in a Days Inn hotel room in Newark, New Jersey, investigators find
used plane tickets for Saeed Alghamdi, Ahmed Alhaznawi, Ziad Jarrah, and
Ahmed Alnami. The tickets are all from a Spirit Continental Airlines flight from
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, to Newark on September 7. Also, flight manuals for
Boeing 757 and 767 airplanes are found in English and Arabic. [INVESTIGATIVE
SERVICES DIVISION, FBI HEADQUARTERS, 4/19/2002]
The hijackers past whereabouts can even be tracked by their pizza purchases.
An expert points out: “Most people pay cash for pizza. These [hijackers] paid

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with a credit card. That was an odd thing.” [SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 9/3/2002] “In
the end, they left a curiously obvious trail—from martial arts manuals, maps, a
Koran, Internet and credit card fingerprints. Maybe they were sloppy, maybe
they did not care, maybe it was a gesture of contempt of a culture they
considered weak and corrupt.” [MIAMI HERALD, 9/22/2001] The New Yorker quotes a
former high-level intelligence official as saying: “Whatever trail was left was
left deliberately—for the FBI to chase” (see Late September 2001). [NEW YORKER,
10/8/2001]
Entity Tags: Huffman Aviation, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington Dulles
International Airport, Marwan Alshehhi, Ahmed Alhaznawi, Ahmed Alnami, Mohamed
Atta, Saeed Alghamdi, Osama Awadallah, Nawaf Alhazmi, Terry McDermott, Ziad
Jarrah
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: Key Hijacker Events, Alhazmi and Almihdhar, Marwan Alshehhi,
Mohamed Atta, Ziad Jarrah, Other 9/11 Hijackers, 9/11 Investigations, FBI 9/11
Investigation

Shortly After September 11, 2001: Al-Qaeda Accomplices Flee   

East Coast?
It is later reported that FBI officials believe that a second grouping or cell of
“perhaps 20 al-Qaeda terrorists [are] in the United States on Sept. 11 to carry
out another attack. Members of this second cell, one official [says], apparently
[abandon] apartments they… rented in Paterson, New Jersey, and Fairfax,
Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C., after Sept. 11, leaving rented furniture
and other possessions behind in their haste.” [ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 10/7/2002]
Another article notes, “Police always have had concerns about sleeper agents in
the [Brooklyn, New York] area. They particularly were concerned by a story…
from several NYPD sources about an abandoned rental car that was parked in
front of a mosque only a few blocks from New Utrecht. The car had been rented
under the phony name ‘Bomkr’ from Logan International Airport in Boston
shortly before the attacks. Investigators thought the name sounded a lot like
‘bomb car.’ The anonymous party rented several other cars from Logan, all of
which either have disappeared or been abandoned. Police suspect the cars were
used by al-Qaeda operatives to return to their home bases after the attacks.”
[INSIGHT, 9/10/2002]
Entity Tags: Al-Qaeda, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Category Tags: FBI 9/11 Investigation, Internal US Security After 9/11, Possible Hijacker
Associates in US

September 12-Early October 2001: Credit Card Use After 9/11   

Hints at Associates of 9/11 Plotters
According to the New York Post, “Credit cards belonging to the suicide hijackers
continued to be used after the Sept. 11 attacks—indicating associates of the
terrorists remained in the United States weeks after the kamikaze strikes,
authorities said…” The cards are used at least until around the start of October
2001. An unnamed official says, “We believe there are additional people out
there. Many of the closest associates got out of the country early on, but we
also believe there are a number of people here we’re still looking at.” The
hijackers had more than 100 credit cards in their own names, variations of their
names, or by using false identities. The credit card transactions are recorded in
Florida, New Jersey, and Maryland. While officials believe it is possible that at
least some of the credit cards may have been stolen and used by people not
connected to the hijackers. In some cases, the credit card use helps
investigators detain associates of the hijackers. [NEW YORK POST, 10/17/2001] An
October 2001 FBI timeline of hijacker movements made public in 2008 will note
some of these credit card uses. For instance, a credit card jointly owned by
hijackers Mohamed Atta and Marwan Alshehhi is used twice on September 15,
and a credit card owned by hijacker Fayez Ahmed Banihammad is used on
September 17. [FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, 10/2001, PP. 296  ] What becomes of
these detained people is not clear, because use of hijacker credit cards is not
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asserted for anyone later charged or released by US authorities. An account six

months later will suggest that investigators have only connected 27 credit cards
to the hijackers, not more than 100. [CNN, 5/22/2002]
Entity Tags: Marwan Alshehhi, Mohamed Atta, Fayez Ahmed Banihammad
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations

September 12, 2001: FBI Sets up Joint Operations Center for   

Pentagon Response, Aided by Earlier Preparations for IMF/World
Bank Meetings
At 6:00 a.m., the FBI opens the
Joint Operations Center (JOC)
for coordinating the emergency
response to the Pentagon
attack. The JOC is located in a
community center at Fort Myer,
an army base 1.5 miles
northwest of the Pentagon, and
is commanded by FBI Special
Agent in Charge Timothy
Bereznay. [US DEPARTMENT OF
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, 7/2002,
Fort Myer. [Source: US Army] PP. A23 AND A28  ; GOLDBERG ET AL.,
2007, PP. 161] The US
government’s January 2001 Interagency Domestic Terrorism Concept of
Operations Plan (CONPLAN) allocated to the FBI responsibility for activating a
JOC to coordinate the activities of federal departments and agencies in
response to terrorist attacks. All the government organizations responding to
the Pentagon attack are expected to assign a senior representative with
decision-making authority to the JOC. There are 26 such representatives in all.
Because many of the responding agencies are unfamiliar with the functions of
the JOC, there is initially “considerable confusion” after it opens. [US
GOVERNMENT, 1/2001; US DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, 7/2002, PP. C49 AND C51 
; GOLDBERG ET AL., 2007, PP. 161] The FBI has been able to set up the JOC
particularly quickly as a result of its preparations for the annual meetings of the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, scheduled to take place in
Washington at the end of September (see 8:30 a.m. September 11, 2001).
Months previously, the FBI surveyed regional sites and chose Fort Myer as the
location to coordinate the law enforcement response to any violent protests at
that event. [GUARDIAN, 9/14/2001; GOLDBERG ET AL., 2007, PP. 161]
Entity Tags: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Joint Operations Center, Interagency
Domestic Terrorism Concept of Operations Plan, Timothy Bereznay
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations

Shortly After September 11, 2001: Three More 9/11 Hijacker   

Passports Recovered
According to the 9/11 Commission, the
passports of two hijackers are
discovered in the wreckage of Flight
93. One passport, belonging to Saeed
Alghamdi, is damaged but still
readable. The other passport,
belonging to Ziad Jarrah, is burned
most of the way through, but part of
his photograph is still visible. In
addition, the passport of hijacker
Abdulaziz Alomari is recovered
because apparently it was put in
Mohamed Atta’s luggage and the
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luggage did not get put on the flight

Alomari and Atta were hijacking
before it took off (see September 11-
13, 2001). The recovery of these
passports will not be made public at
the time and will only be mentioned in
passing in 2004 by the 9/11
Commission. A fourth passport, that of
Satam Al Suqami, was also recovered
on a street near the WTC (see After
8:46 a.m. September 11, 2001). That
did become immediate news and
caused skepticism by many who wondered how a paper document could survive
such a crash (see After 8:46 a.m. September 11, 2001). [9/11 COMMISSION,
1/26/2004]
Entity Tags: Abdulaziz Alomari, Satam Al
Suqami, Ziad Jarrah, Saeed Alghamdi
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: 9/11 Investigations, FBI
9/11 Investigation

The Saudi passport of Saeed Alghamdi, said to be

discovered in the wreckage of Flight 93. [Source:
FBI]

September 12, 2001: FBI and NTSB Limit Evidence Recovery   

Efforts at Pentagon
FBI Special Agent John Adams, who is now in charge of evidence recovery at the
Pentagon during the daytime, addresses how the FBI should deal with the
physical evidence at the crash site. [CREED AND NEWMAN, 2008, PP. 347 AND 351] As the
Pentagon is a crime scene, the FBI is responsible for collecting and documenting
evidence there. [CREED AND NEWMAN, 2008, PP. 177] Agents are still carefully
gathering together wreckage, but there is an overwhelming amount of it to deal
with. Several FBI supervisors convene and discuss what the bureau should be
recovering. One of them says every airplane part is significant and needs to be
treated as valuable evidence. But Adams counters: “That can’t be. We know
what happened here. Do we really need to collect every piece of the airplane?”
Adams goes over to some National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) crash
experts at the site, who are responsible for determining what happened to
Flight 77. When he asks them, “Do you guys want pieces of the plane?” an NTSB
official responds: “No, it’s clear what happened here. We don’t need pieces of
the wings and stuff like that. But we do need the black boxes.” [CREED AND
NEWMAN, 2008, PP. 351-352]
Entity Tags: RobertMoomo, Federal Bureau of Investigation, John S. Adams
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: FBI 9/11 Investigation, Other 9/11 Investigations, 9/11 Investigations

September 12, 2001: FAA New York Center Manager Forwards   

9/11 Evidence to FBI, but Does Not Provide Tape of Controllers’
Accounts
A manager at the FAA’s New York Center begins forwarding evidence relating to
the 9/11 attacks to the FBI, but he does not pass on, or reveal the existence of,
a tape recording of some of the center’s air traffic controllers recalling their
interactions with the hijacked aircraft. [US DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, 5/4/2004 
] Shortly after the attacks occurred, Kevin Delaney, the New York Center’s
quality assurance manager, was instructed to make a tape recording of six
controllers at the center who had been involved in handling or tracking two of
the hijacked aircraft, giving their personal accounts of what happened (see

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11:40 a.m. September 11, 2001). [9/11 COMMISSION, 10/1/2003  ; WASHINGTON POST,
5/6/2004; AIR SAFETY WEEK, 5/17/2004  ]
Tape Not Provided to FBI - In response to verbal requests from the FBI, the FAA’s
liaison to the bureau provides it with evidential material relating to the 9/11
attacks. Beginning on September 12, Delaney forwards evidence materials, as
they become available, to the FBI through this liaison. But, although the tape of
the controllers’ statements was logged into the New York Center’s record of
evidence, neither Delaney nor Mike McCormick, the center’s manager, passes it
to the FBI. Furthermore, neither of the two managers even discloses the
existence of the tape to the FBI or the FAA liaison. Nor do they provide the
center’s evidence log, which references the tape, to the FBI. Yet McCormick will
later claim that one of his reasons for having requested the tape be made on
September 11 was that he wanted a recording of the controllers’ statements
that would be immediately available for law enforcement efforts. [US DEPARTMENT
OF TRANSPORTATION, 5/4/2004  ; AIR SAFETY WEEK, 5/17/2004  ] He had also reassured
the six controllers that the tape with their recorded statements on would be
strictly for use only by law enforcement personnel (see (Shortly Before 11:40
a.m.) September 11, 2001). [9/11 COMMISSION, 10/1/2003  ]
Tape Could Have Been Provided on Following Day - By September 13, the FAA
liaison will have provided the FBI with air traffic control voice and radar data,
which the bureau is most interested in receiving, as well as several written
statements that have already been obtained from controllers at the FAA’s Boston
and Cleveland Centers, and from personnel at Washington’s Dulles Airport. Had
McCormick or Delaney notified the liaison of the tape’s existence, he could have
forwarded it to the FBI along with these statements. The tape will be
deliberately destroyed several months later (see Between December 2001 and
February 2002), and is never made available to the FBI for its investigation. [US
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, 5/4/2004  ; AIR SAFETY WEEK, 5/17/2004  ]
Entity Tags: Mike McCormick, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Kevin Delaney
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: FBI 9/11 Investigation, Other 9/11 Investigations, 9/11 Investigations

(September 12, 2001-2002): FBI Intimidates Witnesses Who Saw   

Atta in Venice; Tells Them to Keep Quiet
A number of witnesses who claim they saw Mohamed Atta living in Venice,
Florida in early 2001 later allege that, in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks,
they are intimidated by the FBI and told to keep quiet about what they knew.
Amanda Keller, who claims to have lived with Atta during early 2001 (see
(February-April 2001)), later says that, even after she moved away from Venice,
FBI agents called her every other day for several months after the attacks. She
tells investigative reporter Daniel Hopsicker about “intimidation by the FBI”
that she suffered, adding, “They told me not to talk to anybody, to keep my
mouth shut.” Stephanie Frederickson, who remembers Keller and Atta living
next door to her in the Sandpiper Apartments in Venice, later recalls, “At first,
right after the attack, [the FBI] told me I must have been mistaken in my
identification. Or they would insinuate that I was lying. Finally they stopped
trying to get me to change my story, and just stopped by once a week to make
sure I hadn’t been talking to anyone. Who was I going to tell? Most everyone
around here already knew.” Charles Grapentine, the manager of the Sandpiper
Apartments, also confirms Atta having lived with Keller. He says that, after
9/11, the FBI “called me a liar, and told me to keep my mouth shut.” [HOPSICKER,
2004, PP. 62-63, 65 AND 88-89] According to the FBI’s account of events, Atta had left
Venice by late December 2000 or early January 2001. Its account makes no
mention of him returning there later. [US CONGRESS, 9/26/2002] A former manager
at Huffman Aviation, the Venice flight school attended by Atta in late 2000 (see
July 6-December 19, 2000), also later alleges that the FBI intimidated him and
told him to keep quiet. He says the FBI was “outside my house four hours after
the attack.” He claims his phones were bugged after 9/11, and adds, “I thought

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these guys [Atta and his associates] were double agents. Why is that so
incriminating?” [HOPSICKER, 2004, PP. 149-150]
Entity Tags: Daniel Hopsicker, Charles Grapentine, Mohamed Atta, Federal Bureau of
Investigation, Stephanie Frederickson, Amanda Keller
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations

September 12, 2001 and After: Phone Number in 9/11 Hijacker’s   

Car Points to Suspicious Associate in San Diego
On September 12, 2001, 9/11 hijacker Nawaf Alhazmi’s 1988 Toyota Corolla is
found at a parking lot near Washington, DC. Alhazmi and fellow hijacker Khalid
Almihdhar bought the car in San Diego in March 2000 (see March 25, 2000). [LOS
ANGELES TIMES, 9/27/2001] Various items are found in the car (see September 11-13,
2001), including an old telephone number of Osama Awadallah. Alhazmi knew
Awadallah when he lived in San Diego in 2000. Awadallah’s San Diego house is
searched soon thereafter, and photos, videos, and articles relating to Osama bin
Laden are found. Investigators also discover that copies of bin Laden’s fatwas
(religious edicts) and other similar materials were distributed by people living in
the house. [9/11 COMMISSION, 7/24/2004, PP. 219-220] Awadallah worked with Alhazmi
at a San Diego gas station with a number of radical Islamists (see Autumn 2000).
A witness claims that one day before 9/11, he seemed to be celebrating the
upcoming 9/11 attacks at the gas station, telling co-workers, “it is finally going
to happen” (see Late August-September 10, 2001). Authorities will never
develop enough evidence to charge Awadallah with any serious crime, and he
will be deported in 2006 after a long legal battle (see May 4, 2006).
Entity Tags: Osama bin Laden, Khalid Almihdhar, Nawaf Alhazmi, Osama Awadallah
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: Alhazmi and Almihdhar, Possible Hijacker Associates in US, 9/11
Investigations, 9/11 Related Criminal Proceedings, FBI 9/11 Investigation

September 12-14, 2001: Gruesome Remains Found at Ground   

Zero, but Supposedly No Black Boxes
Some gruesome remains are discovered in the World
Trade Center ruins:
Investigators find a pair of severed hands bound
together with plastic handcuffs on a nearby building.
They are believed to have belonged to a flight
attendant. [NEWSDAY, 9/15/2001]
Honorary firefighter Michael Bellone and two other
recovery workers discover the body of an attendant
from American Airlines Flight 11. Reportedly, the
men’s digging efforts reveal “a blue skirt, then one
side of a body, and finally a pair of wings still
John McCole [Source: Robson attached to the lapel of a woman’s jacket.” [SWANSON,
Books] 2003, PP. 140; DAILY STANDARD (GRAND LAKE), 9/11/2006] Other
reports describe the discovery of the body of a flight attendant with her hands
bound. Presumably they are referring to the same remains. [GUARDIAN, 9/13/2001;
NEW YORK TIMES, 9/15/2001]
There are reports of whole rows of seats with passengers in them being found,
as well as much of the cockpit of one of the planes, complete with the body of a
suspected hijacker. Police cannot confirm these reports. [ANANOVA, 9/13/2001;
GUARDIAN, 9/13/2001; NEW YORK TIMES, 9/15/2001]
Fire Lieutenant John McCole sees a body bag with a tag on it saying, “Possible
Perp—pilot.” McCole later comments, “I found it pretty amazing that someone’s
body could remain so intact after crashing through a skyscraper into the middle
of an inferno.” [MCCOLE, 2002, PP. 57] Yet, contradicting the claim that a hijacker’s
body was found, only in February 2003 are the remains of two hijackers
identified (see Late February 2003).
While all of these bodies and plane parts are supposedly found, it will be
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claimed that none of the four black boxes for the two aircraft that hit the WTC
are ever found. A National Transportation Safety Board spokesperson later says:
“It’s extremely rare that we don’t get the recorders back. I can’t recall another
domestic case in which we did not recover the recorders.” [CBS NEWS, 2/25/2002]
The black boxes are considered “nearly indestructible,” are placed in the safest
parts of the aircraft, and are designed to survive impacts much greater than the
WTC impact. They can withstand heat of up to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit for one
hour, and can withstand an impact of an incredible 3,400 G’s. [ABC NEWS,
9/17/2001] However, in 2004, it will be reported that some of the black boxes are
found in the weeks after 9/11, but their discovery is kept secret (see October
2001).
Entity Tags: World Trade Center, Mike Bellone, RobertMoomo, John McCole
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: WTC Investigation, FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations

After September 11, 2001: German Law Enforcement Agency   

Provides DNA Sample for Alleged Flight 93 Pilot
The Bundeskriminalamt (BKA), Germany’s federal anticrime agency, obtains a
DNA sample for one of the 9/11 hijackers, alleged Flight 93 pilot Ziad Jarrah,
after a search of the home of his girlfriend, Aysel Senguen. After the BKA sends
the sample to the FBI, the bureau matches it with the DNA profile of one of four
sets of unknown human remains recovered from the site in Shanksville,
Pennsylvania, where Flight 93 crashed. According to an FBI report provided to
the 9/11 Commission, presumably sometime between 2003 and 2004, no
relatives of the alleged 9/11 hijackers provide the bureau with DNA samples for
comparison. [FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, 2003]
Entity Tags: Aysel Senguen, Bundeskriminalamt Germany, Federal Bureau of
Investigation, Ziad Jarrah
Category Tags: Ziad Jarrah, FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations

September 12, 2001: Deena Burnett Decides to Speak with Press   

about Husband’s Calls from Flight 93, Despite FBI Instructions Not
to Do So
Despite having been told by the FBI not to do so, Deena Burnett decides to
speak to several groups of reporters about the four calls her husband Tom
Burnett made to her from Flight 93, before it crashed in Pennsylvania. The FBI
visited Deena the previous evening and, she later recalls, “told me specifically
not to say anything to anyone about my cell phone conversations with Tom,
especially the media, because it was part of their investigation.” [BURNETT AND
GIOMBETTI, 2006, PP. 81] But by this morning, she will comment, “everything I would
have told the media had been reported on the news by the FBI, police, and
Father Frank” Colacicco, from the church where her family worships. “If they
could tell their stories, I knew now I could tell mine. There would be no harm to
‘the evidence’ in answering [reporters’] questions.” [SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE,
9/12/2001; BURNETT AND GIOMBETTI, 2006, PP. 93-94] Throughout the day, she has six
“media waves” separately come into her home to interview her. The reporters
are interested in the cell phone calls she received from her husband. She
recalls: “I had to be very cautious about everything I said. I didn’t want to say
anything that would interfere with the FBI investigation. I verified the calls had
taken place, but gave no specific information about what Tom and I had
discussed.” The FBI visits Deena around 3:00 p.m. to ask some follow-up
questions to their interviews with her the previous day (see (12:30 p.m.)
September 11, 2001). In her 2006 book, Deena Burnett makes no mention of
them complaining about her having talked to the media. [BURNETT AND GIOMBETTI,
2006, PP. 97-104]
Entity Tags: Tom Burnett, Deena Burnett, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations

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September 12, 2001: Inside Help for Terrorists at Airports?   

Billie Vincent, a former FAA security director, suggests the hijackers had inside
help at the airports. “These people had to have the means to take control of the
aircrafts. And that means they had to have weapons in order for those pilots to
relinquish control. Think about it, they planned this thing out to the last detail
for months. They are not going to take any risks at the front end. They knew
they were going to be successful before they started… It’s the only thing that
really makes sense to me.” [MIAMI HERALD, 9/12/2001] The same day, the Boston
Globe reports, “A former TWA official said he knew of at least two cases in
which members of a cleaning crew smuggled weapons on board which were later
used to hijack planes.… One source familiar with the airline industry said that,
given enough time and money, it would not be difficult for terrorists to smuggle
weapons onto a domestic flight. He said terrorists could arrange to have
weapons moved onto an airliner by having terrorists or sympathizers hired as air
cargo handlers or airline cleaners. The weapons could then be brought on board
and concealed without ever having to pass through a security checkpoint. ‘If you
have a year or more to plan, how hard can it be to get someone hired to clean
the trash out of an airplane,’ the source said.” [BOSTON GLOBE, 9/12/2001]
Entity Tags: Billie Vincent
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations, Possible Hijacker Associates
in US

(September 12-30, 2001): FBI Headquarters Is Put in Charge of   

Investigating the 9/11 Attacks, against Usual FBI Practice
The FBI’s New York field office and FBI headquarters in Washington,
DC, argue over which of them should lead the bureau’s investigation of
the 9/11 attacks and, against precedent, FBI Director Robert Mueller
decides to put the headquarters in charge of it.
New York Office Usually Deals with Al-Qaeda Attacks - In the days after
Pasquale
D’Amuro. the attacks, a major confrontation arises over which facility should be
[Source: the office of origin for the case. [GRAFF, 2011, PP. 333-334; WIRED, 6/14/2017]
Concordia]
The FBI operates under an “office of origin” system, which means that
whichever of its 56 field offices opens an official case on a particular subject or
group subsequently manages all related matters. The method prevents work
being duplicated, and ensures that institutional expertise learned during
previous investigations is retained and built on, rather than having to be
relearned by a new office when another incident occurs. Under the system, the
FBI’s New York office has become the office of origin for al-Qaeda cases and
normally deals with al-Qaeda attacks. The office retains most of the bureau’s
“institutional knowledge” on Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda. It led the FBI’s
investigations of the bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in
August 1998 (see 10:35-10:39 a.m., August 7, 1998), and the attack on the USS
Cole in Yemen in October 2000 (see October 12, 2000). [9/11 COMMISSION, 7/24/2004,
PP. 74; SOUFAN, 2011, PP. 82] Mueller, though, wants to run the investigation of the
9/11 attacks from FBI headquarters.
New York Official Objects to Running the Investigation from Washington - He
goes to the FBI’s temporary New York field office (see After 10:28 a.m.
September 11, 2001) and talks with senior officials there, including Barry Mawn,
director of the New York office, Kenneth Maxwell, an assistant special agent in
charge at the New York office, and Pasquale D’Amuro, assistant special agent in
charge of counterterrorism at the New York office. He explains why he wants FBI
headquarters to be the office of origin. Mawn objects, saying the New York
office has been the office of origin for the entire al-Qaeda case so far. It has the
relevant expertise, investigative capabilities, and files to lead the investigation,
he points out, and is also near the Ground Zero crime scene. But Mueller refuses
to back down. He says he won’t run the investigation from the headquarters
over a conference call. “I want to look someone in the eye,” he comments.

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By October, he will have made the decision to run the

[GRAFF, 2011, PP. 333-334]
investigation from Washington. This is the first time an “operational
investigation” has been based at FBI headquarters, according to the Washington
Post. [WASHINGTON POST, 6/14/2004]
Domestic Terrorism Squad Will Be Assigned to the Case - The case will soon be
given the codename PENTTBOM, using the FBI’s standard system for naming
cases. This stands for “Pentagon/Twin Towers Bombing.” It is unclear why
“BOM” is included in the name, since no bombs were used in the 9/11 attacks.
Some agents will later guess that, in the initial confusion, the person who
opened the case file incorrectly thought a bomb had been involved. [GRAFF, 2011,
PP. 319-320] D’Amuro will be transferred to Washington and become the leader of
the entire case. Instead of being run by one of the FBI’s experienced al-Qaeda
squads, I-49 and I-45, a New York domestic terrorism squad called I-44 will be
moved to Washington to handle the case. Mary Galligan, who previously spent
time as the on-scene commander in the investigation of the attack on the USS
Cole, will lead this squad. Some members of the New York Joint Terrorism Task
Force will also move to Washington to work on the case.
Former Director Will Disagree with the Decision to Run the Case from
Headquarters - Investigators will be based in a large room in the basement of
the J. Edgar Hoover Building, where FBI headquarters is located. Two thousand
agents will work on the case full-time, following thousands of leads as they
pursue information about the attacks. Agents will conduct over 180,000
interviews and review millions of pages of documents. They will log over
155,000 items of evidence and put together a massive timeline, detailing the
activities of the alleged 9/11 hijackers in the United States. The investigation
will become the largest the FBI has ever conducted. [WASHINGTON POST, 6/14/2004;
GRAFF, 2011, PP. 334] However, Louis Freeh, Mueller’s predecessor as FBI director,
will criticize Mueller’s decision to run it from FBI headquarters. “I don’t think
you can run counterterrorism cases out of headquarters,” he will say. “I think
you have to coordinate them out of headquarters,” he will explain, “but you
can’t prepare a criminal case for a field presentation in a US district court in
headquarters.” [9/11 COMMISSION, 4/13/2004]
Entity Tags: Barry Mawn, Robert S. Mueller III, Kenneth Maxwell, Pasquale D’Amuro,
Mary Galligan, Louis J. Freeh, PENTTBOM, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: 9/11 Investigations, FBI 9/11 Investigation

(September 11-27, 2001): FBI Leads Examination of Flight 93   

Crash Scene; Supposedly Recovers 95 Percent of Plane
The first FBI agents arrive at the Flight 93 crash scene soon after it
goes down. [KASHURBA, 2002, PP. 60] Due to the criminal nature of the
Airphone crash, the FBI becomes lead authority for the investigation of the site.
from
Flight 93 Attempts are made to have the area declared a federal disaster, but
wreckage. these are unsuccessful. [DMORT NATIONAL NEWS, 1/2002] For about two
[Source:
National weeks, the FBI’s evidence recovery team of about 150 agents goes over
Museum the site with sifters, filtering evidence from the soil. It recovers about
of
American
510 pounds of human remains. [LONGMAN, 2002, PP. 259; AGE (MELBOURNE),
History] 9/9/2002] Despite the lack of wreckage reported by those first at the
crash scene (see (After 10:03 a.m.) September 11, 2001), the FBI
claims that it recovers 95 percent of the plane. The largest piece found, it says,
is a seven-foot-long piece of the fuselage skin, including four windows. With the
exception of the two black boxes, all wreckage is passed on to United Airlines.
Asked what United will do with this, a spokeswoman says, “I don’t think a
decision has been made… but we’re not commenting.” [CNN, 9/24/2001; PITTSBURGH
POST-GAZETTE, 9/25/2001] While conducting its investigation of the crash site, the
FBI overrules a plan to carefully map the area and mark the positions of debris
so as to determine exactly how Flight 93 crashed, claiming this would be too
time-consuming (see September 16, 2001). [LONGMAN, 2002, PP. 262] After it

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completes its work, the site becomes the responsibility of the county coroner,
who continues the search for remains. [LONGMAN, 2002, PP. 258-259]
Entity Tags: United Airlines, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations

September 12, 2001: FBI Seizes Records From Flight School   

Attended by Hijackers
Around 2:30 a.m., the FBI arrives at Huffman Aviation flight school in Venice,
Florida, inquiring about suspected hijackers Mohamed Atta and Marwan
Alshehhi, who attended the school (see July 6-December 19, 2000). Huffman
Aviation has around 200 students, about half of them foreigners. The FBI takes
away all its records on former students, including photocopies of Atta and
Alshehhi’s passports, as well as two computers. [CHARLOTTE SUN, 9/12/2001; NEW
YORK TIMES, 9/13/2001; US CONGRESS, 3/19/2002] Students at another Florida flight
school say the FBI arrived at their school within hours of the attacks (see
September 11, 2001).
Entity Tags: Huffman Aviation, Mohamed Atta, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Marwan
Alshehhi
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations

September 12, 2001: Aide Says Bin Laden Denies Role in 9/11   
Attacks
A close aide to Osama bin Laden reports that bin Laden denies any role in the
previous day’s attacks on the United States, but has praised those responsible
for them. [ASSOCIATED PRESS, 9/12/2001] The aide, one of bin Laden’s senior
lieutenants, speaks by satellite telephone with Palestinian journalist Jamal
Ismail, who is the Islamabad bureau chief of Abu Dhabi Television. [ASSOCIATED
PRESS, 9/12/2001; DAILY TELEGRAPH, 9/13/2001] Ismail has long-standing ties with bin
Laden and has conducted several interviews with him over the last few years.
[ASSOCIATED PRESS, 9/13/2001] The aide, who does not want to be publicly named,
calls Ismail early in the day from a hideout somewhere in Afghanistan. He
quotes bin Laden as calling the attacks on the US “punishment from almighty
Allah” for America’s attempt to “control the entire world by force.” He tells
Ismail, “Osama bin Laden thanked Almighty Allah and bowed before him when
he heard this news [of the attacks].” But, the aide says, bin Laden has stated, “I
have no information about the attackers or their aims and I don’t have any links
with them.” [ASSOCIATED PRESS, 9/12/2001; DAILY TELEGRAPH, 9/13/2001; REUTERS,
9/13/2001; BBC, 9/14/2001]
Entity Tags: Jamal Ismail, Osama bin Laden
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: Osama Bin Laden, Alleged Al-Qaeda Media Statements, 9/11
Investigations, FBI 9/11 Investigation

September 12-October 29, 2001: Cars Belonging to 9/11   

Hijackers Recovered; Suspicious Powder Found in Car Rented to
Atta
On September 12, the FBI in Miami issues a national bulletin for law
enforcement agencies to be on the lookout for two cars connected with the
9/11 attacks. One is a red 1989 Pontiac registered to Mohamed Atta, presumably
the car he bought in July 2000 (see Early July 2000). The other is an Oldsmobile
Alero, leased from a company in Boca Raton, but this is located later in the day.
[WASHINGTON POST, 9/12/2001; WESH 2 (ORLANDO/DAYTONA), 9/12/2001; CNN, 9/13/2001]
About six weeks later, the Pontiac and another unspecified car that belonged to
Atta and Marwan Alshehhi are found at a used car dealership in Tamarac,
Florida, near Fort Lauderdale. The hijackers reportedly sold them a week before
9/11. [CNN, 10/26/2001; CNN, 10/28/2001; MIAMI HERALD, 10/29/2001] Also around this
time, Brad Warrick, the owner of a Florida company that rented cars to Atta
(see August 6-September 9, 2001), reports finding about a teaspoon of an
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( )
unidentified white powder in the trunk of a Ford Escort used by Atta in the days
before the attacks. The FBI had impounded the car for two weeks after 9/11,
and it has not been used since. An FBI spokeswoman says it is unlikely that
agents would have missed a suspicious powder and suggests it could be
fingerprinting dust. [MIAMI HERALD, 10/29/2001; REUTERS, 10/29/2001; WASHINGTON POST,
10/30/2001]
Entity Tags: Brad Warrick, Mohamed Atta, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: Mohamed Atta, FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations

September 11-November 16, 2001: Pentagon Victims Taken to   

Dover Air Force for Mortuary Operations
Under the authority of the FBI, remains of 9/11 victims at the Pentagon are
taken to a temporary morgue in the Pentagon’s north parking lot, where they
are photographed, labeled, and then placed in refrigeration. [STARS AND STRIPES,
9/17/2001; US DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, 7/2002, PP. A-47  ;
They are then transported to Davison
QUARTERMASTER PROFESSIONAL BULLETIN, 3/2005]
Army Airfield at nearby Fort Belvoir, and from there to Dover Air Force Base,
Delaware, where there is a large mortuary created for use in wartime. FBI
agents accompany the remains at all points during transportation. [AMERICAN
FORCES PRESS SERVICE, 9/15/2001; PBS, 9/21/2001; SOLDIERS, 10/2001; US DEPARTMENT OF
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, 7/2002, PP. C-55 ] About 250 people, including 50
medical examiners and 50 members of the FBI’s ‘disaster team,’ work at the
mortuary to identify the remains. [STARS AND STRIPES, 9/17/2001] Remains are first
scanned for the presence of unexploded ordnance or metallic foreign bodies. FBI
experts then collect trace evidence to find any chemicals from explosives, and
also conduct fingerprint identifications. [PENTAGRAM, 11/30/2001] Other techniques
used include dental records and X-rays. Tissue samples are sent to an Armed
Forces laboratory in Rockville, Maryland, for DNA analysis. [PBS, 9/21/2001]
Identification is problematic because specimens are often unrecognizable body
parts, and are nearly always mixed with debris composed of aircraft and
building materials. [HARCKE, BIFANO, AND KOELLER, 4/2002] However, by the time
Dover staff formally end their identification effort, on November 16, they have
identified remains of 184 of the 189 people who died in the Pentagon or aboard
Flight 77, including the five hijackers (see November 21, 2001). [WASHINGTON POST,
11/21/2001]
Entity Tags: Pentagon, Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory, Fort Belvoir, Dover
Air Force Base, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations

September 11, 2001-Autum 2002: FBI’s Saudi Office Fails to   

Follow Up Thousands of 9/11 Leads; Unprocessed Documents Are
Destroyed
At the time of 9/11, the FBI’s Saudi Arabia office was comprised of only legal
attache Wilfred Rattigan and his assistant Gamal Abdel-Hafiz. Abdel-Hafiz, the
FBI’s only Muslim agent at the time, had been appointed to the position in
February 2001 despite a controversy with his FBI work back in the US (see Early
1999-March 21, 2000). Some fellow FBI agents accused him of refusing to
secretly record conversations with Muslim suspects. Time will report, “The FBI
sent reinforcements [to the Saudi Arabian office] within two weeks of 9/11, but
it appears that the bureau’s team never got on top of the thousands of leads
flowing in from the US and Saudi governments.… According to several former
employees of the US embassy in Riyadh, the FBI legal attache’s office housed
within the embassy was often in disarray during the months that followed 9/11.
When an FBI supervisor arrived [nearly a year after 9/11] to clean up the mess,
she found a mountain of paper and, for security reasons, ordered wholesale
shredding that resulted in the destruction of unprocessed documents relating to
the 9/11 investigations.” In June 2005, the Senate Judiciary Committee will
begin investigating allegations that the FBI’s Saudi office was “delinquent in
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pursuing thousands of leads” related to 9/11. Piles of time-sensitive leads still

had not been followed up when the supervisor arrives. The FBI will claim that
the thousands of shredded documents were duplicated elsewhere. But the
Judiciary Committee will assert some material is lost. One employee will claim
that some of the lost information “was leads, suspicious-activity material,
information on airline pilots.” Rattigan, who has converted to Islam, later will
sue the FBI for discrimination and will claim that the FBI refused to provide him
with adequate resources to cope with the workload after 9/11. [FRONTLINE,
10/16/2003; TIME, 6/27/2005]
Entity Tags: Gamal Abdel-Hafiz, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Wilfred Rattigan
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: Robert Wright and Vulgar Betrayal, Terrorism Financing, FBI 9/11
Investigation, 9/11 Investigations, Saudi Arabia

September 11-25, 2001: Resident Near Flight 93 Crash Site Put   

Under ‘House Arrest’
Roxanne Sullivan is out shopping when Flight 93 crashes just a quarter of a mile
from where she lives. Heading home, she is stopped by police and has to
convince them to allow her to her house. She is told she can only have two
hours there to pack her bags, and then must leave. Two hours later, the police
visit and say she can stay. But, according to Sullivan, they tell her she and her
husband “must check in and out each time we left. No one was allowed to visit
us, nor could we visit others in the area. The rules had been set and would
remain in force for two weeks. We could not go down to the site, even though
our property line is adjacent to the crash site property.” No explanation is
reported as to why they are placed under this “house arrest.” [MCCALL, 2002, PP.
39-40; DAILY TELEGRAPH, 3/28/2003; PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 7/4/2004]
Entity Tags: Roxanne Sullivan
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: 9/11 Investigations, FBI 9/11 Investigation

September 13-14, 2001: Men Arrested at New York Airports, but   

Soon Released after No Connections Found to 9/11 Attacks
On September 13, New York authorities take into custody ten people of Middle
Eastern descent at JFK International and La Guardia Airports,
reportedly fearing they intend to hijack aircraft and commit
another suicidal terrorist attack on a US target. This leads to all
three major New York-area airports—JFK, La Guardia, and
Newark—being abruptly shut down, just hours after they
reopened for the first time since the 9/11 attacks took place.
[ASSOCIATED PRESS, 9/14/2001; DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 9/14/2001; NEW
YORK TIMES, 9/14/2001; WASHINGTON POST, 9/14/2001]
Armed and Carrying False ID - According to the Washington
Post, the detained individuals are carrying knives and false
Barry Mawn.
[Source: identification. [WASHINGTON POST, 9/14/2001] Four of them are
Associated Press] reportedly arrested as they try to board a flight from JFK
Airport to Los Angeles, and a woman is held on suspicion of
assisting these four. Some of the four are reported as having pilots’ certificates
from Flight Safety International in Vero Beach, Florida, where some of the
alleged 9/11 hijackers are currently believed to have taken flying lessons. Later
on, the other five men are arrested at La Guardia Airport “under similar
circumstances.” [DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 9/14/2001] According to the New York
Times, “Law enforcement officials said one of those held was carrying a false
pilot’s identification.” Furthermore, several of the detained men “showed up at
the airport with tickets for flights canceled on Tuesday [September 11] and tried
to use them.” Investigators say they believe one of the men had been among a
group of passengers that behaved suspiciously and became aggressive after their
aircraft—United Airlines Flight 23—had its takeoff canceled on the morning of
9/11 (see (After 9:19 a.m.) September 11, 2001). New York Police Commissioner
Bernard Kerik says one of the men arrested at JFK Airport “attempted to clear
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security and he was stopped.” [NEW YORK TIMES, 9/14/2001]

Men Released, No Connections Found to 9/11 Attacks - However, the following
morning the FBI announces that none of the detainees had any connection to
the 9/11 attacks, and all but one of them have been released. Barry Mawn, the
head of the New York FBI office, says: “The reporting that has been going on all
night, I can definitively tell you, is inaccurate.… [W]e did talk to approximately
a dozen individuals. We have only one individual left who is still being
questioned by the task force. All other ten have been released.” [CNN, 9/14/2001;
PBS, 9/14/2001] Justice Department spokeswoman Mindy Tucker says that no
knives, box cutters, guns, or other weapons were found on the individuals.
[WASHINGTON POST, 9/15/2001] After talking to the directors of the FBI and CIA,
Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE) tells CNN that the detained men had “no
connection whatsoever to what happened at the World Trade towers or the
Pentagon, or this organizational network.” He explains: “One guy, an actual
pilot, got on the plane, coincidentally had his brother’s identification as well.
His brother happened to live in the apartment complex that was one in Boston
where some of [the alleged hijackers] had actually been.” Biden adds: “Ten
other people were going to a Boeing conference. They had stickers on their
bags.… The folks at the airport thought, hey, wait a minute, are they
impersonating crew? And they weren’t.” Biden says the one man who has not
yet been released “was a screwball who was acting out, you know, acting out
and saying and demanding.… Making problems, and they arrested him.” By 11:20
a.m. on September 14, the three New York-area airports are reopened.
[ASSOCIATED PRESS, 9/14/2001; CNN, 9/14/2001]
Entity Tags: John F. Kennedy International Airport, Federal Bureau of Investigation,
Bernard Kerik, Mindy Tucker, Newark International Airport, Joseph Biden, Barry Mawn,
La Guardia Airport
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations

(Between September 13 and September 29, 2001): Morticians   

Discover a Note in the Stomach of a Passenger from Flight 77
Morticians at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, find a secret note inside
the stomach of one of the Flight 77 passengers who died in the
Pentagon attack, which the passenger wrote and then ate shortly
before they died, but the morticians will later refuse to reveal what
the note says. [WASHINGTON POST, 3/4/2018; CBS NEWS, 3/5/2018] The incident
Brad
Meltzer. will only come to light around 2015, when bestselling thriller writer
[Source: Brad Meltzer is conducting research for his novel The Escape Artist,
Brad
Meltzer] which will be released in 2018.
Writer Will Learn about the Note during Research for a Novel - For his
research, Meltzer will visit the Dover Port Mortuary at Dover Air Force Base,
where the remains of the victims of the Pentagon attack were sent for
identification (see September 11-November 16, 2001). [CBS MIAMI, 3/5/2018; NEW
YORK TIMES, 3/16/2018] There, he will discuss the plot of his forthcoming novel with
a mortician. He will ask if there is any way a person could leave a hidden
message inside their body before they died. The mortician will answer that “if
you’re on a plane that’s going down, if you handwrite a note and eat it, the
human stomach has enough liquids to protect the note from burning” in the fire
that erupts when the plane crashes, Meltzer will later recall. The mortician will
then tell Meltzer that this “really happened” on 9/11.
Writer Will Be Told How the Secret Note Was Found - He will say that after the
remains of the victims of the Pentagon attack were brought to Dover Port
Mortuary, “When the morticians worked on one of the bodies, they found a note
inside.” Apparently, according to the mortician, “as the plane was going down,
one of the victims on Flight 77 actually ate a note, which was found by a Dover
mortician.” He will call the passenger’s note the “ultimate message in a bottle.”
He will refuse to tell Meltzer what it said, though. Meltzer will assume that the
note must have been written by someone in the military, since, he will
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comment, “Who else would know that the liquid in your belly could preserve a
piece of paper?” [WASHINGTON POST, 3/4/2018]
Pentagon Attack Victims' Remains Are Identified at Dover Air Base - The remains
of the victims of the Pentagon attack are flown to Dover Air Force Base after
9/11, with the first set arriving there on the afternoon of September 13, and
mortuary operations are fully underway by that evening. Over the next 16 days,
a team of forensic specialists, scientists, and support personnel from the Armed
Forces Institute of Pathology works at the Dover Port Mortuary to identify the
victims. The FBI has a liaison at the mortuary while the remains are being
identified, in case evidence is uncovered during the identification process.
[PENTAGRAM, 11/30/2001; ROSSOW, 2003, PP. 95; CONDON-RALL, 2011, PP. 75] The secret note
is presumably passed on to this liaison after being recovered from the victim’s
stomach.
Entity Tags: Brad Meltzer, Dover Air Force Base
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: 9/11 Investigations, FBI 9/11 Investigation

September 13, 2001: White House Announces Bin Laden-9/11   

Connection
The White House announces that there is “overwhelming evidence” that Bin
Laden is behind the attacks. [MSNBC, 9/13/2001]
Entity Tags: Osama bin Laden, Bush administration (43)
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations

September 13, 2001-Mid 2002: 9/11 Hijackers’ Associate   

Cooperates with FBI
Mohamed el-Atriss, who supplied some of the hijackers with fake IDs (see (July-
August 2001)), is visited by FBI agents and begins to
help them with their inquiries. [WASHINGTON POST,
2/5/2003; NEWARK STAR-LEDGER, 10/20/2003] El-Atriss turns
over his files to the FBI and, according to his lawyer,
promises to “keep his eyes and ears open” for other
Islamic militants. He tells the FBI he did not know the
hijackers’ intentions when he sold them the ID cards.
[BERGEN RECORD, 9/11/2006] He is interviewed extensively
by federal authorities over the next few months and
successfully passes a lie detector test confirming he did
not know they intended to hijack a plane. [NEWARK STAR-
Mohamed el-Atriss produced LEDGER, 10/20/2003] However, authorities plant an
fake ID cards for the 9/11 electronic surveillance device inside a printer he
hijackers. [Source:
Associated Press]
orders, to monitor who he is making documents for.
[BERGEN RECORD, 9/11/2006] El-Atriss’ usefulness suffers a
setback when a local sheriff raids his business and arrests him in 2002 (see July
31, 2002), apparently without the FBI’s approval (see July 31, 2002 and After).
Entity Tags: Federal Bureau of Investigation, US Attorney’s Office for the District of New
Jersey, Mohamed el-Atriss
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: Counterterrorism Action After 9/11, FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11
Investigations, Possible Hijacker Associates in US

September 13-December 19, 2001: Investigators Work to Identify   

Flight 93 Victims
Human remains from the Flight 93 crash site are moved to a temporary morgue
that has been set up at the Pennsylvania National Guard Armory, several miles
away in Friedens. High-tech mortuary equipment has been brought to the
armory in a tractor-trailer. [PENNSYLVANIA EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, 9/12/2001  ;
WTAE-TV, 9/13/2001] 75 to 100 specialists, including pathologists and fingerprint
experts, are involved in the attempt to identify the remains. Forensic
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anthropologist Dennis Dirkmaat says that because the remains have suffered
“extreme fragmentation,” most will need to be identified using DNA analysis.
[WASHINGTON POST, 9/14/2001] When remains cannot be identified at the temporary
morgue, samples are sent on to the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory
in Rockville, Maryland, where samples from the Pentagon crash are also being
analyzed (see September 11-November 16, 2001). [PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE,
9/25/2001; STARS AND STRIPES, 10/8/2001; KCRA, 12/20/2001] By December 19, the
remains of all 40 passengers and crew from Flight 93 have been identified, using
fingerprints, dental records, and DNA. Investigators have, by a process of
elimination, also been able to isolate genetic profiles of the four hijackers.
[PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 12/30/2001; DMORT NATIONAL NEWS, 1/2002; ASSOCIATED PRESS,
Searchers recovered about 510 pounds of human
2/26/2002; STRIPE, 9/20/2002]
remains at the crash scene, equaling about eight percent of the total
bodyweight on the plane. According to Somerset County Coroner Wallace Miller,
everything else was vaporized. [WASHINGTON POST, 5/12/2002; AGE (MELBOURNE),
9/9/2002; CANADIAN PRESS, 3/28/2004]
Entity Tags: Wallace Miller, Dennis Dirkmaat, Pennsylvania National Guard Armory,
Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations

September 13, 2001-September 14, 2001: 18 Hijackers Named,   

Mysterious Name and Then Hanjour’s Name Follows One Day
Later
On September 13, the FBI says
there were 18 hijackers, and
releases their names. Hani
Hanjour’s name is not on the
list. [CNN, 9/13/2001] On the
morning of the next day, CNN
announces on the air that “CNN
managed to grab a list of the
names of the 18 suspected
hijackers that is supposed to be
officially released by justice
sometime later today.” An
announcer reads the list, which
actually contains 19 names. It is
the same list as the day before,
except for one new name:
Mosear Caned. (Note that the
name is a very rough phonetic
spelling from a CNN transcript.)
[CNN, 9/14/2001] Later in the day,
the list is revised. Caned is gone
None of the manifests for the hijacked flights have ever and is replaced by Hani Hanjour.
been released, except for this partially obscured page
which appears in Terry McDermott’s 2005 book, Perfect It is never explained who Caned
Soldiers. McDermott has not explained how or where he is, how he got on the list, or
got this document. Names of the five hijackers are
highlighted. [Source: Terry McDermott] even how his name is correctly
spelled. No name even remotely
similar to his appears on any of the released manifests of the hijacked 9/11
flights. [CNN, 9/14/2001; ASSOCIATED PRESS, 9/14/2001] A few days later, it is reported
that Hanjour’s “name was not on the American Airlines manifest for [Flight 77]
because he may not have had a ticket.” [WASHINGTON POST, 9/16/2001]
Entity Tags: American Airlines, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: Hani Hanjour, Key Hijacker Events, FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11
Investigations

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September 12, 2001 and Shortly After: 9/11 Hijackers’ IDs Are   
Found in Pentagon Rubble
Two or three documents
belonging to the Flight 77
hijackers are found in the rubble
at the Pentagon. One is a
“Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Student
Identity Card” with Majed
Moqed’s name on it. Forensic
examination will later indicate
that the card may have been
fraudulent. [9/11 COMMISSION,
8/21/2004, PP. 44  ] Another is
Nawaf Alhazmi’s USA ID card. Majed Moqed’s identification card found in the rubble.
[9/11 COMMISSION, 8/21/2004, PP. 27, [Source: FBI]
42  ; US DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
The 9/11 Commission will
EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA, ALEXANDRIA DIVISION, 7/31/2006]
say that Salem Alhazmi’s USA ID is also found, although this will not be
mentioned at the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui, where an otherwise exhaustive list
of the hijackers’ ID found at the crash sites is submitted. [9/11 COMMISSION,
8/21/2004, PP. 27, 42  ; US DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA,
ALEXANDRIA DIVISION, 7/31/2006]In addition, the Commission will say that Salem
Alhazmi was unable to produce a photo ID when checking in for his flight on
9/11 (see 7:36 a.m. September 11, 2001), so it is unclear how the document
could have come to be at the Pentagon. Based on report from the Secret
Service, the 9/11 Commission will say these two documents appear genuine.
However, they may actually be fakes (see (July-August 2001)). [9/11 COMMISSION,
8/21/2004, PP. 27  ] There are at least a couple of other reported instances of
other similar paper-based objects surviving the same plane crash, as well as that
of Flight 93 in Pennsylvania (see After 10:06 a.m. September 11, 2001). [ATHENS
BANNER-HERALD, 9/10/2004]
Entity Tags: Nawaf Alhazmi, Salem Alhazmi, Pentagon, Majed Moqed
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations

September 12, 2001 and Shortly After: 9/11 Hijackers’ Effects   

Found at Flight 93 Crash Site
Several effects apparently belonging to
Flight 93 hijackers are recovered from
the crash site in Somerset County. They
are:
A Saudi Arabian ID card of Ahmed
Alnami; [US DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN
DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA, ALEXANDRIA DIVISION,
7/31/2006]
A Saudi Arabian Youth Hostel
A business card of Assem Jarrah, Ziad’s cousin.Association card of Ahmed Alnami; [US
[Source: FBI] DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF
VIRGINIA, ALEXANDRIA DIVISION, 7/31/2006]
Two passport sized photographs of Ahmed Alnami; [US DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA, ALEXANDRIA DIVISION, 7/31/2006; US DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA, ALEXANDRIA DIVISION, 7/31/2006]
A charred section of Ziad Jarrah’s passport; [US DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN
DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA, ALEXANDRIA DIVISION, 7/31/2006]
Saeed Alghamdi’s Saudi Arabian passport; [US DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN
DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA, ALEXANDRIA DIVISION, 7/31/2006]
A business card of Assem Jarrah, Ziad Jarrah’s second cousin (who allegedly
has been a spy for three governments (see September 16, 2002)). It has Ramzi
bin al-Shibh’s Hamburg address written on the back (see September 24, 2002);
[US DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA, ALEXANDRIA DIVISION, 3/7/2006; US

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DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA, ALEXANDRIA DIVISION, 7/31/2006]
Part of Ahmed Alnami’s Florida driving license; [US DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN
DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA, ALEXANDRIA DIVISION, 7/31/2006]
A red bandana (a passenger on Flight 93 described the hijackers as using red
bandanas, though this could have been someone else’s bandana (see (9:37 a.m.)
September 11, 2001). [US DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA,
ALEXANDRIA DIVISION, 7/31/2006]
Entity Tags: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Ahmed Alnami, Saeed Alghamdi, Ramzi bin
al-Shibh, Assem Jarrah, Ziad Jarrah
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations

September 14, 2001: Investigators Find Flight 77 Black Boxes,   

but Accounts Conflict over Details
At around 3:40 a.m., investigators at
the Pentagon recover the two “black
boxes” from Flight 77. [WASHINGTON TIMES,
9/14/2001] These boxes are the plane’s
flight data recorder and its cockpit
voice recorder. [BBC, 9/15/2001] Some
news reports claim they are found by
two Fairfax County firefighters, Carlton
Burkhammer and Brian Moravitz, as they
comb through debris near the impact
site. [WASHINGTON POST, 9/19/2001;
NEWSWEEK, 9/28/2001] But according to
Arlington County spokesman Dick
Bridges, members of the FBI’s evidence
Flight 77’s damaged cockpit voice recorder.
[Source: FBI]
response team find them. [PBS, 9/14/2001;
WASHINGTON POST, 9/14/2001] Authors
Patrick Creed and Rick Newman will later clarify that Burkhammer and Moravitz
find an object initially believed to be one of the black boxes, but closer
inspection reveals it to be just “a charred chunk of machinery.” Subsequently,
FBI photographer Jennifer Hill finds the cockpit voice recorder in a stack of
rubble while assisting searchers. Thirty minutes later, a National Transportation
Safety Board (NTSB) expert locates the flight data recorder in the same area.
[CREED AND NEWMAN, 2008, PP. 396-397 AND 400-402] But Allyn Kilsheimer, a structural
engineer who helps coordinate the emergency response at the Pentagon, later
claims he had “found the black box,” which, he says, he had “stepped on… by
accident.” [GW MAGAZINE, 3/2002; POPULAR MECHANICS, 3/2005] Washington FBI agent
Christopher Combs says, “Somebody almost threw [the black boxes] away
because they didn’t know what they looked like.” [DISASTER NEWS NETWORK,
10/30/2002]
Conflicting Accounts of Where Boxes Are Found - According to Dick Bridges, the
two recorders are discovered “right where the plane came into the building.”
[ASSOCIATED PRESS, 9/14/2001] But the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Pentagon
Building Performance Report, released in 2003, will claim that the flight data
recorder was found “nearly 300 ft into the structure.” [MLAKAR ET AL., 1/2003, PP.
40  ] In Creed and Newman’s account, the recorders are found in the Pentagon’s
middle C Ring, near the “punch-out” hole made by the impacting aircraft. [CREED
AND NEWMAN, 2008, PP. 400-402]
Boxes Taken Away for Analysis - The boxes are taken to the NTSB’s laboratory in
Washington, where data is extracted from the flight data recorder, but they are
reclaimed by the FBI later on in the morning. [WASHINGTON TIMES, 9/14/2001; CREED
AND NEWMAN, 2008, PP. 402] A flight data recorder tracks an airplane’s flight
movements for the last 25 hours, while the cockpit voice recorder contains radio
transmissions and sounds from the cockpit for the last 30 minutes of its flight.
Both are mounted in the tail of an aircraft and are encased in very strong
materials like titanium. According to American Airlines and United Airlines, the
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black boxes aboard Flight 77 and the other hijacked planes were modern solid-
state versions, which are more resistant to damage than older magnetic tape
recorders. [ASSOCIATED PRESS, 9/15/2001; BBC, 9/15/2001] FBI Director Robert Mueller
later says that Flight 77’s data recorder has provided altitude, speed, and other
information about the flight, but the voice recorder contained “nothing useful.”
[CBS NEWS, 2/25/2002] The 9/11 Commission will describe the cockpit voice
recorder as being “badly burned and not recoverable.” [9/11 COMMISSION, 7/24/2004,
PP. 456] According to CBS News, preliminary information shows that the cockpit
voice tape “appears to be blank or erased.” [CBS NEWS, 9/16/2001] The two black
boxes from Flight 93 are also recovered around this time (see September 13-14,
2001).
Entity Tags: Brian Moravitz, Carlton Burkhammer, Allyn Kilsheimer, Chris Combs,
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Jennifer Hill, RobertMoomo, Dick Bridges
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations

September 14, 2001: Officials Deny Flight 93 Shot Down   

Officials deny that Flight 93 was shot down, but propose the theory that the
hijackers had a bomb on board and blew up the plane. [PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW,
9/14/2001] Later in the month, it is reported that the “FBI has determined from
the on site investigation that no explosive was involved.” [ASSOCIATED PRESS,
9/25/2001]
Entity Tags: Federal Bureau of Investigation, North American Aerospace Defense
Command, RobertMoomo, Richard B. Myers
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: FBI 9/11 Investigation, Other 9/11 Investigations, 9/11 Investigations

September 14, 2001 and After: FBI Alerted to Suspicious   

Bookings on Flight 11
An employee of a company running an Internet-based airline reservation system
alerts the FBI to unusual reservations made on American Airlines Flight 11.
Seven individuals reserved seats in the early hours of September 11 through a
Pakistani travel agency, but did not show up for the flight. The reservation
records are anomalous in many respects. The reservations included four
individuals with the last name of “Cooper” and three with the last name of
“Norris,” but without a full first name, which is against company policy. The
records contain no credit card information or telephone numbers, which is also
against standard practice. In addition, the same passengers were also booked on
another flight, going from Los Angeles to St. Louis, with a schedule incompatible
with Flight 11’s. FBI investigators wonder if these “no show” reservations were
part of the 9/11 plot. One theory is that the suspected hijackers and/or
unknown associates purchased multiple tickets on the targeted flights in an
attempt to ensure the number of passengers aboard each flight remained
tactically manageable. A second theory is that the suspected hijackers
specifically chose Flights 11 and 77 because they knew their passenger loads
were typically low. But after inquiring with American Airlines, investigators
establish that the average passenger loads for Flights 11 and 77 on Tuesdays
were 38 percent and 26 percent respectively, whereas the passenger loads for
Flights 11 and 77 on 9/11 were higher than normal, at 53 percent and 38
percent respectively. It is unclear whether the seven “no shows” are ever
identified or if they and the travel agency are subsequently cleared of any
terrorist connection. [FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, 2002] The FBI will also
investigate no shows on the two United Airlines flights targeted on 9/11,
without uncovering anything suspicious. [FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, 2002;
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, 2002]
Entity Tags: Federal Bureau of Investigation
Category Tags: FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations

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September 15-17, 2001: Media Reports Suggest Some Hijackers   

Received US Military Training
A series of articles suggests that at least six of the 9/11 hijackers trained at US
military bases. [NEW YORK TIMES, 9/15/2001; NEWSWEEK, 9/15/2001; WASHINGTON POST,
9/16/2001]
Three of the alleged hijackers—Ahmed Alnami, Ahmed Alghamdi, and Saeed
Alghamdi—are revealed as having listed the Naval Air Station in Pensacola,
Florida, as their permanent address on their driver’s licenses and car
registrations, between 1996 and 1998. According to military records, the three
used 10 Radford Boulevard as their address. This is a base roadway where
residences for foreign-military flight trainees are located. Hamza Alghamdi was
also connected to the Pensacola base (see 1996-August 2000). [NEWSWEEK,
9/15/2001; WASHINGTON POST, 9/16/2001; PENSACOLA NEWS JOURNAL, 9/17/2001]
Air Force spokesman Colonel Ken McClellan states that Saeed Alghamdi also
attended the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California. The
Washington Post and Time magazine say he graduated from the Defense
Language Institute at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. (It is
unclear whether Alghamdi therefore attended both Defense Language Institutes,
or if this is simply a reporting error.) [WASHINGTON POST, 9/16/2001; GANNETT NEWS
SERVICE, 9/17/2001; TIME, 9/24/2001]
According to a high-ranking Pentagon official, another alleged hijacker was a
former Saudi Air Force pilot who may have received training in strategy and
tactics at the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery,
Alabama. [LOS ANGELES TIMES, 9/15/2001; NEWSWEEK, 9/15/2001]
A further hijacker—also said to be a former Saudi Air Force pilot—may have
been given language instruction at Lackland Air Force Base. [LOS ANGELES TIMES,
9/15/2001; NEWSWEEK, 9/15/2001]
A man called Abdulaziz Alomari (the same name as one of the suspected Flight
11 hijackers) attended Brooks Air Force Base Aerospace Medical School in San
Antonio, Texas. [WASHINGTON POST, 9/16/2001; GANNETT NEWS SERVICE, 9/17/2001]
Ken McClellan says a man with the name Mohamed Atta once attended the US
International Officers School at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama (see 1998).
[WASHINGTON POST, 9/16/2001; GANNETT NEWS SERVICE, 9/17/2001]
According to Newsweek, it is not unusual for foreign nationals to train at US
military facilities. A former Navy pilot tells the magazine that during his years at
the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, “we always, always, always trained other
countries’ pilots. When I was there two decades ago, it was Iranians. The shah
was in power. Whoever the country du jour is, that’s whose pilots we train.”
Newsweek adds that the “US has a long-standing agreement with Saudi Arabia…
to train pilots for its National Guard.” [NEWSWEEK, 9/15/2001] The media stops
looking into the hijackers’ possible US military connections after the Air Force
makes a less than definitive statement, saying, “Some of the FBI suspects had
names similar to those used by foreign alumni of US military courses. However
discrepancies in their biographical data, such as birth dates 20 years off,
indicate we are probably not talking about the same people.” [WASHINGTON POST,
9/16/2001]
Entity Tags: Mohamed Atta, Hamza Alghamdi, Ken McClellan, Ahmed Alnami, Abdulaziz
Alomari, Saeed Alghamdi, Ahmed Alghamdi, US Department of the Air Force
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations

September 16, 2001: Usual Investigative Procedures Not   

Followed in Examining Flight 93 Wreckage
A report suggests the crash site of Flight 93 is being searched and recorded in 60
square-foot grids. [NEWS JOURNAL (WILMINGTON, DE), 9/16/2001] This approach is
preferred by Wallace Miller, the local coroner, and Dennis Dirkmaat, a forensic
anthropologist involved in searching the crash site. According to journalist and
author Jere Longman, “The distribution patterns developed from such precise
marking of airplane parts, remains and personal effects might have told them
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such things as exactly how the airplane struck the ground. Theoretically, by
associating the location of particular remains with the location of parts of the
airplane, they may have also gained some clues about which passengers had
rushed the cockpit.” However, almost a year later Longman reports that this
approach was not followed: “The FBI overruled them, instead dividing the site
into five large sectors. It would be too time-consuming to mark tight grids, and
would serve no real investigative purpose, the bureau decided. There was no
mystery to solve about the crash. Everybody knew what happened to the
plane.” [LONGMAN, 2002, PP. 262] While the FBI claims there is no mystery, some
news articles suggest the plane was shot down. (For example, [PHILADELPHIA DAILY
NEWS, 11/15/2001; INDEPENDENT, 8/13/2002] ) In addition, at the time of this decision,
investigators are still considering the possibility that a bomb might have
destroyed the plane (see September 14, 2001). Unlike every other major
airplane crash in modern history, no National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
investigation is being conducted into the crash of Flight 93 (see After September
11, 2001). [LAPPE AND MARSHALL, 2004, PP. 40-41]
Entity Tags: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Wallace Miller, Dennis Dirkmaat
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: Other 9/11 Investigations, FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations

September 16-23, 2001: Media Displays Confusion over Hijacker   

Identities
Reports appear in many newspapers suggesting that
some of the people the US initially says were 9/11
hijackers are actually still alive and that the actual
hijackers may have used stolen identities:
No media outlet has claimed that Hamza Alghamdi is
still alive, but his family says the FBI photo “has no
resemblance to him at all.” [ARAB NEWS, 9/22/2001;
WASHINGTON POST, 9/25/2001]
CNN shows a picture of a Saudi pilot called Saeed
Alghamdi and claims it is the hijacker of the same
name. However, the pilot is alive and working in
An oil worker named Salem Tunisia. The FBI listed the hijacker’s possible residence
Alhazmi claimed the media
was using a picture of him as Delray Beach, Florida, where the pilot trained in
and saying it was that of the 1998, 1999, and 2000, which may be why CNN uses a
alleged hijacker of the same
name. [Source: Saudi photograph of the wrong person. The pilot returns to
Gazette] Saudi Arabia to avoid problems and CNN apologises for
the error. [FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, 9/14/2001; ARAB
NEWS, 9/18/2001; LOS ANGELES TIMES, 9/21/2001; DAILY TELEGRAPH, 9/23/2001; BBC, 9/23/2001]
A man named Salem Alhazmi claims he is the alleged hijacker of the same
name, but he works in a petrochemical plant and had his passport stolen three
years ago in Cairo. He says a picture being used in the media is of him. However,
he is a different age to the hijacker, 26 not 21, has a different middle name,
Ibrahim not Mohamed, and the photos appear to be of different people. In
addition, the FBI does not release official pictures of the hijackers until a week
after he makes this claim. The father of the other Salem Alhazmi says his son is
missing, as is Salem’s brother and fellow hijacker Nawaf Alhazmi. [WASHINGTON
POST, 9/20/2001; LOS ANGELES TIMES, 9/21/2001; GUARDIAN, 9/21/2001; DAILY TELEGRAPH,
9/23/2001; FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, 9/27/2001; SAUDI GAZETTE, 9/29/2002; 9/11
COMMISSION, 8/21/2004, PP. 191  ; US DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA,
ALEXANDRIA DIVISION, 7/31/2006]
A man named Ahmed Alnami is alive and working as an administrative
supervisor with Saudi Arabian Airlines in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. [LOS ANGELES TIMES,
9/21/2001] He has never lost his passport and finds it “very worrying” that his
identity appears to have been stolen. [DAILY TELEGRAPH, 9/23/2001] However, there
is another Ahmed Alnami who is 10 years younger and appears to be dead,
according to his father. [ABC NEWS, 3/15/2002] Ahmed Alnami’s family says his FBI
picture is correct. [WASHINGTON POST, 9/25/2001]
A man called Abdulrahman Alomari is alive and works as a pilot for Saudi
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Arabian Airlines. [NEW YORK TIMES, 9/16/2001; INDEPENDENT, 9/17/2001; BBC, 9/23/2001] He
was a neighbour of Adnan Bukhari and Amer Kamfar, who were both wrongly
suspected of involvement in the 9/11 attacks at the start of the investigation.
He moved out of his home in Vero Beach, Florida, shortly before the attacks.
[CNN, 9/14/2001] A man called Abdulaziz Alomari is an engineer with Saudi
Telecoms. [BBC, 9/23/2001] He claims that his passport was stolen in 1995 while he
was living in Denver, Colorado. [LOS ANGELES TIMES, 9/21/2001] He says: “They gave
my name and my date of birth, but I am not a suicide bomber. I am here. I am
alive.” [LONDON TIMES, 9/20/2001; DAILY TELEGRAPH, 9/23/2001] The FBI initially gave
two possible birthdates for Abdulaziz Alomari. One is apparently that of the
engineer, the other that of the alleged hijacker. [FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION,
9/14/2001; NEW YORKER, 5/27/2002; US DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA,
ALEXANDRIA DIVISION, 7/31/2006]
The Saudi government has claimed that Mohand Alshehri is alive and that he
was not in the US on 9/11, but no more details are known. [ASSOCIATED PRESS,
9/29/2001]
The brothers Waleed M. Alshehri and Wail Alshehri are alive. Their father is a
diplomat who has been stationed in the US and Mumbai (Bombay), India. A Saudi
spokesman says: “This is a respectable family. I know his sons and they’re both
alive.” [ARAB NEWS, 9/19/2001; LOS ANGELES TIMES, 9/21/2001] There is a second pair of
Saudi brothers named Wail and Waleed M. Alshehri who may have been the real
hijackers. Their father says they have been missing since December 2000. [ARAB
NEWS, 9/17/2001; ABC NEWS, 3/15/2002] The still-living Waleed M. Alshehri is a pilot
with Saudi Airlines, studying in Morocco. [LOS ANGELES TIMES, 9/21/2001; ASSOCIATED
PRESS, 9/22/2001] He acknowledges that he attended flight training school at
Dayton Beach in the United States. [BBC, 9/23/2001; DAILY TRUST (ABUJA), 9/24/2001]
He was interviewed by US officials in Morocco and cleared of all charges against
him (though apparently the FBI is still using his picture). [EMBRY RIDDLE
AERONAUTICAL UNIVERSITY, 9/21/2001] The still-living Waleed Alshehri is also
apparently a pilot. [LOS ANGELES TIMES, 9/21/2001] He claims he saw his picture on
CNN and recognized it from when he studied flying in Florida. But he also says
he has no brother named Wail. [AS-SHARQ AL-AWSAT (LONDON), 9/22/2001]
Mohamed Atta’s father says he spoke to his son on the phone on September 12,
2001. [NEW YORK TIMES, 9/19/2001; CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 9/20/2001]
On September 19, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation distributes a
“special alert” to its member banks asking for information about the attackers.
The list includes “Al-Midhar, Khalid. Alive.” The Justice Department later calls
this a “typo.” [ASSOCIATED PRESS, 9/20/2001; COX NEWS SERVICE, 10/21/2001] The BBC
says, “There are suggestions that another suspect, Khalid Almihdhar, may also
be alive.” [BBC, 9/23/2001] The Guardian says Almihdhar is believed to be alive,
but investigators are looking into three possibilities. Either his name was stolen
for a hijacker alias, or he allowed his name to be used so that US officials would
think he died, or he died in the crash. [GUARDIAN, 9/21/2001]
Majed Moqed was last seen by a friend in Saudi Arabia in 2000. This friend
claims the FBI picture does not look like Moqed. [ARAB NEWS, 9/22/2001]
The Official Account Evolves - The Saudi government insists that five of the
Saudis mentioned as 9/11 hijackers are still alive. [NEW YORK TIMES, 9/21/2001] On
September 20, FBI Director Robert Mueller says: “We have several others that
are still in question. The investigation is ongoing, and I am not certain as to
several of the others.” [NEWSDAY, 9/21/2001] On September 27, after all of the
revelations mentioned above are reported in the media, Mueller will state, “We
are fairly certain of a number of them.” [SOUTH FLORIDA SUN-SENTINEL, 9/28/2001] On
September 20, the London Times reports, “Five of the hijackers were using
stolen identities, and investigators are studying the possibility that the entire
suicide squad consisted of impostors.” [LONDON TIMES, 9/20/2001] The mainstream
media briefly doubts some of the hijackers’ identities. For instance, a story in
The Observer on September 23 puts the names of hijackers like Saeed Alghamdi
in quotation marks. [OBSERVER, 9/23/2001] However, the story will die down, and it
will hardly be noticed when Mueller states on November 2, 2001: “As I have
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indicated before, one of the initial responsibilities of that investigation was to

determine who the hijackers were. We at this point definitely know the 19
hijackers who were responsible for that catastrophe.” [OFFICE OF THE PRESS
SECRETARY, 11/2/2001] A law enforcement source, speaking on condition of
anonymity, will confirm that the hijackers’ names released in late September,
on the 28th, are the true identities of all 19 hijackers. The Associated Press
story quoting him will add that “the names were those listed on the planes’
passenger manifests and investigators were certain that those were the names
the hijackers used when they entered the United States.” But the Saudi
Institute, an independent human rights watchdog group that researches the
hijackers’ identities, will maintain that Abdulaziz Alomari used someone else’s
passport. [ASSOCIATED PRESS, 11/3/2001; ASSOCIATED PRESS, 11/3/2002] In 2003, FBI
spokesman Bill Carter will say: “There has been no change in thought about the
identities of those who boarded those planes. It’s like saying my name is John
Smith. There are a lot of people with the name of John Smith, but they’re not
the same person.” When asked about Mueller’s comments, Carter will say, “He
might have told Congress [about the identity theft], but we have done a
thorough investigation and we are confident.” Carter will also comment that the
bureau identified the hijackers “[t]hrough extensive investigation,” and say,
“We checked the flight manifests, their whereabouts in this country, and we
interviewed witnesses who identified the hijackers.” [INSIGHT, 6/24/2003] The 9/11
Commission will later endorse the hijackers’ names published by the FBI around
this time. [9/11 COMMISSION, 7/24/2004]
Entity Tags: Ahmed Alnami, Hamza Alghamdi, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 9/11
Commission, Majed Moqed, Abdulaziz Alomari, Marwan Alshehhi, Khalid Almihdhar,
Mohand Alshehri, Mohamed Atta, William Carter, Waleed Alshehri, Wail Alshehri,
Robert S. Mueller III, Saeed Alghamdi, Salem Alhazmi
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: Alhazmi and Almihdhar, Mohamed Atta, Other 9/11 Hijackers, 9/11
Investigations, FBI 9/11 Investigation

September 16, 2001: Bin Laden Issues Statement Denying   

Involvement in 9/11 Attacks
A statement is issued to the Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) in which Osama bin Laden
denies responsibility for the 9/11 attacks. The statement, which is written in
Arabic, is provided by a political aide of bin Laden’s, and faxed from an
undisclosed location in Afghanistan to the pro-Taliban AIP. In it, bin Laden is
quoted as saying: “I am residing in Afghanistan. I have taken an oath of
allegiance [to Afghanistan Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar] which does
not allow me to do such things from Afghanistan. We have been blamed in the
past, but we were not involved.” [CBS NEWS, 9/16/2001; REUTERS, 9/16/2001; GUARDIAN,
9/17/2001] On this day, bin Laden issues a statement through the Arabic satellite
television channel Al Jazeera, in which he also denies responsibility for the 9/11
attacks (see September 16, 2001). [CNN, 9/17/2001]
Entity Tags: Afghan Islamic Press, Osama bin Laden
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: Osama Bin Laden, Alleged Al-Qaeda Media Statements, 9/11
Investigations, FBI 9/11 Investigation

September 17, 2001: Knife Found at Flight 93 Crash Scene   

A confidential FBI bulletin states a “badly damaged” commercially
manufactured cigarette lighter with a concealed knife blade has been recovered
at the Flight 93 crash scene. The knife was about two and three-fourths inches
long, with a knife blade of about two and a half inches. [LOS ANGELES TIMES,
9/18/2001] A 9/11 Commission staff report in 2004 will also mention this knife.
[9/11 COMMISSION, 8/26/2004, PP. 104]
Entity Tags: Federal Bureau of Investigation
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations

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September 18, 2001: Investigators Reported to Have Detected a   

Signal from One of the Crashed Planes’ Black Boxes at Ground
Zero
Investigators searching the debris of the collapsed World Trade Center
towers are reported to have detected a signal from one of the black
boxes from the planes that crashed into the WTC on September 11,
Logo of although government officials will later say that these two planes’
the New black boxes were never found. [NEW YORK STATE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
York
State OFFICE, 9/18/2001  ; PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 10/28/2004] The two “black
Emergencyboxes” carried by all commercial aircraft—the cockpit voice recorder
Management
Office. and the flight data recorder—can provide valuable information about
[Source: why a plane crashed. [CBS NEWS, 2/25/2002; PBS, 2/17/2004] A report
New York published today by the New York State Emergency Management Office
State
Emergencystates that “[i]nvestigators have identified the signal from one of the
Managementblack boxes in the WTC debris.” [NEW YORK STATE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
Office]
OFFICE, 9/18/2001  ] Furthermore, a team from the Army’s
Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM) arrived at Ground Zero on
September 13 “and scoped the area using classified signal equipment,”
according to Federal Computer Week magazine, and according to Toni Quiroz,
chief of the computer networking branch at CECOM, “The team managed to get
some signals that could have emanated from the black boxes.” Quiroz will add,
however, that “it was never determined if they were the recorders.” [FEDERAL
COMPUTER WEEK, 9/16/2002] But a report published by the New York City Office of
Emergency Management on September 25 will state that the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) has been “[u]nable to detect any ‘pinging’ from either
‘black box’” at Ground Zero. [NEW YORK CITY OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT,
9/25/2001  ] A firefighter and a volunteer who are involved in the recovery effort
at Ground Zero will say they helped federal agents find three of the four black
boxes in the WTC debris (see October 2001). [SWANSON, 2003, PP. 108; PHILADELPHIA
DAILY NEWS, 10/28/2004] But the 9/11 Commission Report will state that the black
boxes from the planes that crashed into the WTC “were not found” and the FBI
will, in 2004, make the same claim. [9/11 COMMISSION, 7/24/2004, PP. 456; PHILADELPHIA
DAILY NEWS, 10/28/2004]
Entity Tags: Toni Quiroz, Federal Aviation Administration, Army’s Communications-
Electronics Command
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: 9/11 Investigations, FBI 9/11 Investigation, Other 9/11 Investigations

September 18, 2001: 9/11 Grand Jury Convenes, Then   

Disappears
It is reported that a federal grand jury has been convened in White Plains, New
York, to investigate the 9/11 attacks. The grand jury, said to have begun
meeting a few days earlier, will be able to issue subpoenas. New York City Police
Commissioner Bernard Kerik says it won’t be the only 9/11-related grand jury:
“You’re going to see things like the grand jury in White Plains. You’re going to
see grand juries around the country, perhaps, looking into matters pertaining to
this investigation.” White Plains is part of the federal court system’s Southern
District of New York, which has historically led all investigations related to bin
Laden. [ASSOCIATED PRESS, 9/18/2001] On October 22, 2001, the Wall Street Journal
will report, “The federal grand jury investigating the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks is
casting a wide net, seeking information from witnesses about their contacts
with the 19 hijackers as well as other suspected terrorists,” and it will detail
some of the witnesses appearing before the grand jury. [WALL STREET JOURNAL,
10/22/2001] However, thorough searches of the Lexis-Nexus database show no
further mention of this grand jury, or any other 9/11-related grand juries. In
early October 2001, the Justice Department will take over all 9/11 related
prosecutions (see October 11, 2001).
Entity Tags: Bernard Kerik, White Plains federal grand jury, Osama bin Laden
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline

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Category Tags: FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations, 9/11 Related Criminal
Proceedings

September 19, 2001: Atta’s Father Claims Son Was Framed   

Mohamed Atta’s father Mohamed al-Amir Awad al-Sayed
Atta holds a press conference in Cairo and makes a
number of surprising claims. He believes that the
Mossad, Israel’s spy agency, did the 9/11 attacks, and
stole his son’s identity. Al-Amir claims that his son Atta
was a mama’s boy prone to airsickness, a dedicated
architecture student who rarely mentioned politics,
and a victim of an intricate framing. He says that Atta
spoke to him on the phone on September 12 about
“normal things,” one day after he was supposed to be
dead; but a previous article reports that “he had not
Mohamed al-Amir Awad al- heard from his son since the attack, but was confident
Sayed Atta. [Source: Family
photo] he had nothing to do with the carnage.” Atta called his
family about once a month, yet never told them he was
in the US, continuing to say he was studying in Germany. Atta’s family never saw
him after 1999, and Atta canceled a trip to visit them in late 2000. His father
even shows a picture of his son, claiming he looks similar but not the same as
the terrorist Atta. [NEW YORK TIMES, 9/19/2001; ARAB NEWS, 9/19/2001; CHICAGO TRIBUNE,
9/20/2001; NEWSWEEK, 9/24/2001] Atta’s father claims that “he has recently received
a very loving letter from his son, in which the young man wrote that he would
come to Egypt to get married.” [BBC, 9/18/2001] Concerning the flying skills of this
son, he asks, “Did he ever learn to fly? Never. He never even had a kite.”
Moreover, “He was afraid of flying.” [NEW YORK TIMES, 9/19/2001; NEWSWEEK,
9/24/2001] He also says that the man pictured in published photos from an airport
surveillance camera had a heavier build than his son (see (Between 5:45 a.m.
and 5:53 a.m.) September 11, 2001). [CAIRO TIMES, 9/20/2001] A year later, he still
believes his son is alive. He again reiterates this statement at the third
anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. [GUARDIAN, 9/2/2002; ASSOCIATED PRESS, 9/11/2004]
But, fours years later, he makes a statement (see July 19, 2005) which can be
viewed as a tacit acceptance that his son was involved. [CNN, 7/20/2005]
Entity Tags: Mohamed el-Amir, Mohamed Atta, Israel Institute for Intelligence and
Special Tasks (Mossad)
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: Mohamed Atta, 9/11 Investigations, FBI 9/11 Investigation

September 19, 2001 and After: Media Reports Suggest There   

Were Plans to Hijack Additional Flights on 9/11
The FBI claims on this day that there were six hijacking teams on the morning of
9/11. [NEW YORK TIMES, 9/19/2001; GUARDIAN, 10/13/2001] A different report claims
investigators are privately saying eight. [INDEPENDENT, 9/25/2001] However, the
reports below suggest there may have been as many as nine aborted flights,
leading to a potential total of 13 hijackings:
Knives of the same type used in the successful hijackings were found taped to
the backs of fold-down trays on a Continental Airlines flight from Newark.
[GUARDIAN, 9/19/2001]
The FBI is investigating American Airlines Flight 43, which was scheduled to
leave Boston about 8:10 a.m. bound for Los Angeles but was canceled minutes
before takeoff due to a mechanical problem. [BBC, 9/18/2001; CHICAGO TRIBUNE,
9/18/2001; GUARDIAN, 9/19/2001] Another version claims the flight left from Newark
and made it as far as Cincinnati before being grounded in the nationwide air
ban. [NEW YORK TIMES, 9/19/2001]
Knives and box cutters were found on two separate canceled Delta Airlines
planes later that day, one leaving Atlanta for Brussels and the other leaving from
Boston. [TIME, 9/22/2001; INDEPENDENT, 9/25/2001]

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On September 14, two knives were found on an Air Canada flight that would
have flown to New York on 9/11 if not for the air ban. [CNN, 10/15/2001]
Two men arrested on 9/11 may have lost their nerve on American Airlines
Flight 1729 from Newark to San Antonio via Dallas that was scheduled to depart
at 8:50 a.m., and was later forced to land in St. Louis. Alternately, they may
have been planning an attack for September 15, 2001. Their names are
Mohammed Azmath and Ayub Ali Khan, whose real name according to later
reports is Syed Gul Mohammad Shah. [NEW YORK TIMES, 9/19/2001]
There may have been an attempt to hijack United Airlines Flight 23 flying from
JFK Airport, New York to Los Angeles around 9:00 a.m. Shortly after 9:00 a.m.,
United Airlines flight dispatcher Ed Ballinger sent out a warning about the first
WTC crash to the flights he was handling (see 9:19 a.m. September 11, 2001).
Because of this warning, the crew of Flight 23 told the passengers it had a
mechanical problem and immediately returned to the gate. Ballinger was later
told by authorities that six men initially wouldn’t get off the plane. When the
men finally disembarked, they disappeared into the crowd and never returned.
Later, authorities checked their luggage and found copies of the Koran and al-
Qaeda instruction sheets. [ASSOCIATED PRESS, 9/14/2001; CHICAGO DAILY HERALD,
4/14/2004] In mid-2002, a NORAD deputy commander says “we don’t know for
sure” if Flight 23 was to have been hijacked. [GLOBE AND MAIL, 6/13/2002]
According to anonymous FAA officials, a plane bound for Chicago, home of the
Sears Tower, could have been another target for hijacking. The plane landed
unexpectedly at the Cleveland airport after the FAA initiated a national ground
stop. Four Middle Eastern men had deplaned and left the airport before officials
could detain them for questioning. [FRENI, 2003, PP. 81]
A box cutter knife was found under a seat cushion on American Airlines Flight
160, a 767 that would have flown from San Diego to New York on the morning of
9/11 but for the air ban. [CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 9/23/2001]
The FBI is said to be seeking a number of passengers who failed to board the
same, rescheduled flights when the grounding order on commercial planes in the
US was lifted. [BBC, 9/18/2001] The Independent points out suspicions have been
fueled “that staff at US airports may have played an active role in the
conspiracy and helped the hijackers to circumvent airport security.” They also
note, “It is possible that at least some of the flights that have come under
scrutiny were used as decoys, or as fallback targets.” [INDEPENDENT, 9/25/2001]
Entity Tags: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Mohammed Azmath, Syed Gul Mohammad
Shah
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations, Possible Hijacker Associates
in US

Late-September 2001-August 2004: Reports of Hijackers’ US   

Spending and Bank Accounts Change over Time
A few weeks after the attacks, US investigators say the hijackers appeared to
have spent about $500,000 while in the US. An official says, “This was not a low-
budget operation. There is quite a bit of money coming in, and they are
spending quite a bit of money.” [WASHINGTON POST, 9/29/2001; GUARDIAN, 10/1/2001;
WASHINGTON POST, 10/7/2001] In a detailed analysis published in the summer of
2002, the FBI will again report that the hijackers had access to a total of
$500,000 to $600,000, of which $325,000 flowed through their SunTrust
accounts. [NEW YORK TIMES, 7/10/2002; CNN, 7/10/2002 SOURCES: DENNIS LORMEL] The same
figure is provided by John S. Pistole, FBI Assistant Director, Counterterrorism
Division, when he testifies before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing,
and Urban Affairs. “[T]he 9/11 hijackers utilized slightly over $300,000 through
formal banking channels to facilitate their time in the US. We assess they used
another $200-300,000 in cash to pay for living expenses.” [9/11 COMMISSION,
8/21/2004, PP. 133  ] However, officials later back away from this figure and in
August 2004 the 9/11 Commission says that the hijackers’ spending in the US
was only “more than $270,000.” [9/11 COMMISSION, 8/21/2004, PP. 143  ] In addition,
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the number of bank accounts the hijackers are said to have opened varies.
Shortly after the attacks, investigators believe they had about a dozen accounts
at US banks. In July 2002, Dennis Lormel, chief of the FBI unit investigating the
money behind the attacks, tells the New York Times they had 35 accounts,
including 14 with the SunTrust Bank. [WASHINGTON POST, 10/7/2001; NEW YORK TIMES,
7/10/2002 SOURCES: DENNIS LORMEL] However, a year after the attacks, FBI Director
Robert Mueller tells the 9/11 Congressional Inquiry, “In total, the hijackers
opened 24 bank accounts at four different US banks.” [US CONGRESS, 9/26/2002] Not
only is Mueller’s assertion contradicted by Lormel’s previous statement, but it is
also demonstrably false, as the hijackers had at least 25 US bank accounts with
at least 6 different banks (SunTrust Bank, Hudson United Bank, Dime Savings
Bank, First National Bank of Florida, Bank of America, and First Union National
Bank) (see February 4, 2000, June 28-July 7, 2000, Early September 2000, May
1-July 18, 2001, and June 27-August 23, 2001). [US DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN
DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA; ALEXANDRIA DIVISION, 7/31/2006, PP. 19  ] The 9/11 Commission’s
Report and its Terrorist Financing Monograph focus on some of the transfers
made to the hijackers (see January 15, 2000-August 2001, June 13-September
25, 2000, June 29, 2000-September 18, 2000, and December 5, 2000), but ignore
others (see June 2000-August 2001, May 2001, Early August-August 22, 2001,
Summer 2001 and before, and Late August-Early September 2001). Neither the
report nor the monograph gives the total number of bank accounts the hijackers
opened. [9/11 COMMISSION, 7/24/2004; 9/11 COMMISSION, 8/21/2004  ] In addition, the
identities of the hijackers’ financiers reportedly change over time (see
September 24, 2001-December 26, 2002).
Entity Tags: Counterterrorism Division (FBI), 9/11 Commission, Federal Bureau of
Investigation, Robert S. Mueller III, 9/11 Congressional Inquiry, Dennis Lormel, John S.
Pistole
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: Possible 9/11 Hijacker Funding, 9/11 Investigations, 9/11 Commission,
9/11 Congressional Inquiry, FBI 9/11 Investigation, Terrorism Financing

September 21, 2001: Algerian Pilot Arrested in Britain for   

Possible 9/11 Role; All Charges Are Later Dismissed
Lotfi Raissi, an Algerian pilot living in Britain, is
arrested and accused of helping to train four of the
hijackers. An FBI source says, “We believe he is by
far the biggest find we have had so far. He is of
crucial importance to us.” [LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL,
9/29/2001] However, in April 2002, a judge dismisses
all charges against him, calling the charges
“tenuous.” US officials originally said, “They had
video of him with Hani Hanjour, who allegedly
piloted the plane that crashed into the Pentagon;
records of phone conversations between the two
men; evidence that they had flown a training plane
together; and evidence that Raissi had met several
Lofti Raissi. [Source: Amnesty
of the hijackers in Las Vegas. It turned out, the
International] British court found, that the video showed Raissi
with his cousin, not Mr. Hanjour, that Raissi had
mistakenly filled in his air training logbook and had never flown with Hanjour,
and that Raissi and the hijackers were not in Las Vegas at the same time. The US
authorities never presented any phone records showing conversations between
Raissi and Hanjour. It appears that in this case the US authorities handed over
all the information they had…” [CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR, 3/27/2002; GUARDIAN,
9/26/2005] Raissi later says he will sue the British and American governments
unless he is given a “widely publicized apology” for his months in prison and the
assumption of “guilty until proven innocent.” [REUTERS, 8/14/2002] In September
2003, he does sue both governments for $20 million. He also wins a undisclosed
sum from the British tabloid Mail on Sunday for printing false charges against
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him. [GUARDIAN, 9/16/2003; BBC, 10/7/2003; ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 10/14/2003] Declassified

documents will later reveal that the British arrested Raissi only days after the
FBI requested that the British discretely monitor and investigate him, not arrest
him. [GUARDIAN, 9/26/2005] Raissi perfectly matches the description of an
individual mentioned in FBI agent Ken Williams’ “Phoenix memo” (see July 10,
2001), whom the FBI had attempted to investigate in May 2001 (see 1997-July
2001).
Entity Tags: Lotfi Raissi, Hani Hanjour, United Kingdom, Pentagon, Federal Bureau of
Investigation, United States
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: Hani Hanjour, Londonistan - UK Counterterrorism, Alleged Hijackers'
Flight Training, FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations, Possible Hijacker Associates
in US

September 24, 2001: Would-Be Hijackers Reportedly Stole Pilot   

Uniforms, Sat in Cockpits
Fox News claims that up to 12 other Middle Eastern men dressed in pilot
uniforms were on other flights scheduled to take off on the morning of 9/11.
Hijackings on all these flights were foiled when an unexpected ban on new
flights prevented them from taking off. An FBI source says they had been invited
into the cockpits under the impression that they were guest pilots from other
airlines. It is standard practice to give guest pilots the spare seat in the cockpit
known as the jump seat. [FOX NEWS, 9/24/2001] Flight 93’s cockpit voice recording
has apparently shown that “one of the four hijackers had been invited into the
cockpit area before the flight took off.” Many pilot uniforms had gone missing
prior to 9/11. It is claimed that Mohamed Atta was given a guided tour of
Boston’s Logan Airport the week before 9/11 when he turned up in a pilot
uniform saying he was with Saudi Airlines. [HERALD SUN (MELBOURNE), 9/25/2001]
Entity Tags: Federal Bureau of Investigation
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: Possible Hijacker Associates in US, 9/11 Investigations, FBI 9/11
Investigation

Before September 26, 2001: FBI Says It Will Be Some Time Before   
Those Responsible for 9/11 Will be Charged
FBI spokesman Rex Tomb says that it will take time for criminal proceedings to
commence against the people thought to be responsible for 9/11: “There’s going
to be a considerable amount of time before anyone associated with the attacks
is actually charged.” He continues, “To be charged with a crime, this means we
have found evidence to confirm our suspicions, and a prosecutor has said we will
pursue this case in court.” In mid-August 2007 Zacarias Moussaoui will be the
only person charged in connection with 9/11 in the US, being sentenced to life
in prison in spring 2006 (see May 3, 2006), but it is unclear if he was involved in
the 9/11 plot or a planned follow up plot (see January 30, 2003). Osama bin
Laden will not be charged in connection with his alleged participation (see June
6, 2006 and August 28, 2006). [WIRED NEWS, 9/27/2001]
Entity Tags: Rex Tomb, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations, 9/11 Related Criminal
Proceedings

September 26, 2001: Security Guard Linked to Hijackers Is   

Detained; Any 9/11 Role Unclear
Mohamed Abdi, a 44-year-old Somali immigrant whose phone number was found
in a car belonging to one the 9/11 hijackers, is detained without bail in
Alexandria, Va. On September 12, 2001, FBI investigators discovered a car
registered to 9/11 hijacker Nawaf Alhazmi at Dulles Airport (see September 11-
13, 2001). In the car, they found a Washington-area map with the name
“Mohumad” and a Virginia phone number belonging to Mohamed Abdi. At the

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court hearing, an FBI investigator says that Abdi has not explained the finding
and is suspected of being linked to the hijackers. FBI Special Agent Kevin W.
Ashby also testifies that an article on Ahmed Ressam was found in Abdi’s
clothing. Ressam was convicted of trying to bomb Los Angeles Airport in 2000
(see December 14, 1999). According to press reports, Abdi is not cooperating
with police. He came to the United States in 1993 as a refugee. He later brought
his wife and four children to the US and obtained US citizenship. Shortly after
his arrival, Abdi worked for Caterair, a food service company at Reagan National
Airport. At the time of his arrest, Abdi had been working as a low-paid security
guard for Burns Security for seven years. Burns does not provide airport security
services, however, a Burns subsidiary called Globe Aviation Services provides
screening services at several US airports, including the American Airlines
concourse at Boston’s Logan Airport, from which one of the hijacked flights took
off (see October 10, 2001). Abdi, who has had financial difficulties for some
time, is charged with check forgery. He is accused of forging his landlord’s
signature to obtain a government housing subsidy. No terrorism charges are
filed. [US DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA, 9/23/2001  ; WASHINGTON POST,
9/27/2001  ; HUMAN EVENTS, 10/15/2001; HUMAN EVENTS, 10/15/2001] In January 2002,
Abdi will receive a four-month sentence for forgery. Any link he may have had
with the hijackers will remain unclear. [WASHINGTON POST, 1/12/2002]
Entity Tags: Washington Dulles International Airport, Ronald Reagan Washington
National Airport, Nawaf Alhazmi, Logan International Airport, Mohamed Abdi, Globe
Aviation Services Corp., Federal Bureau of Investigation, Burns Security
Category Tags: FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations, Possible Hijacker Associates
in US

September 27, 2001: Photos of All 19 9/11 Hijackers Released   

for First Time
The photos of all 19 of the 9/11 hijackers are
released by the FBI for the first time. Some
photos have been released by the media
already; for instance, a photo of Mohammed
Atta became very well known a couple of
days after the 9/11 attacks. But this is the
first time all of the hijackers are seen. The
FBI also gives out some details about the
hijackers, but these details are scanty. For
instance, the only detail mentioned for
Ahmed Alhaznawi is, “Possibly lived in Delray
Beach, Florida.” Interestingly, one detail
mentioned for Khalid Almihdhar is, “May be
an assumed name; there are reports he is
still alive.” It also is noted that the identities
A newspaper front page announcing the of Waleed Alshehri, Wail Alshehri, Abdulaziz
release of the hijacker photos. [Source:
History Channel] Alomari, Mohand Alshehri, Salem Alhazmi,
and Saeed Alghamdi are in dispute, and some
of the information about them may be confused with other people with similar
names. [CNN, 9/27/2001]
Entity Tags: Ahmed Alnami, Salem Alhazmi, Satam Al Suqami, Wail Alshehri, Waleed
Alshehri, Ziad Jarrah, Abdulaziz Alomari, Ahmed Alhaznawi, Nawaf Alhazmi, Saeed
Alghamdi, Mohamed Atta, Fayez Ahmed Banihammad, Federal Bureau of Investigation,
Mohand Alshehri, Hamza Alghamdi, Khalid Almihdhar, Marwan Alshehhi, Ahmed
Alghamdi, Majed Moqed, Hani Hanjour
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: Alhazmi and Almihdhar, Marwan Alshehhi, Mohamed Atta, Hani Hanjour,
Ziad Jarrah, Other 9/11 Hijackers, 9/11 Investigations, FBI 9/11 Investigation

September 28, 2001: Text of Atta Note Is Made Public,   

Authenticity Is Disputed

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The text of a handwritten, five-page document found in Mohamed Atta’s luggage

is made public. [FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, 9/28/2001;
WASHINGTON POST, 9/28/2001; OBSERVER, 9/30/2001] The next
day, the London Independent will strongly question if the
note is genuine. It points out that the “note suggests an
almost Christian view of what the hijackers might have
felt,” and is filled with “weird” comments that Muslims
would never say, such as “the time of fun and waste is
gone.” If the note “is genuine, then the [hijackers]
believed in a very exclusive version of Islam—or were
surprisingly unfamiliar with their religion.” [INDEPENDENT,
The first page of a letter 9/29/2001] Another copy of the document was discovered
attributed to Mohamed in a vehicle parked by a Flight 77 hijacker at
Atta. [Source: Federal
Bureau of Investigation] Washington’s Dulles airport. A third copy of essentially
the same document was found in the wreckage of Flight
93. Therefore, the letter neatly ties most of the hijackers together. [CBS NEWS,
9/28/2001] The Guardian comments, “The finds are certainly very fortunate,
though some might think them a little too fortunate.” [GUARDIAN, 10/1/2001]
Entity Tags: Mohamed Atta, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: Mohamed Atta, FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations

September 29, 2001: No Video Cameras in Boston’s Logan   

Airport; Footage from Other Airports Remains Classified
It is reported that Boston’s Logan Airport has no cameras in its terminals, gate
areas, or concourses. It is possibly the only major airport in the US not to have
such cameras. The two other airports used by the hijackers to launch the 9/11
attacks had security cameras, but only some footage of the hijackers in the
Washington airport is leaked to the press in 2004. [BOSTON HERALD, 9/29/2001] It was
previously reported that FBI agents had “examined footage from dozens of
cameras at the three airports [including Logan] where the terrorists boarded the
aircraft.” [LOS ANGELES TIMES, 9/13/2001]
Entity Tags: Federal Bureau of Investigation
Category Tags: FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations

Late September 2001: FBI Confused about 9/11 Hijackers,   

Suspect They Left Deliberate Trail of Misleading Clues
Journalist Seymour Hersh will write in the New Yorker in late September 2001,
“After more than two weeks of around-the-clock investigation into the
September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the
American intelligence community remains confused, divided, and unsure about
how the terrorists operated, how many there were, and what they might do
next. It was that lack of solid information, government officials told me, that
was the key factor behind the Bush Administration’s decision last week not to
issue a promised white paper listing the evidence linking Osama bin Laden’s
organization to the attacks” (see September 23-24, 2001). An unnamed senior
official tells Hersh, “One day we’ll know, but at the moment we don’t know.”
Hersh further reports, “It is widely believed that the terrorists had a support
team, and the fact that the FBI has been unable to track down fellow-
conspirators who were left behind in the United States is seen as further
evidence of careful planning. ‘Look,’ one person familiar with the investigation
said. ‘If it were as simple and straightforward as a lucky one-off oddball
operation, then the seeds of confusion would not have been sown as they
were.’” The hijackers left a surprisingly obvious trail of clues, even regularly
paying for delivered pizzas using credit cards in their own name (see September
11-13, 2001). Hersh further reports, “Many of the investigators believe that
some of the initial clues that were uncovered about the terrorists’ identities and
preparations, such as flight manuals, were meant to be found. A former high-

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level intelligence official told me, ‘Whatever trail was left was left deliberately
—for the FBI to chase.’” [NEW YORKER, 10/8/2001] Many newspaper reports in late
September 2001 indicate doubt over the identities of many hijackers (see
September 16-23, 2001). The 9/11 Congressional Inquiry’s 2003 report will
strongly suggest that the hijackers at least had numerous accomplices in the US
(see July 24, 2003). But the 9/11 Commission’s 2004 report will downplay any
suggestions of US accomplices and will indicate no doubts about the hijackers’
identities. [9/11 COMMISSION, 7/24/2004, PP. 231, 238-9]
Entity Tags: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Seymour Hersh
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: FBI 9/11 Investigation, Key Hijacker Events, 9/11 Investigations

September 30-October 7, 2001: US Media Report Hijackers   

Received $100,000 from Pakistan
Several media outlets report that, in addition to other transactions, the
hijackers received $100,000 wired from Pakistan to two accounts of Mohamed
Atta in Florida (see also Summer 2001 and before and Early August 2001). [ABC
NEWS, 9/30/2001; CNN, 10/1/2001; FOX NEWS, 10/2/2001; ASSOCIATED PRESS, 10/2/2001] For
example, CNN says, “Suspected hijacker Mohamed Atta received wire transfers
via Pakistan and then distributed the cash via money orders bought here in
Florida. A senior law enforcement source tells CNN, the man sending the money
to Atta is believed to be Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh.” [CNN, 10/6/2001; CNN,
10/7/2001; CNN, 10/8/2001] The story will also be mentioned by Congressman John
LaFalce at a hearing before the House of Representatives’ Committee on
Financial Services. [US CONGRESS, 10/3/2001] However, Pakistan, a nuclear power,
has already become a key US ally in the war on terror (see September 13-15,
2001). ISI Director Mahmood Ahmed, who is found to have had several telephone
conversations with Saeed (see Summer 2000), is replaced (see October 7, 2001),
and the story soon disappears from view (see September 24, 2001-December 26,
2002).
Entity Tags: Saeed Sheikh, Mohamed Atta
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: Pakistan and the ISI, Saeed Sheikh, Mahmood Ahmed, FBI 9/11
Investigation, 9/11 Investigations, Possible 9/11 Hijacker Funding, Pakistani ISI Links to
9/11

October 2001: FBI Recovers Hijacker E-Mails   

Reports this month indicate that many hijacker e-mails have been recovered.
USA Today reports many unencrypted e-mails coordinating the 9/11 plans
written by the hijackers in Internet cafes have been recovered by investigators.
[USA TODAY, 10/1/2001] FBI sources say, “[H]undreds of e-mails linked to the
hijackers in English, Arabic and Urdu” have been recovered, with some
messages including “operational details” of the attack. [WASHINGTON POST,
10/4/2001] “A senior FBI official says investigators have obtained hundreds of e-
mails in English and Arabic, reflecting discussions of the planned September 11
hijackings.” [WALL STREET JOURNAL, 10/16/2001] However, in April 2002, FBI Director
Mueller says no documentation of the 9/11 plot has been found. By September
2002, the Chicago Tribune reports, “Of the hundreds, maybe thousands, of e-
mails sent and received by the hijackers from public Internet terminals, none is
known to have been recovered.” [CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 9/5/2002] The texts of some e-
mails sent by Mohamed Atta from Germany are published a few months later.
[CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 2/25/2003]
Entity Tags: Mohamed Atta, Robert S. Mueller III, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations

October 2001: Three of the Four Black Boxes from the WTC   
Crashes Allegedly Secretly Found

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Three of the four black boxes from Flight 11 and Flight 175 are found this
month, according to two men who work extensively in the wreckage of
the World Trade Center, but the public is not told. New York City
firefighter Nicholas DeMasi will mention the discovery of the black
boxes in a book published in 2003. He will claim to have driven federal
agents on an all-terrain vehicle during their search and state that they
A poster
to help found three of the four missing black boxes. The Philadelphia Daily
law News will report on the story in 2004 when another recovery worker,
enforcement
officers volunteer Mike Bellone, backs up DeMasi’s account and claims to have
locate seen one of the black boxes. Spokesmen for the FBI and the New York
the City Fire Department will deny the claims of these two workers.
missing
‘black [SWANSON, 2003, PP. 108; PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 10/28/2004] But in 2005,
boxes’ in CounterPunch will report: “A source at the National Transportation
the WTC
debris. Safety Board, the agency that has the task of deciphering the data
[Source: from the black boxes retrieved from crash sites—including those that
FBI /
Smithsonian
are being handled as crimes and fall under the jurisdiction of the FBI—
Institution]says the boxes were in fact recovered and were analyzed by the NTSB.
‘Off the record, we had the boxes,’ the source says. ‘You’d have to get
the official word from the FBI as to where they are, but we worked on them
here.’” An NTSB spokesperson will deny that the FBI ever gave the NTSB the
black boxes. [COUNTERPUNCH, 12/19/2005] On September 18, it was reported that
investigators had detected a signal from one of the black boxes in the debris at
Ground Zero (see September 18, 2001). [NEW YORK STATE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
OFFICE, 9/18/2001  ] But the 9/11 Commission Report will state that the black
boxes from Flight 11 and Flight 175 “were not found.” [9/11 COMMISSION, 7/24/2004,
PP. 456]
Entity Tags: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Mike Bellone, New York City Fire
Department, Nicholas DeMasi, RobertMoomo
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: 9/11 Investigations, FBI 9/11 Investigation, Other 9/11 Investigations

October 3, 2001: FBI Links Alleged Hijacker Associate Basnan to   

Bin Laden Family and Saudi Government
A classified FBI report on this date indicates that alleged hijacker associate
Osama Basnan has long-time links to both the bin Laden family and the Saudi
government. The report states that Basnan has “been determined to have
known Osama bin Laden’s family in Saudi Arabia and to have telephonic contact
with members of bin Laden’s family who are currently in the US.” It also states,
“The possibility of [Basnan] being affiliated with the Saudi Arabian Government
or the Saudi Arabian Intelligence Service is supported by [Basnan] listing his
employment in 1992 as the—.” Unfortunately, the rest of that sentence remains
redacted. The report further notes that the fact that in July 2001 Basnan moved
into the same San Diego apartment building where hijackers Nawaf Alhazmi,
Khalid Almihdhar, and hijacker associate Omar al-Bayoumi lived right after al-
Bayoumi moved away “could indicate he succeeded Omar al-Bayoumi and may
be undertaking activities on behalf of the Government of Saudi Arabia” (see
June 23-July 2001). The FBI report, which will be obtained by the website
Intelwire.com in 2008, is heavily redacted, and all mentions of Basnan’s name
appear to be redacted. However, one can sometimes determine when Basnan is
being referred to. For instance, the same paragraph that mentions his link to
the bin Laden family also says the same person with that link hosted a party for
Sheikh Omar Abdul-Rahman in 1992, and press reports have indicated that
person was Basnan (see October 17, 1992). [FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION,
10/3/2001  ]
Entity Tags: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Osama Basnan, Omar Abdul-Rahman, Omar
al-Bayoumi
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: Bayoumi and Basnan Saudi Connection, Saudi Arabia, Bin Laden Family,
FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations

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October 3, 2001: FBI List Mistakenly Posted on Internet Reveals   

Details of Hundreds of Al-Qaeda Suspects
A confidential list of people suspected of helping the al-Qaeda terrorist network
leaks out on the Internet. The list of 370 individuals was put together by the FBI
and European security agencies, and had been circulated to central banks and
government financial authorities cooperating in the fight against terrorism. The
22-page document is posted on the website of Finland’s Financial Supervision
Authority, RATA. [DAILY TELEGRAPH, 10/5/2001; UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL, 10/11/2001] It
is the most extensive list of its kind yet made public by authorities anywhere in
the world. [HELSINGIN SANOMAT, 10/5/2001] Some of its entries include only a name.
[UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL, 10/11/2001] But, in many cases, aliases, last known
addresses, dates of birth, and sometimes phone numbers are given. Many of the
addresses are in the United States—with Florida featuring extensively—or
Germany, particularly Hamburg. [HELSINGIN SANOMAT, 10/4/2001; DAILY TELEGRAPH,
10/5/2001] More than 300 of the names on the list came from US sources, and are
listed with US addresses or Social Security numbers. Out of the 370 individuals,
all of whom have Arab names, the FBI and other security authorities have
identified the nationalities of 163. Saudi Arabians form the largest group, with
59 being on the list. The FBI has been unable to identify the nationality of the
other 207 individuals. According to UPI: “With the exception of the two
Americans [on the list], all of those listed would have had to apply for American
visas in their home countries to enter the United States legally. Yet the
spreadsheet’s sparse information seemed to indicate that the FBI apparently had
been unable to locate the information that these applications normally would
contain.” At least 77 of those on the list lived near flight schools. Many of the
individuals have aliases, with some having up to 20. [UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL,
10/11/2001] The list includes all 19 of the alleged 9/11 hijackers, who are mostly
listed as “possibly deceased.” It also includes al-Qaeda conspirator Zacarias
Moussaoui. It will be removed from the RATA website within 24 hours, at the
recommendation of the Finnish data protection commissioner. The London Daily
Telegraph cautions, “Like any police intelligence file,” the list “is based on
hearsay and unverified leads, and should have been kept strictly confidential to
protect those falsely accused. It is far from clear whether the telephone
numbers or email addresses are reliable.” For example, “A random call to a
suspect in Vero Beach, Florida, was answered by the receptionist of a
commercial law firm, who angrily slammed down the receiver.” [RATA, 10/3/2001 
; DAILY TELEGRAPH, 10/5/2001; HELSINGIN SANOMAT, 10/5/2001]
Entity Tags: Federal Bureau of Investigation, RATA, Al-Qaeda
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations

October 9, 2001: FBI Agents Told to Curtail 9/11 Investigation   

and Focus on Preventing Future Attacks
It is reported that the FBI and Justice Department have ordered FBI agents
across the US to cut back on their investigation of the September 11 attacks, so
as to focus on preventing future, possibly imminent, attacks. According to the
New York Times, while law enforcement officials say the investigation of 9/11 is
continuing aggressively, “At the same time… efforts to thwart attacks have been
given a much higher priority.” Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director
Robert Mueller “have ordered agents to drop their investigation of the [9/11]
attacks or any other assignment any time they learn of a threat or lead that
might suggest a future attack.” Mueller believes his agents have “a broad
understanding of the events of September 11,” and now need “to concentrate
on intelligence suggesting that other terrorist attacks [are] likely.” The Times
quotes an unnamed law enforcement official: “The investigative staff has to be
made to understand that we’re not trying to solve a crime now. Our number one
goal is prevention.” [NEW YORK TIMES, 10/9/2001] At a news conference the previous
day, Ashcroft stated that—following the commencement of the US-led attacks on
Afghanistan—he had placed federal law enforcement on the highest level of
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alert. But he refused to say if he had received any specific new threats of
terrorist attacks. [US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, 10/8/2001] The New York Times also
reports that Ashcroft and Mueller have ordered FBI agents to end their
surveillance of some terrorist suspects and immediately take them into custody.
However, some agents have been opposed to this order because they believe
that “surveillance—if continued for days or weeks—might turn up critical
evidence to prove who orchestrated the attacks on the World Trade Center and
the Pentagon.” [NEW YORK TIMES, 10/9/2001] Justice Department communications
director Mindy Tucker responds to the New York Times article, saying it “is not
accurate,” and that the investigation into 9/11 “has not been curtailed, it is
ongoing.” [UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL, 10/9/2001]
Entity Tags: US Department of Justice, John Ashcroft, Mindy Tucker, Federal Bureau of
Investigation, Robert S. Mueller III
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations

October 10, 2001: Baggage Handling Company Cleared of   

Wrongdoing
It is reported that Globe Aviation Services Corp., in charge of the baggage
handlers for Flight 11 and all other American Airlines Flights at Boston’s Logan
Airport, have been cleared of any wrongdoing. Globe Aviation supervisors claim
that none of the employees working that day was in the US illegally. Supposedly,
no weapons were detected, but a baggage handler for Globe Aviation and
American Airlines has told the FBI that one of the hijackers—believed to be
either Wail or Waleed Alshehri—was carrying one wooden crutch under his arm
when he boarded Flight 11. Crutches are apparently routinely scanned through
X-ray machines. [BOSTON GLOBE, 10/10/2001]
Entity Tags: Logan International Airport, American Airlines, Globe Aviation Services
Corp., Federal Bureau of Investigation, Wail Alshehri, Waleed Alshehri
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations

October 11, 2001: Attorney General Ashcroft Takes Over All   

Terrorist Prosecutions
It is reported that Attorney General John Ashcroft and his Justice Department is
assuming control of all terrorism-related prosecutions from the US Attorney’s
office in New York, which has had a highly successful record of accomplishment
in prosecuting cases connected to bin Laden. 15 of the 22 suspects listed on a
most wanted terrorism list a month after 9/11 had already been indicted by the
New York office in recent years. A former federal prosecutor says of the New
York office, “For eight years, they have developed an expertise in these
prosecutions and the complex facts that surround these groups. If ever there
was a case where you’d want to play to your strength, this is it.” [NEW YORK TIMES,
10/11/2001] A grand jury in the New York district began investigating the 9/11
attacks one week after 9/11. But media accounts of this grand jury’s activity
stop by late October 2001 and there appears to be no other grand jury taking its
place (see September 18, 2001).
Entity Tags: US Department of Justice, Osama bin Laden
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline, Civil Liberties
Category Tags: FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations

October 11, 2001: FBI Incorrectly Claims Majority of 9/11   

Hijackers Were Unaware They Were on Suicide Mission
According to an FBI report, “FBI investigators have officially concluded that 11
of the 19 terrorists who hijacked the aircraft on September 11 did not know
they were on a suicide mission.” “Unlike the eight ‘lead’ attackers, who were
all trained pilots, they did not leave messages for friends and family indicating
they knew their lives were over,” and they did not have copies of Mohamed
Atta’s final prayer note (see September 28, 2001). Personal items found suggest
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the men thought they were taking part in a conventional hijacking and were
preparing for the possibility of prison. [OBSERVER, 10/14/2001] This is later
contradicted by video filmed in Afghanistan in March 2001 showing several of
the 11 non-lead hijackers proclaiming their willingness to die on an upcoming
suicide mission (see (December 2000-March 2001)).
Entity Tags: Federal Bureau of Investigation
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations

October 12, 2001: Recovery Workers Find What They Think Is   

One of the Planes’ Black Boxes in the Debris of the WTC
Recovery workers find what appears to be one of the black boxes from
Flight 11 or Flight 175—the planes that crashed into the World Trade
Center on 9/11—while they are working near Ground Zero, but FBI
Pier 25
on the agents who inspect the object deny that it is one of these devices.
Hudson [KEEGAN AND DAVIS, 2006, PP. 94-96] The two black boxes carried by all
River.
[Source:
commercial aircraft—the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data
Larry recorder—can provide valuable information about why a plane crashed.
Lerner / Although they are called “black” boxes, they are in fact painted bright
FEMA]
orange. [CBS NEWS, 2/25/2002; PBS, 2/17/2004] Since the initial days of the
recovery effort at Ground Zero, finding the black boxes from Flight 11 and Flight
175 has been a priority, due to the critical information they might hold. Many
posters with photos of a plane’s black boxes have been put up around the WTC
site so workers will recognize these devices if they turn up in the debris.
Operating Engineer Thinks He Has Found a Black Box - Today, an operating
engineer notices an object that looks like it could be one of the black boxes
while he is scraping up a load of debris at Pier 25 on the Hudson River. [KEEGAN
AND DAVIS, 2006, PP. 94] At Pier 25, near Ground Zero, debris from the WTC site is
being loaded onto barges and transported to the Fresh Kills landfill on Staten
Island. [NEW YORK DAILY NEWS, 1/6/2002; APWA REPORTER, 3/2004] The operating
engineer thinks the object is the same shape as a black box. It is too blackened
and charred, though, for him to determine if it is painted orange, like a plane’s
black boxes are. He stops operations at the pier so he can get the opinion of the
crane operator there. The crane operator agrees that the object looks like a
plane’s black box and says its discovery should be reported. The operating
engineer therefore makes a call to report the find and is put through to
Lieutenant Ed Moss of the Port Authority Police Department (PAPD).
Police Officers Think the Unearthed Object Is a Black Box - After the operating
engineer tells him about the discovery, Moss heads to Pier 25 with his colleague,
Lieutenant Bill Doubrawski. He examines the object and he too thinks it is one
of the black boxes. Excitedly, he contacts Lieutenant William Keegan, who is in
charge of the PAPD’s nighttime rescue and recovery operation at Ground Zero.
Talking over a secure phone line, Moss tells Keegan: “I think we found one of
these things. I’m looking at the diagram. I think this is it.” Moss says Doubrawski
agrees with his assessment. He describes the object as being “[h]ard as a rock,
not orange,” and looking “like it was torched, all blackened.” Keegan says he
wants to see the object and heads to Pier 25 to examine it.
Senior Police Officer Agrees with His Colleagues' Assessment - When he arrives
there, he compares the object to some photos of a plane’s black boxes and
agrees that it appears to be one of these devices. “The object found on the pier
was absolutely close enough to the pictures available to us to notify the FBI
without delay,” Keegan will later write. The PAPD officers arrange for some FBI
agents who are working at Ground Zero to come to the PAPD command post to
see the object.
FBI Agents Think the Object Is a Black Box but Then Change Their Minds - Around
20 to 30 minutes later, two FBI agents arrive at the command post. The agents
examine the object that has been discovered and compare it to a diagram of a
plane’s black box. They then say words to the effect of “Wow, this looks like it”

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and “It’s the same shape,” according to Keegan. However, after looking at the
object for a few more minutes, they apparently change their minds. “We don’t
think it’s a black box,” one of them tells the PAPD officers. In response, Keegan
asks: “So it’s okay to throw it back on the barge? You’re clearing it?” The other
agent quickly replies, “No, no, we’re going to take it with us.” The two FBI
agents then leave the command post, taking the object with them. Keegan and
his colleagues will subsequently never receive any information from the FBI,
regarding whether the object really is one of the black boxes. [KEEGAN AND DAVIS,
2006, PP. 94-96] The 9/11 Commission Report will state that the black boxes from
the planes that crashed into the WTC “were not found.” [9/11 COMMISSION,
7/24/2004, PP. 456] But firefighter Nicholas DeMasi, who works extensively in the
wreckage of the WTC, will say he helped federal agents recover three black
boxes at Ground Zero (see October 2001). [SWANSON, 2003, PP. 108; PHILADELPHIA DAILY
NEWS, 10/28/2004]
Entity Tags: Bill Doubrawski, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Ed Moss, William Keegan
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: 9/11 Investigations, FBI 9/11 Investigation, Other 9/11 Investigations

Shortly After October 12, 2001: Software Company   

Whistleblowers Ignored
Yassin al-Qadi, a Saudi multimillionaire businessman, was officially declared a
terrorist financier in October 2001 (see October 12, 2001). [ARAB NEWS, 9/26/2002]
That same month, a number of employees at Ptech, a Boston-based computer
company that al-Qadi and other individuals suspected of financing officially
designated terrorist groups invested in (see 1994), tell the Boston FBI about the
connections between Ptech and al-Qadi. However, FBI agents do little more than
take their statements. A high-level government source later will claim the FBI
does not convey the Ptech-al-Qadi link to Operation Greenquest, a Customs
Department investigation into al-Qadi and other suspected financiers, and none
of the government agencies using Ptech software are warned about the possible
security threat Ptech represents. [BOSTON GLOBE, 12/7/2002; WBZ 4 (BOSTON),
12/9/2002] According to a private counterterrorism expert involved in
investigating Ptech at the time, “Frighteningly, when an employee told [Ptech
president Oussama Ziade] he felt he had to contact the FBI regarding al-Qadi’s
involvement in the company, the president allegedly told him not to worry
because Yaqub Mirza, who was on the board of directors of the company and
was himself a target of a [Greenquest] terrorist financing raid in March 2002
(see March 20, 2002), had contacts high within the FBI.” [NATIONAL REVIEW,
5/27/2003] A Ptech investigation will finally begin in 2002 after more
whistleblowers come forward (see May-December 5, 2002).
Entity Tags: US Customs Service, Yacub Mirza, Operation Greenquest, Yassin al-Qadi,
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Ptech Inc., Oussama Ziade
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: Terrorism Financing, BMI and Ptech, FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11
Investigations

October 15, 2001-February 22, 2004: Waiter Who Served Atta   

Lunch Is Imprisoned for Five Months, Government Attempts to
Keep Court Case Secret
Mohamed Kamel Bellahouel is arrested and held for five months after
investigators discover he worked at a restaurant where Mohamed Atta and
Marwan Alshehhi sometimes ate lunch in South Florida. In a sworn statement,
Michael Rolince, head of the FBI’s International Terrorism Operations Section,
says, “It is likely that Bellahouel would have waited on both Atta and Alshehhi
since Bellahouel had worked at the restaurant for 10 months, and both Atta and
Alshehhi were frequent patrons during shifts that Bellahouel worked.” Rolince
also alleges Bellahouel may have waited on a third hijacker, Saeed Alghamdi,
and says that a cinema employee claims Bellahouel saw a film with a fourth
hijacker, Ahmed Alnami. However, Bellahouel, who denies going to the cinema

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with Alnami, has trouble gaining access to the evidence used against him. His
attorney comments, “They won’t call it secret evidence and they won’t call it
classified, but they won’t give it to you, either.” He is held in prison without
bond and without charge from October 15, 2001 to March 1, 2002. After he is
released, US authorities attempt to deport him, as he entered the US as a
student, but then dropped out of college and started work, marrying a US
citizen in June 2001. His attorney says the problem is that he is a Muslim. “If he
were a Catholic coming from Venezuela or Colombia, they would have let him
adjust his immigration status.” Bellahouel sues the government over his
incarceration, but the case is shrouded in secrecy and the press only learns the
case is ongoing due to a court error. [MIAMI DAILY BUSINESS REVIEW, 3/14/2003] For
example, a journalist, who does not event know Bellahouel’s name, attempts to
attend a hearing in March 2003. But the court is closed. After some effort, the
reporter finally finds the name in the electronic docket. When he tells a court
official Bellahouel’s name is on the docket, the official replies, “Is it? We’ll have
to fix that, too,” and the name disappears. [REPORTERS COMMITTEE FOR FREEDOM OF
THE PRESS, 12/2004] In February 2004 the Supreme Court declines an appeal from
Bellahouel to have an open hearing, and media organizations are prevented
from accessing sealed court proceedings. [NEW YORK TIMES, 1/5/2004; CNN, 2/23/2004]
Entity Tags: Marwan Alshehhi, Michael Rolince, Ahmed Alnami, Mohamed Kamel
Bellahouel, Saeed Alghamdi, Mohamed Atta
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline, Civil Liberties
Category Tags: Mohamed Atta, FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations

October 20, 2001: Report Finds None Arrested in Terrorism   

Investigation Connected to 9/11
The New York Times reports that,
although 830 people have been
arrested in the 9/11 terrorism
investigation (a number that
eventually exceeds between 1,200
and 2,000 (see November 5, 2001),
there is no evidence that anyone
now in custody was a conspirator
in the 9/11 attacks. Furthermore,
“none of the nearly 100 people
still being sought by the [FBI] is
Mohammed Azmath, left, and Syed Gul Mohammad
Shah/ Ayub Ali Khan, right. [Source: Associated Press] seen as a major suspect.” Of all
the people arrested, only four,
Zacarias Moussaoui, Ayub Ali Khan, Mohammed Azmath, and Nabil al-Marabh,
are likely connected to al-Qaeda. [NEW YORK TIMES, 10/21/2001] Three of those are
later cleared of ties to al-Qaeda. After being kept in solitary confinement for
more than eight months without seeing a judge or being assigned a lawyer, al-
Marabh pleads guilty to the minor charge of entering the United States illegally
(see September 3, 2002) and is deported to Syria (see January 2004). There is
considerable evidence al-Marabh did have ties to al-Qaeda and even the 9/11
plot (see September 2000; January 2001-Summer 2001; January 2001-Summer
2001; Spring 2001; Early September 2001). [WASHINGTON POST, 6/12/2002; CANADIAN
BROADCASTING CORPORATION, 8/27/2002] On September 12, 2002, after a year in
solitary confinement and four months before he was able to contact a lawyer,
Mohammed Azmath pleads guilty to one count of credit card fraud, and is
released with time served. Ayub Ali Khan, whose real name is apparently Syed
Gul Mohammad Shah, is given a longer sentence for credit card fraud, but is
released and deported by the end of 2002. [VILLAGE VOICE, 9/25/2002; NEW YORK
TIMES, 12/31/2002] By December 2002, only 6 are known to still be in custody, and
none have been charged with any terrorist acts (see December 11, 2002). On
September 24, 2001, Newsweek reported that “the FBI has privately estimated
that more than 1,000 individuals—most of them foreign nationals—with

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suspected terrorist ties are currently living in the United States.” [NEWSWEEK,
10/1/2001]
Entity Tags: Nabil al-Marabh, Al-Qaeda, Mohammed Azmath, Syed Gul Mohammad Shah,
Zacarias Moussaoui, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline, Civil Liberties
Category Tags: FBI 9/11 Investigation, Possible Hijacker Associates in US, 9/11
Investigations

October 27, 2001: Officials Furious over NSA Destruction of Data   

Related to 9/11 Investigation
Furious government intelligence officials accuse the NSA of destroying data
pertinent to the 9/11 investigation. The details of the data involved remain
unknown. They claim that possible leads are not being followed because of the
NSA’s lack of cooperation. [BOSTON GLOBE, 10/27/2001]
Entity Tags: National Security Agency
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: Remote Surveillance, 9/11 Investigations, FBI 9/11 Investigation

November 2001: FBI Report Says 9/11 Hijackers Maintained ‘Web   

of Contacts’ in the US
A classified report by the FBI’s Investigative Services Division says: “In addition
to frequent and sustained interaction between and among the hijackers of the
various flights before September 11, the group maintained a web of contacts
both in the United States and abroad. These associates, ranging in degrees of
closeness, include friends and associates from universities and flight schools,
former roommates, people they knew through mosques and religious activities,
and employment contacts. Other contacts provided legal, logistical, or financial
assistance, facilitated US entry and flight school enrollment, or were known
from [Osama bin Laden]-related activities or training.” [SPERRY, 2005, PP. 67-68] But
in June 2002, FBI Director Robert Mueller will contradict this, saying: “To this
day we have found no one in the United States except the actual hijackers who
knew of the plot.… As far as we know, they contacted no known terrorist
sympathizers in the United States” (see June 18, 2002).
Entity Tags: Federal Bureau of Investigation
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: Possible Hijacker Associates in US, 9/11 Investigations, FBI 9/11
Investigation

November 5, 2001: More Than 1,000 People Reportedly in Secret   

Custody
The Justice Department announces that it has put 1,182 people into secret
custody since 9/11. Most all of them are from the Middle East or South Asia.
[NEW YORK TIMES, 8/3/2002] After this it stops releasing new numbers, but human
rights groups believe the total number could be as high as 2,000. [INDEPENDENT,
2/26/2002] Apparently this is roughly the peak for secret arrests, and eventually
most of the prisoners are released, and none are charged with any terrorist acts
(see July 3, 2002; December 11, 2002). Their names will still not have been
revealed (see August 2, 2002).
Entity Tags: US Department of Justice
Timeline Tags: Torture of US Captives, 9/11 Timeline, Civil Liberties
Category Tags: FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations

(November 11, 2001): Hijacker Ziad Jarrah’s ‘Farewell Letter’   

Intercepted
Authorities in the US discover a letter apparently written by Flight 93 hijacker
Ziad Jarrah. It is believed the four-page letter, dated September 10, was written
just hours before the 9/11 attacks. It is part of a package Jarrah mailed from
the US to his Turkish girlfriend Aysel Senguen, a medical student living in the
western German city of Bochum. The letter says, “I have done what I had to

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do.… You should be very proud, because it is an

honor and in the end you will see that everyone
will be happy.” It adds, “Hold on to what you
have until we see each other again.” The
package arrived in Germany shortly after
September 11. However, due to Jarrah having
made an error in writing the address, it was
returned to the US and ended up in the hands
of the FBI. Oddly, considering the letter is
supposedly Jarrah’s farewell to Senguen, the
rest of his package reportedly includes papers
Aysel Senguen. [Source: CBC] about his flight training and scuba-diving
instructions. It is believed to also contain some
small presents. Ziad’s uncle Jamal Jarrah says he thinks the letter is fabricated,
and that it is suspicious that the address on it contained a mistake, as Ziad had
known his girlfriend for five years and would not have made such an error.
[ASSOCIATED PRESS, 11/17/2001; LOS ANGELES TIMES, 11/18/2001; OBSERVER, 11/18/2001; DAILY
TELEGRAPH, 11/18/2001; BBC, 11/19/2001]
Entity Tags: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Jamal Jarrah, Aysel Senguen, Ziad Jarrah
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations

November 21, 2001: Flight 77 Remains Identified, Hijackers’   

Identities Not Confirmed
The remains of all but one of the people on board Flight 77, including the
hijackers, are identified. However, the identities of the hijackers have still not
been confirmed through their remains, and the FBI does not provide DNA
profiles of the hijackers to medical examiners for identification. [NFPA JOURNAL,
11/1/2001; WASHINGTON POST, 11/21/2001; MERCURY, 1/11/2002] As of mid-2004, there still
have been no reports that the hijackers’ remains have been identified by their
DNA, except possibly for two unnamed hijackers.
Entity Tags: Federal Bureau of Investigation
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations

November 23, 2001: Report Suggests Hijackers Snuck into   

Cockpits
The Boston Globe reports information strongly suggesting that at least one
hijacker was inside each of the cockpits when the hijackings began. An airplane
captain theorizes how they took control: “The most likely scenarios are
something that was swift, where the pilots couldn’t have changed their
transponder code and called the controllers. You think four times in one morning
one of those crews would have done that. That means they had to be upon them
before they could react.” On practice flights before 9/11, the hijackers
repeatedly obtained access to cockpits by various methods. Perhaps the most
important method was jumpseating, which allows certified airline pilots to use a
spare seat in the cockpit when none is available in the passenger cabin. Airlines
reciprocate to help pilots get home or to the city of their originating flight.
Officials say they do not believe any of the hijackers were jumpseating on 9/11
despite media reports to the contrary. However, since 9/11 the FAA has banned
the practice unless a pilot works for the airline in whose cockpit that person
wants to ride. [BOSTON GLOBE, 11/23/2001] The 9/11 Commission later concludes
that the hijackers didn’t use jumpseating because they couldn’t find any
paperwork relating to jumpseat requests.
Entity Tags: Federal Aviation Administration, 9/11 Commission
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations

(December 2001): FBI Links KSM to Financing of 9/11 Attacks   

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Khalid Shaikh Mohammed (KSM) is allegedly first linked to the 9/11 plot around
this time. According to an unnamed US counterterrorism official speaking to a
reporter in June 2002 (see June 4, 2002), when KSM is first publicly identified as
the 9/11 mastermind, “within three months” of 9/11, the FBI learns that KSM
was involved in some financial transactions related to the funding of the 9/11
attacks. [ASSOCIATED PRESS, 6/4/2002] KSM is also connected to the 9/11 hijackers in
another way in November 2001 (see (November 2001)).
Entity Tags: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: 9/11 Investigations, FBI 9/11 Investigation, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed

December 14, 2001-September 28, 2005: Media Accounts Differ   

on What the US Knew and Did about 9/11 Hijacker Jarrah’s
Detention in Dubai
On December 14, 2001, it is first reported that 9/11 hijacker Ziad Jarrah was
stopped and questioned at Dubai airport (see January 30-31, 2000); a
controversy follows on when the US was told about this and what was done
about it.
Initial Account - The story of Jarrah being detained at Dubai, United Arab
Emirates (UAE), first appears in the Chicago Tribune on December 14. This initial
report says that Jarrah was stopped because he was on a US watch list. US
officials refuse to comment on the matter. (Note that this report and most other
early accounts place the incident on January 30, 2001 (see January 31, 2000 and
After), but this appears to be incorrect and later reports say it happened exactly
one year earlier, on January 30, 2000.) [ASSOCIATED PRESS, 12/14/2001]
Did the US Tell the UAE to Stop Jarrah? - Jane Corbin reports the same story for
the BBC in December 2001 and then repeats it in a book. Once again, US
officials refuse to comment on the story. In her account, UAE officials claim
Jarrah was stopped based on a tip-off from the US. A UAE source tells Corbin:
“It was at the request of the Americans and it was specifically because of
Jarrah’s links with Islamic extremists, his contacts with terrorist organizations.
That was the extent of what we were told.” [BBC, 12/12/2001; CORBIN, 2003] One day
after the BBC report, a US official carefully states that the FBI was not aware
before 9/11 that another US agency thought Jarrah was linked to any terrorist
group. [SOUTH FLORIDA SUN-SENTINEL, 12/13/2001]
CNN Revives the Story, Has More Sources - In August 2002, CNN also reports that
Jarrah was stopped because he was on a US watch list. It claims this information
comes not only from UAE sources, but from other governments in the Middle
East and Europe. It also still refers to the incorrect January 31, 2001 date. For
the first time, a CIA spokesperson comments on the matter and says the CIA
never knew anything about Jarrah before 9/11 and had nothing to do with his
questioning in Dubai. [CNN, 8/1/2002]
Denials Are Helped by Confusion over Date - Regarding the denials by US
authorities, author Terry McDermott point outs: “It is worth noting, however,
that when the initial reports of the Jarrah interview [came out,] the Americans
publicly denied they had ever been informed of it. As it happened, Corbin had
the wrong date for the event, so the American services might have been
technically correct in denying any knowledge of it. They later repeated that
denial several times when other reports repeated the inaccurate date.” Based
on information from his UAE sources, McDermott concludes that the stop
occurred and that the US was informed of it at the time. [MCDERMOTT, 2005, PP. 294-
5]
FBI Memo Confirms US Was Notified - In February 2004, the Chicago Tribune
claims it discovered a 2002 FBI memo that discusses the incident. The memo
clearly states that the incident “was reported to the US government” at the
time. This account uses the January 30, 2000 date, and all later accounts do so
as well. [CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 2/24/2004]
9/11 Commission Downplays Incident - In July 2004, the 9/11 Commission calls
the incident a “minor problem” and relegates it to an endnote in its final report
historycommons.org/timeline.jsp?timeline=complete_911_timeline&investigations:_a_detailed_look=penttbom 56/57
2/6/2021 Complete 911 Timeline: FBI's Penttbom 9/11 Investigation and Identification of Alleged Hijackers

on the 9/11 attacks. It does not mention anything about the US being informed
about Jarrah’s brief detention at the time it happened. In this account, Jarrah
was not on a US watch list, but he raised suspicion because of an overlay of the
Koran in his passport and because he was carrying religious tapes and books.
[9/11 COMMISSION, 7/24/2004, PP. 496]
Vanity Fair Adds New Details - A November 2004 Vanity Fair article adds some
new details. In this account, UAE officials were first suspicious of Jarrah
because of a page of the Koran stuck in his passport, then they searched his
luggage and found it full of jihadist propaganda videos. Six months earlier, the
CIA had asked immigration throughout the region to question anyone who might
have been to a training camp in Afghanistan, which gave the UAE even more
reason to question him. Jarrah was asked about his time in Afghanistan and
revealed that he intended to go to flight school in the US, but he was let go.
The UAE told the CIA about all this, but German officials say the CIA failed to
pass the information on to German intelligence. [VANITY FAIR, 11/2004]
German and More FBI Documents Also Confirm US Was Involved - McDermott has
access to German intelligence files in writing his book published in 2005. He says
that German documents show that the UAE did contact the US about Jarrah
while he was still being held. But the US had not told the Germans what was
discussed about him. Other FBI documents confirming the incident are also
obtained by McDermott, but they indicate the questioning was routine. UAE
officials insist to McDermott this is absolutely untrue. McDermott suggests that
the CIA may not have told the FBI much about the incident. He also says that
while UAE officials were holding Jarrah, US officials told them to let Jarrah go
because the US would track him (see January 30-31, 2000). [MCDERMOTT, 2005, PP.
294]
Continued Denials - In September 2005, US officials continue to maintain they
were not notified about the stop until after 9/11. [CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 9/28/2005]
Original reporting on the incident will not occur much in the years after then.
Entity Tags: United Arab Emirates, Terry McDermott, Jane Corbin, Ziad Jarrah, 9/11
Commission, Central Intelligence Agency
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline
Category Tags: Ziad Jarrah, 9/11 Investigations, 9/11 Commission, FBI 9/11
Investigation

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