background image
lacked visas; they returned to Florida that same day. They likely took this trip
to renew Suqami's immigration status, as Suqami's legal stay in the United States
ended May 21.
131
On July 30, Shehri traveled alone from Fort Lauderdale to Boston. He flew
to San Francisco the next day, where he stayed one night before returning via
Las Vegas.While this travel may have been a casing flight--Shehri traveled in
first class on the same type of aircraft he would help hijack on September 11
(a Boeing 767) and the trip included a layover in Las Vegas--Shehri was nei-
ther a pilot nor a plot leader, as were the other hijackers who took surveillance
flights.
132
The three Hamburg pilots--Atta, Shehhi, and Jarrah--took the first of their
cross-country surveillance flights early in the summer. Shehhi flew from New
York to Las Vegas via San Francisco in late May. Jarrah flew from Baltimore to
Las Vegas via Los Angeles in early June.Atta flew from Boston to Las Vegas via
San Francisco at the end of June. Each traveled in first class, on United Airlines.
For the east-west transcontinental leg, each operative flew on the same type of
aircraft he would pilot on September 11 (Atta and Shehhi, a Boeing 767; Jar-
rah, a Boeing 757).
133
Hanjour and Hazmi, as noted below, took similar cross-
country surveillance flights in August.
Jarrah and Hanjour also received additional training and practice flights in
the early summer.A few days before departing on his cross-country test flight,
Jarrah flew from Fort Lauderdale to Philadelphia, where he trained at Hort-
man Aviation and asked to fly the Hudson Corridor, a low-altitude "hallway"
along the Hudson River that passes New York landmarks like the World Trade
Center. Heavy traffic in the area can make the corridor a dangerous route for
an inexperienced pilot. Because Hortman deemed Jarrah unfit to fly solo, he
could fly this route only with an instructor.
134
Hanjour, too, requested to fly the Hudson Corridor about this same time,
at Air Fleet Training Systems in Teterboro, New Jersey, where he started receiv-
ing ground instruction soon after settling in the area with Hazmi. Hanjour flew
the Hudson Corridor, but his instructor declined a second request because of
what he considered Hanjour's poor piloting skills. Shortly thereafter, Hanjour
switched to Caldwell Flight Academy in Fairfield, New Jersey, where he rented
small aircraft on several occasions during June and July. In one such instance
on July 20, Hanjour--likely accompanied by Hazmi--rented a plane from
Caldwell and took a practice flight from Fairfield to Gaithersburg, Maryland,
a route that would have allowed them to fly near Washington, D.C. Other evi-
dence suggests that Hanjour may even have returned to Arizona for flight sim-
ulator training earlier in June.
135
There is no indication that Atta or Shehhi received any additional flight
training in June. Both were likely too busy organizing the newly arrived mus-
cle hijackers and taking their cross-country surveillance flights.Atta, moreover,
needed to coordinate with his second-in-command, Nawaf al Hazmi.
136
242
THE 9/11 COMMISSION REPORT
Final 5-7.5pp 7/17/04 11:46 AM Page 242