Timeline of Mohamed Atta in the United States

Mohamed Atta (1 September 1968 – 11 September 2001), Egyptian terrorist hijacker for al-Qaeda, studied architecture at Cairo University, graduating in 1990, and pursued postgraduate studies in Germany at the Hamburg University of Technology. In Hamburg, Atta became involved with the al-Quds Mosque where he met Marwan al-Shehhi, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, and Ziad Jarrah, together forming the Hamburg cell. Atta disappeared from Germany for periods of time, embarking on the hajj in 1995 but also meeting Osama bin Laden and other top al-Qaeda leaders in Afghanistan from late 1999 to early 2000. Atta and the other Hamburg cell members were recruited by bin Laden and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed for a "planes operation" in the United States. Atta returned to Hamburg in February 2000 and began inquiring about flight training in the United States, where he, Jarrah, and al-Shehhi arrived in June to learn how to pilot planes, obtaining instrument ratings in November. Beginning in May 2001, Atta assisted with the arrival of the "muscle" hijackers whose role was to subdue passengers and crew to enable the hijacker-pilots to take over. In July, Atta traveled to Spain to meet with bin al-Shibh to finalize the plot, then in August traveled as a passenger on "surveillance" flights to establish in detail how the attacks could be carried out. On the morning of 11 September 2001, Atta and his accomplices boarded and hijacked American Airlines Flight 11, which Atta crashed into 1 World Trade Center (the North Tower). More than 1,600 people died as a result of the crash, ensuing fire, and subsequent collapse of the tower, making him responsible for the single deadliest air crash of all time, as well as the single deadliest terrorist attack of all time.

Timeline of Mohamed Mohamed el-Amir Awad el-Sayed Atta in the United States in preparation for the September 11 attacks.

Timeline

• June 3, 2000: Atta arrives in Newark, New Jersey flying from Prague, Czech Republic.
• June 5, 2000: Atta e-mails New Hampshire flight school.
• June 19, 2000: Atta and Marwan al-Shehhi stay at short-term rental in New York City.
• June 22, 2000: Atta visits Century Flight Academy in Morristown, New Jersey requesting flight training.
• July 2, 2000: Atta and al-Shehhi visit the Airman Flight School in Norman, Oklahoma.
• July 6, 2000: Atta and al-Shehhi move to Venice, Florida and take pilot training classes at Huffman Aviation from July to December.
• December 21, 2000: Atta awarded commercial pilot certificate
• January 3, 2001: Atta flies from Tampa, Florida to Miami.
• January 4, 2001: Atta flies from Miami to Madrid, Spain.
• January 10, 2001: Return flight from Madrid to Miami.
• January 25, 2001: Atta and al-Shehhi move temporarily to Norcross Georgia.
• January 31, 2001: Atta rents a plane in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
• February 2001: Atta and al-Shehhi rent a single-engine plane from a Gwinnett County, Georgia flight school.
• February 20, 2001: Atta withdraws $4,000 from his account at a SunTrust Bank branch in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
• March, 2001: Atta visits a small airport in Belle Glade, Florida and inquires about flying cropduster planes.
• April 3 - April 4, 2001: Atta and al-Shehhi return to Virginia Beach, Virginia closes thier PO Box and withdraws $8,000 from the SunTrust account.
• April 6 - April 11, 2001: Atta is back in Florida.
• May 13 - June 13, 2001: Atta and al-Shehhi live on Jackson Street in Hollywood, Florida.
• Mid-June 2001: Atta and al-Shehhi move into Tara Gardens condo in Coral Springs, Florida.
• June 28, 2001: Atta flies from Boston to San Francisco and then takes a connecting flight to Las Vegas.[1]
• June 31, 2001: Atta returns to Boston via Denver from Las Vegas.
• July 1, 2001: Atta flies from Boston to New York City.
• Early July. 2001: Atta picks up travel tickets to Spain at travel agency in Paterson, New Jersey.
• July 3, 2001: Atta flies from Newark to Fort Lauderdale.
• July 7 or July 8 or July 9, 2001: Atta flies from Miami to Madrid, Spain via Zurich. Reports claim final plans for the attacks are set.
• July 19, 2001: Return flight to America, Fort Lauderdale, Florida via Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport.
• July 26, 2001: Atta wears an American Airline pilot's uniform and rode in the cockpit of a flight from Baltimore to Atlanta. [2]
• Late July, 2001: Atta flies to Newark, New Jersey to meet with other hijackers in the area.
• July 30, 2001: Atta flies back from New Jersey to Florida.
• Early August, 2001: Atta and al-Shehhi were in Huber Drugs in Delray Beach, Florida looking for something to soothe Atta's burning hands.
• August 4, 2001: Atta drives to Orlando, Florida airport to meet arriving hijacker. Mohamed al Kahtani. Kahtani is denied entry by US immigration officials and returns to Dubai.
• August 7, 2001: Atta flies from Fort Lauderdale to Newark, New Jersey to meet with Nawaf al-Hazmi.
• August 13, 2001: Atta flies first class with two other hijackers from Newark, New Jersey to Las Vegas on second surveillance flight and stays at the same Econo Lodge.
• August 14, 2001: Atta flies from Las Vegas to Houston, Texas. Hijackers Mohamed Atta, Nawaf al-Hamzi and Hani Hanjour leave Las Vegas after an apparent planning session.
• August 16, 17, and 20, 2001: Atta rents a single-engine Piper Archer at Palm Beach County Park Airport in Lantana, Florida.
• August 23, 2001: Atta flies to Newark (from Florida?) and meets with al-Hazmi.
• August 27, 2001:Atta has a final planning session with the soon-to-be American Airlines flight 77 hijack team in room 343 of the Valencia Motel in Laurel, Maryland.
• August 28, 2001: Atta flies from Baltimore to Fort Lauderdale. Atta buys tickets online for himself and another hijacker, Abdulaziz al-Omari,
• August 29, 2001: Atta buys two tickets for American Airlines Flight 11 on September 11 over the Internet for himself and Abdulaziz al-Omari on a computer at a Kinko's copy store in Hollywood, Florida. Two other hijackers accompanying Atta purchase their September 11 tickets here. A total of six hijackers purchased September 11 tickets from the computers at Kinkos.
• September 4, 2001: Atta sends a Federal Express package to an accomplice in the United Arab Emirates, returning several thousand dollars in unused cash.
• September 5, 2001: FBI reports and eyewitnesses place Atta and other hijackers onboard a SunCruz Casinos gambling boat.
• September 7, 2001: Atta and Marwan al-Shehhi stay at a Holiday Inn close to Sarasota, Florida where President George Bush plans to visit an elementary school on September 11.
• September 7, 2001: Atta and Alshehhi visit Shuckums Oyster Bar, a sports bar in Hollywood, Florida. Apparently when paying for the bill, Atta had a wallet full of bills, but the bartender behind the counter said that Atta and Al-Shehhi were arguing about who was going to pay for the drinks. According to the bartender, Atta angrily paid for the bill and walked to his rented home nearby.
• September 8, 2001: Atta flies from Fort Lauderdale to Baltimore and meets with Flight 77 team of hijackers in Laurel, Maryland. He collects money from other hijackers and wires $7,860 to the Wall Street Exchange Center in Dubai from the Giant and Safeway stores in Laurel, Maryland.
• September 9, 2001: Atta flies from Baltimore to Boston and meets up with United Airlines flight 175 hijacker Marwan al-Shehhi. The two spend the night at the Milner Hotel in downtown Boston.
• September 10, 2001: Atta and al-Omari drive from Boston to Portland, Maine.
• September 10, 5:43 P.M. 2001: Atta and al-Omari checked into the Comfort Inn, room 232, South Portland, Maine.
• September 10, 8:00 P.M.-9:00 P.M. 2001: The FBI says two Middle Eastern men were seen at Pizza Hut in South Portland, Maine, for approximately fifteen minutes.
• September 10, 8:31 P.M. 2001: Atta and al-Omari photographed by Key Bank drive-up ATM in South Portland, Maine.
• September 10, 8:41 P.M. 2001: Atta and al-Omari photographed by a Fast Green ATM located in the parking lot of UNO's restaurant, South Portland, Maine.
• September 10, 9:15 P.M. 2001: Atta and al-Omari were at Jetport Gas Station, South Portland, Maine.
• September 10, 9:22 P.M. 2001: Atta was at Wal-Mart, Scarborough, Maine, for approximately twenty minutes.

11 September 2001

• September 11, 5:53 A.M. 2001: Atta and al-Omari board Colgan Air/U.S. Airways Flight 5930 from Portland, Maine to Boston, Massachusetts. Flight 5930 was where Mohammed Atta made final preparations for the attack.
• September 11, 6:50 A.M. 2001: Atta and al-Omari arrive on time at Boston's Logan Airport.
• September 11, 7:45 A.M. 2001: Atta and al-Omari board American Airlines Flight 11, a Boeing 767.
• September 11, 7:59 A.M. 2001: Flight 11 takes off from Boston 14 minutes late.
• September 11, 8:13 A.M. 2001: Flight 11 is hijacked 50 miles west of Boston by Atta and four others.
• September 11, 8:46:40 A.M. 2001: Mohamed Atta crashes Flight 11 into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

Sources

• Paul Thompson, The Terror Timeline (ReganBooks,2004) ISBN 0-06-078338-9
• Four Corners, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, broadcast from 12 November 2001
• The 9/11 Commission Report, (W.W. Norton & Company) ISBN 0-393-32671-3
• FBI Press Release, 4 October 2001
• Der Spiegel, Inside 9-11: What Really Happened (Diane Pub Co, June 2002) ISBN 0-756-78048-9

See also

• List of books about 9/11

External link

• FBI timeline of 9/11 hijackers
• Annotated Timeline of the 9/11 Hijackers for Researchers