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time working out at a gym. On the final night before the attacks, they lodged
at a hotel in Herndon,Virginia, close to the airport.
189
Further north, the hijackers targeting United Airlines Flight 93, to depart
from Newark, gathered in that city from their base in Florida on September 7.
Just after midnight on September 8­9, Jarrah received a speeding ticket in Mary-
land as he headed north on I-95. He joined the rest of his team at their hotel.
190
Atta was still busy coordinating the teams. On September 7, he flew from
Fort Lauderdale to Baltimore, presumably to meet with the Flight 77 team in
Laurel. On September 9, he flew from Baltimore to Boston. By then, Shehhi
had arrived there, and Atta was seen with him at his hotel.The next day, Atta
picked up Omari at another hotel, and the two drove to Portland, Maine, for
reasons that remain unknown. In the early morning hours of September 11,
they boarded a commuter flight to Boston to connect to American Airlines
Flight 11. The two spent their last night pursuing ordinary activities: making
ATM withdrawals, eating pizza, and shopping at a convenience store. Their
three fellow hijackers for Flight 11 stayed together in a hotel in Newton, Mass-
achusetts, just outside of Boston.
191
Shehhi and his team targeting United Airlines Flight 175 from Logan Air-
port spent their last hours at two Boston hotels.
192
The plan that started with
a proposal by KSM in 1996 had evolved to overcome numerous obstacles.
Now 19 men waited in nondescript hotel rooms to board four flights the next
morning.
THE ATTACK LOOMS
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