Editing Mohamed Atta (section)

== 9/11 attacks and death ==
{{Main|American Airlines Flight 11}}
[[File:Atta in airport.jpg|right|thumb|Atta (blue shirt) and Omari in the [[Portland International Jetport]] in [[Portland, Maine]], on the morning of 11 September]]
On 10 September 2001, Atta picked up [[Abdulaziz al-Omari|al-Omari]] from the Milner Hotel in [[Boston|Boston, Massachusetts]], and the two drove [[Mohamed Atta's Nissan|their rented Nissan Altima]] to a [[Choice Hotels|Comfort Inn]] in [[South Portland, Maine]]. On the way, they were seen getting [[gasoline]] at an [[Exxon]] gas station and visited the [[Wadsworth-Longfellow House|Longfellow House]] in Portland that afternoon;<ref>{{Cite book|title=Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in Portland : the fireside poet of Maine|last=Babin, John William|others=Levinsky, Allan M.|year=2015|isbn=978-1-62619-499-1|location=Charleston, SC|pages=134–135|oclc=926057150}}</ref> they arrived at the hotel at 5:43&nbsp;p.m. and spent the night in Room 233. While in South Portland, they were seen making two ATM withdrawals and stopping at [[Walmart|Wal-Mart]]. The FBI also reported that two Middle-Eastern men were seen in the parking lot of a [[Pizza Hut]], where Atta is known to have eaten that day.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/05/us/a-nation-challenged-the-night-before-a-mundane-itinerary-on-the-eve-of-terror.html?pagewanted=print&src=pm|title=A Mundane Itinerary on the Eve of Terror|last=Belluck|first=Pam|date=5 October 2001|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=16 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140417203932/http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/05/us/a-nation-challenged-the-night-before-a-mundane-itinerary-on-the-eve-of-terror.html?pagewanted=print&src=pm|archive-date=17 April 2014|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=What ISIS Really Wants|first=Graeme|last=Wood|work=The Atlantic|publisher=Atlantic Media|date=March 2015|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2015/02/what-isis-really-wants/384980/|access-date=5 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150226023536/http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2015/02/what-isis-really-wants/384980/|archive-date=26 February 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna14686192|title=9/11 mystery: What was Atta doing on 9/10?|publisher=[[NBC News]] |date=7 September 2006|access-date=6 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150227202458/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/14686192/ns/msnbc-hardball_with_chris_matthews/t/mystery-what-was-atta-doing#.VPkQCvnF98E|archive-date=27 February 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

Atta and al-Omari arrived early the next morning, at 5:40&nbsp;a.m., at the [[Portland International Jetport]], where they left their rental car in the parking lot and at 6:00&nbsp;a.m. boarded a [[Colgan Air]] ([[US Airways Express]]) BE-1900C flight to [[Logan International Airport]] in Boston.<ref name="911-ch1">{{cite web|url=https://www.archives.gov/legislative/research/9-11/staff-report-sept2005.pdf |title=Staff Report – "We Have Some Planes": The Four Flights – a Chronology |publisher=[[9/11 Commission|National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States]] |access-date=25 May 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> In Portland, Mohamed Atta was selected by the [[Computer-Assisted Passenger Prescreening System]] (CAPPS), which required his checked bags to undergo extra screening for explosives but involved no extra screening at the passenger security checkpoint.<ref name="staff">{{cite web |url=http://www.9-11commission.gov/staff_statements/staff_statement_3.pdf |title=The Aviation Security System and the 9/11 Attacks – Staff Statement No. 3 |publisher=9/11 Commission |access-date=16 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528201527/http://www.9-11commission.gov/staff_statements/staff_statement_3.pdf |archive-date=28 May 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The connection between the two flights at Logan International Airport was within Terminal B, but the two gates were not connected within security. Passengers must leave the secured area, go outdoors, cross a covered roadway, and enter another building before going through security once again. There are two separate concourses in Terminal B; the south concourse is mainly used by US Airways and the north one is mostly used by [[American Airlines]]. It had been overlooked that there would still be a security screen to pass in Boston because of this distinct detail of the terminal's arrangement. A ticket staffer at Portland Airport reported becoming uneasy with Atta's anger upon being told of the additional screening requirements in Boston, but that he did not act on his suspicions after becoming concerned that he was [[Airport racial profiling in the United States|racially profiling]] Atta.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna7117783|title = Ticket agent recalls anger in Atta's eyes| publisher=[[NBC News]] | date=7 March 2005 }}</ref> At 6:45&nbsp;a.m., while at the Boston airport, Atta took a call from Flight 175 hijacker [[Marwan al-Shehhi]]. This call was apparently to confirm that the attacks were ready to begin. Atta checked in for [[American Airlines Flight 11]], passed through security again, and boarded the flight. Atta was seated in business class, in seat 8D. At 7:59&nbsp;a.m., the plane departed from Boston to [[Los Angeles International Airport]], carrying 81 passengers.<ref name="911-ch1"/>
<div style="float:right;">
{{Listen|filename=Mohamed Atta to ATC-1.ogg |title=Mohamed Atta at 08:23|description=Mohamed Atta's first announcement, heard by ATC at 08:23|format=[[Ogg]]}}
{{Listen|filename=Mohamed Atta to ATC-2.ogg |title=Mohamed Atta at 08:33|description=Mohamed Atta's second announcement at 08:33|format=[[Ogg]]}}</div>
The [[Aircraft hijacking|hijacking]] began fifteen minutes into the flight at approximately 8:14 a.m.,{{efn|Although the 9/11 Commission estimated the hijacking to have commenced at 8:14 a.m., the pilots had stopped responding to ATC by 8:13:47, implying the hijacking may have occurred slightly earlier.}} when beverage service would be starting. As this was happening, the pilots stopped responding to air traffic control and the aircraft began deviating from its assigned route;<ref name=ntsb>{{cite web |date=19 February 2002 |title=Flight Path Study – American Airlines Flight 11 |url=https://www.ntsb.gov/about/Documents/Flight_Path_Study_AA11.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151105103018/http://www.ntsb.gov/about/Documents/Flight_Path_Study_AA11.pdf |archive-date=5 November 2015 |access-date=25 May 2008 |publisher=[[National Transportation Safety Board]]}}</ref> the plane's [[transponder]] was switched off several minutes later at 8:21&nbsp;a.m.<ref name=ntsb/> The pilots of [[United Airlines Flight 175]] picked up on a suspicious transmission while leaving the runway around the same time Flight 11 was being hijacked, reportedly hearing the words, "Everyone, stay in your seats." Investigators later determined that this communication was made from the cockpit of Flight 11. This transmission was never heard by ATC, but the context suggests Atta was the one speaking.<ref>{{cite book|last=9/11 Final Report of the National Commission|title="We have some planes"|year=2004|url=https://9-11commission.gov/report/911Report.pdf}}</ref>{{rp|38}} On the phone with American Airlines after the hijackers had assumed control of the plane, flight attendant [[Betty Ong]] reported that the cockpit was unresponsive and inaccessible.<ref name="911-ch1"/><ref name="Ong">{{cite news|last=Sullivan |first=Laura |title=9/11 victim calmly describes hijack on haunting tape |url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/custom/attack/bal-te.terror28jan28,0,6896536.story |date=28 January 2004 |work=[[The Baltimore Sun]] |access-date=22 May 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604182608/http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/custom/attack/bal-te.terror28jan28%2C0%2C6896536.story |archive-date=4 June 2011 }}</ref>

At 8:24:38&nbsp;a.m., a voice believed to be Atta's was heard by air traffic controllers, saying: "We have some planes. Just stay quiet and you will be OK. We are returning to the airport." Evidently, he tried to deliver a message over the cabin's PA system instructing the passengers and crew to stay put, but pressed the wrong switch and thereby tipped off ATC that the flight had been hijacked.{{efn|9/11 Commission investigator Miles Kara does not subscribe to the belief that Atta mistakenly keyed the mic and "accidentally" broadcast his message; Kara suggests that Atta was, in part, attempting to sow confusion within the FAA, and was delivering a message to Marwan al-Shehhi on [[United Airlines Flight 175]]. Kara suggests that the hijackers would have known that passengers likely could monitor cockpit communications on Channel 9 of United's onboard entertainment system. Because both Flight 11 and Flight 175 departed on cross-country routes approximately at the same time, Kara explains the hijackers could feel confident that the two cockpits would be using the same radio frequency during the first minutes after takeoff. Under that scenario, Atta's "We have some planes" remark could be viewed as a signal to al-Shehhi that their plan was working and that the Flight 175 group should execute its piece of the attack. Although it is unknown whether al-Shehhi heard Atta's comment or was listening to Channel 9, Kara considers it likely. One piece of evidence he cites is the fact that al-Shehhi waited to initiate the hijacking until after Flight 175 had crossed into the airspace of a different air traffic control center. Kara believes that al-Shehhi knew the crossover took place because he heard the Flight 175 pilots say so. If that was the case, he also would have heard the earlier transmissions from Atta that were picked up in the cockpit of Flight 175 and reported later to air traffic control.<ref name="nypost.com">{{Cite web|url=https://nypost.com/2011/09/11/the-eleventh-day/|title=The eleventh day|first=Anthony|last=Summers|date=11 September 2011|access-date=11 May 2021|archive-date=8 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408022156/https://nypost.com/2011/09/11/the-eleventh-day/|url-status=live}}</ref> Separately, John Farmer, senior counsel to the 9/11 Commission, raised questions about whether the sequence of the hijackings, in which two United flights were hijacked after American flights, might have been influenced by the terrorists' hope to use United Channel 9 to gather real-time intelligence on the other hijackings.}} Seconds later he transmitted another message<!--, still unaware that people on the ground were listening in: we can have this bit back when we have a decent citation for it-->: "Nobody move, everything will be OK. If you try to make any moves you'll endanger yourself and the airplane. Just stay quiet." About a minute later, he turned the plane southbound, on a course pointed in the direction of New York City.<ref name=ntsb/> Atta was not heard from again for nine minutes until 8:33:59<!--, when he made yet another unsuccessful attempt to communicate with the hostages: we can have this bit back when we have a decent citation for it--> when he transmitted, "Nobody move, please. We are going back to the airport. Don't try to make any stupid moves." This was the last transmission from Flight 11.<ref name=ntsb/>
[[File:2001-was-a-project-by-wolfgang-staehle-e28093-on-8-september-2001-two-cameras-would-automatically-take-a-photo-of-the-manhattan-skyline-every-four-seconds.jpg|thumb|At 8:46, Mohamed Atta crashed American Airlines Flight 11 into the North Tower, the final moments and crash of the flight was captured in frames by two automatic cameras set up in Brooklyn.]]
Twelve minutes later, at 8:46:40&nbsp;a.m.,<ref name="ntsb" /> Atta crashed the plane into the North Tower of the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]] in New York City between floors 93 and 99,<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 June 2004 |title=Tracking the Flights Hijacked on 9/11 |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-jun-18-na-introflight18-story.html |access-date=14 June 2023 |website=Los Angeles Times}}</ref><ref name="ntsb"/> killing himself and everyone else aboard the plane. Hundreds more inside the North Tower were also killed instantly, while the damage Atta had done to the building severed all escape routes from Floor 92 and higher, trapping more than 800 survivors of the crash in the upper floors of a burning quarter-mile high skyscraper,<ref name="102Mins">{{cite news |last=Dwyer |first=Jim |author2= Lipton, Eric |title=102 Minutes: Last Words at the Trade Center; Fighting to Live as the Towers Die |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/26/nyregion/102-minutes-last-words-at-the-trade-center-fighting-to-live-as-the-towers-die.html |date=26 May 2002 |work=The New York Times |access-date=16 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131114063928/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/26/nyregion/102-minutes-last-words-at-the-trade-center-fighting-to-live-as-the-towers-die.html |archive-date=14 November 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> thus ensuring that no one above the 91st floor was able to make it out alive before the tower collapsed 102 minutes later at 10:28&nbsp;a.m.<ref>{{cite news|date=10 September 2003|title=TWO YEARS LATER: THE 91ST FLOOR; The Line Between Life and Death, Still Indelible|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/10/us/two-years-later-the-91st-floor-the-line-between-life-and-death-still-indelible.html |access-date=5 December 2022}}</ref>

Because the flight from Portland to Boston had been delayed,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.capecodtimes.com/article/20011005/NEWS01/310059904 |title=FBI affidavit: Flight attendant made call to report hijacking |access-date=25 October 2010 |date=5 October 2001 |last=Karkavy |first=Jerry |newspaper=[[Cape Cod Times]] |publisher=[[GateHouse Media, LLC]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106233511/http://www.capecodtimes.com/article//20011005/NEWS01/310059904 |archive-date=6 January 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> Atta's luggage did not make it onto Flight 11. His bags were later recovered in Logan International Airport, and were found to have contained airline uniforms, flight manuals, and other items. The luggage included a copy of Atta's will, written in Arabic, as well as a list of instructions, called "The Last Night". This document is divided into three sections; the first is a fifteen-point list providing detailed instructions for the last night of a martyr's life, the second gives instructions for travelling to the plane and the third from the time between boarding the plane and martyrdom. Almost all of these points discuss spiritual preparation, such as prayer and citing religious scripture.{{Sfn|Rapoport|2006|p=}}{{page needed|date=November 2023}}