Editing Hani Hanjour (section)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hanjour, along with at least five other future hijackers, are believed to have traveled to Las Vegas several times in mid-2001, where they allegedly drank alcohol, gambled, and visited [[lap dances|lap dancing clubs]].<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/10/04/MN102970.DTL | title=Agents of terror leave their mark on Sin City / Las Vegas workers recall the men they can't forget | first=Kevin | last=Fagan | date=4 October 2001 | work=The San Francisco Chronicle}}</ref>

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

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

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

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

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

====9/11 attacks====
{{Main|American Airlines Flight 77}}
At 7:35&nbsp;a.m. on 11 September 2001, Hanjour arrived at the passenger security checkpoint at [[Washington Dulles International Airport]], {{convert|26|miles|km}} west of [[Washington, D.C.]], en route to board [[American Airlines Flight 77]].<ref name="911-notes">{{cite book |url=http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report_Notes.htm |author=9/11 Commission|chapter=Notes |year=2004 |title=9/11 Commission Report|publisher=9/11 Commission|access-date=30 May 2008 |isbn=1-59248-996-6}}</ref>

Some earlier reports stated he may not have had a ticket or appeared on any manifest,<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/graphics/attack/hijackers.html | newspaper=The Washington Post | title=Four Planes, Four Coordinated Teams | date=20 September 2001 | access-date=4 May 2010}}</ref> however he was documented by the [[9/11 Commission]] as having been assigned to seat 1B in first class,<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report_Ch1.htm | title = We Have Some Planes | access-date = 7 June 2010 | year = 2004 | work =9/11 Commission Report| publisher = [[9/11 Commission]]}}</ref> and reported to have bought a single first-class ticket from Advance Travel Service in Totowa.<ref>{{cite news | first = Glen | last = Johnson | title = Probe reconstructs horror, calculated attacks on planes | date = 23 November 2001 | url = http://www.boston.com/news/packages/underattack/news/planes_reconstruction.htm | work = Boston Globe | access-date = 7 June 2010}}</ref> In the security tape footage released in 2004, Hanjour appears to walk through the metal detector without setting it off, which likely means that agents at the terminal were not looking at any warning signal that indicated if he had weapons. With this, it allowed Hanjour to board Flight 77 without any authorization.<ref>{{cite news |title=Video shows 9/11 hijackers stopped by airport screeners |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/video-shows-9-11-hijackers-stopped-by-airport-screeners-1.473604 |access-date=25 October 2022 |work=CBC |publisher=CBC |date=21 July 2004}}</ref>
[[File:Pentagon Security Camera 1.ogv|thumb|At 9:37 AM, Hani Hanjour crashed American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon, the crash was captured on security footage.]]
The flight was scheduled to depart at 8:10, but ended up departing 10 minutes late from Gate D26 at Dulles.<ref name="four">{{cite web|url=https://www.archives.gov/legislative/research/9-11/staff-report-sept2005.pdf |title=Staff Monograph on the "Four Flights and Civil Aviation Security" |date=September 2005 |publisher=9/11 Commission|access-date=14 August 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080306021319/http://www.archives.gov/legislative/research/9-11/staff-report-sept2005.pdf |archive-date=6 March 2008 }}</ref> The last normal radio communications from the aircraft to [[air traffic control]] occurred at 08:50:51.<ref>{{cite web |last=Gregor |first=Joseph A. |url=https://www.ntsb.gov/info/ATC_%20Report_AA77.pdf |title=ATC Report American Airlines Flight 77 |publisher=National Transportation Safety Board |date=21 December 2001 |access-date=1 June 2008}}</ref> At 08:54, Flight 77 began to deviate from its normal, assigned flight path and turned south,<ref name="911-ch1"/> and then hijackers set the flight's [[autopilot]] heading for Washington, D.C.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ntsb.gov/info/autopilot_AA77_UA93_study.pdf |title=Study of Autopilot, Navigation Equipment, and Fuel Consumption Activity Based on United Airlines Flight&nbsp;93 and American Airlines Flight&nbsp;77 Digital Flight Data Recorder Information |last=O'Callaghan |first=John |author2=Bower, Daniel |publisher=National Transportation Safety Board |date=13 February 2002 |access-date=1 June 2008}}</ref> Passenger [[Barbara Olson]] called her husband, [[United States Solicitor General]] [[Theodore Olson|Ted Olson]], and reported that the plane had been hijacked and that the assailants had box cutters and knives. Using the flight intercom, Hanjour announced the flight was hijacked.<ref name="911-ch1">{{cite book |title=''9/11 Commission Report'' |url=http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report.pdf |publisher=9/11 Commission|year=2004 |pages=1–13 |chapter=Chapter 1 |access-date=30 September 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Johnson |first=Glen |url=http://www.boston.com/news/packages/underattack/news/planes_reconstruction.htm |title=Probe reconstructs horror, calculated attacks on planes |work=The Boston Globe |date=23 November 2001 |access-date=1 June 2008}}</ref> As Flight 77 was 5 miles (8.0&nbsp;km) west-southwest of the Pentagon, it made a 330-degree turn. At the end of the turn, it was descending through 2,200 feet (670 m), pointed toward the Pentagon and downtown Washington. Hanjour advanced the throttles to maximum power and dove towards the Pentagon at a speed of over {{convert|530|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}. At 09:37:46, Hanjour crashed the [[Boeing 757]] into the west façade of [[the Pentagon]], killing himself and all 63 passengers and 6 crew members aboard along with 125 on the ground in the Pentagon.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ntsb.gov/info/AAL77_fdr.pdf |title=American Airlines Flight 77 FDR Report |publisher=National Transportation Safety Board |date=31 January 2002 |access-date=2 June 2008 |archive-date=26 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926220623/https://www.ntsb.gov/info/AAL77_fdr.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> While level above the ground and seconds from the crash, the airplane's wings knocked over light poles and its right engine smashed into a power generator, creating a smoke trail seconds before smashing into the Pentagon. In the recovery process at the Pentagon, remains of all five Flight 77 hijackers were identified through a process of elimination, as not matching any [[DNA]] samples for the victims, and put into custody of the FBI.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/remains-of-9-sept-11-hijackers-held/ |title=Remains Of 9 Sept. 11 Hijackers Held |date=17 August 2002 |work=CBS News |access-date=30 September 2008 |archive-date=30 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080930021707/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/08/17/attack/main519033.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.cstl.nist.gov/div831/strbase/pub_pres/Edson2004.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060720223532/http://www.cstl.nist.gov/div831/strbase/pub_pres/Edson2004.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 July 2006 |title=Naming the Dead - Confronting the Realities of Rapid Identification of Degraded Skeletal Remains |author=Edson, S.M. |journal=Forensic Science Review |volume=16 |date=January 2004 |access-date=30 September 2008 |issue=1 |pages=63–90 |pmid=26256813 |display-authors=etal }}</ref>