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hRWWm Rd w Phoenix, Arizona 85012 BEN January 4, 2004 ;b6 b7c LOTFI RAISSI, I
Lotfi Raissi is described as a white male,[::::::::] . 1 [::k:§h s communication augments prior obtaineddisseminations whichestablished regarding and reasonto believeE;:::::::g::L summarizes information |Hani Hanjour, the presumed pi ot of t e ijacked American Airlines Flight 77 on 09/11/2001 who flew the plane into the Pentagon.
OnAugust 21, 1993, at 19 45] Ithe line at the Gulf Air check in desk at Heathrow Airport. Whi e waiting, |a passenger in the line. was arrested and charged with Theft. On September 27, 1993, he was convicted at Uxbridge Magistrates Court. tr has been esLablished_thrnuah_eTfortsby LEGATRome that| the Italian authorities on August Z2, I§§q | I I To summarize circumstances surrounding the detention, the following is provided:
On August 22, 1996, two Italian National Police Officers stopped an individual who appeared to be North African behaving in a suspicious manner in Rome, Italy. The individual produced an international driver's license. issued in Eqypt. identifvinq him| I | | Various checks revealed lhad acriminal
This document contains neither recommendations nor conclusions of the FBI. It is the property of the FBI and is loaned to your agency; it and its contents are not to be distributed outside your agency. .b6 LOTFI RAISSI b7c
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The hotel registry indicated that the Al erian had E?rovided A French documents to the hotel in the name French 12/10/1991identity cardnumberE1 identifie Hssued in France QT | The French womanpossessed |Francea French passport,07/22/1994 on number identifying] issued in Iof twoother Frenchqovernmfnt documentsindicatingElse possessed his thatCOpllS name
The police went to the hotel room and found the woman hurriedly packing a suitcase, and a man taking a shower. Upon seeing the police, the woman threw herself on the floor, _ screaming. The man told her, in French, that "they're Italian olice, they're excrement." The Italian olice found an Algerian n |containing hotograph, issued to| Also found were the following items: a copy of the Koran - w ich the Algerian ' did not want touched, a form I-20M-N, entitled, US Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Certificate of Eligibility for Non-immigrant M-1! Student Status For Vocational Students. A M1 visa is issued for vocational or non-academic student training.! On' 9i.mLQo_th§;:d the same day that| |guestioned by the I] e stopped at the Rome-Fiumicino passportsairport were. 1 lCan e s or Newin po York.E:fff:fi::::f::fTalsos ' o f a l French
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LOTFI RAISSI b6 ib7C
possessed fraudulent French documents and tickets to New York on the same dayI I The passports were issued to true individuals, butI Iphotographs had been substituted for the photographs of the original holders of the passports. They were not permitted to travel to New York since that[:?:::¬]wastheir ass orts were associateIan fraudulent. LEGAT Iand Rome recently that learned they played soccer together. The Italians seizedI Icellular telephone on 08/22/1996 and LEGAT Rome has requested the results of the Italian investigation into the telephone. Initial results reveal contacts with four Italian cellular telephones: subscribed toI Isubscribed toI
d toIsubscribed toI L| I The Italian investigator indicated that these individuals are criminals involved in prostitution and narcotics. The Italian investigator offered that one of the telephone numbers isassociatedI I I owever, they did not have Ehe fuI1 connection yet. may be involved in narcotics '' 1 iona y, LEGAT Rome, also learned that was stopped in Dublin, Ireland on either 08/13 1996 or 08/15/1996, coming from the Rome - Fiumicino Frenchairport with a identification|cardIfalse French passport in his own name and an I " Phoenix[::::g:::::::::lappliedfor aB-1 andB-2 visa in Tunis on 8/19/1996 ut was re used due to insufficient documentation. On 08/22/96 he was detained and questioned by the Italians and his Algerian passport, no[:::::::] was seized. On 10/24/96 he applied for an M 1 visa in Tunis with Algerian ass ort, no[:::::::] This was granted. In early November 1996, i;:j%]o tainedan enrolled apartmentrgin fliht training in Phoenix, Arizona I~ and I Ipassport was recovered by His mother in Rome on 12/03/1996.! On 05/10/2001,[::::::]app1ied in London for an M-1 Visa. The Consulate in Tunis conducted a search and [:;::;::]issued theand M lthe Visa. visaI Ipassport,_numberwas requestedfor Ehe purpose attending of f 1g t training at K&S Aviation in Phoenix, Arizona. The adjudication occurred on 05/8/2001 and the M l visa was is d on with and explrarlqn Qf by the Br1t1s in 1993
3 b6 LOTFI RAISSI b7@ for theft under the alias of| Ior his use of the[::::::]alias in his visaapplication. representedThe FBI received that[::%;:::;;]Hanjour information fromwere multiple associated. individualThe who results of those interviews ave een previously disseminated via a Letter Head Memorandum dated O9/22/2001. The information set forth below are excerpts from those interviews which established- the basis for believing| lwith Hanjour. On September14, 2001,] lprovided the following information: | |Sawyer , School of Aviation, hereafter referred to as Sawyer, 2730 Sk Harbor Blvd., Phoenix, Arizona-85034, telephone numberzl |facsimile number:at Sawyer. 02!She 244-2282.] hasbeen employedwiEh Sawyer I I [::;:;::lremembersfour that male individuals thatshe believeSawyer o O6/23/2001.[::::;;]researched on e from the Middle East joined the Simscomputer Club Sawyer at records for Sims Club membership an identified the following male individuals as being the Middle Eastern individuals who joined the club on 06/23/2001 | | Hani Hanjour. Sawyer records reflects that Hanjour's 't the Sims Club expired on 07/29/2001. membership expired on 08/08/2001. E:::::::]provided interviewing Agent with a copy of Sawyer Simulator Club records naming the above described individuals. These were place in a 1A envelope. [:::::::]stated that she distinctly remembers theabove listed individuals because they wandered around the Sawyer facility liked they owned the place. They would all come into the facility at once and block off large segments of time on the AST- 3O0 flight simulator. They would take turns using the simulator. When one of them was using the simulator the others would be lounging around the snack bar area or taking a nap while waiting individualsfor their turns beingon the as simulator. torude other [::::::]describedSawyer employees.t%iff::::::::] stated that these individuals would come in together. ometimes all four would come in and at other times two would come in. She
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believes that two of the individuals only participated briefly in the training. She could not remember which two.
The individuals described above would not normally_make Sawyer'sreservations to block schedule.[::;:;:ilthatout time simulator to u e the simulator norm on for thethe is club members to call the Sawyer fron es and reserve simulator time. It is unusual for members not to reserve time in advance. [::::::]never saw a vehicle s! associatedwith the above described individuals. y E::::::] UNSUB #1 Middle Eastern, male, early to mid 20s in age, 5'2" 5'4"in height, 160 lbs. in weight, short and stocky build, dark olive complexion, black short curly hair, back mustache, spoke English with a heavy accent. , UNSUB #2 Middle Eastern, male, early to mid 20s in age, 5'9" 5'10" in height, 170 lbs. in weight, medium build, dark colored short/medium length hair, dark full mustache. , UNSUB #3 Middle Eastern, male, early mid 20s in age, 5'8" in height, 170 lbs. in weight, olive complexion, medium build, dark colored hair cut short, dark colored mustache. UNSUE #4Middle Eastern, male, early to mid 20s in age, 5'6" -5'7" inheight, olive complexion, dark colored hair, dark colored beard and mustache. On Septemberl5, 200lLm lprovided FBI Phoenix the following info ation= [:::::]advised that he wasemployed] Iat ' v ion A ademy from1991-1999. | [ | Hani Hanjour at the Arizona Aviation Academyflight in 1997. jnstrugtgrf while advisedattending Arizonr that Hanjour Aviation had two additio Academy,Eii:::::] at Arizona| %A viation Aca gwhen Hanjour emy, Hanjour alreadvfirst hadbegan flying some advanced lessons training and a private pilots license. I I | 5 1 b6 LOTFI RAISSI bvc Hanjour was training on the Cessna 172, which is a single engine, four seat and 150 horse power engine. I Ithe ability to fly a Cessna 172 could transfer over to the ability to fly a 757 airplane. I IHanjour was also training for an instrument level, and the instructor for this training|:| I IHanjour was a terrible pilot. Hanjour had difficulty understanding air traffic control, the methods for ' ' nagement and had poor navigati nalo s k'lli s . the ur only flyin skill Han'o could perform was flying the plane straight. he did not believe [:::i::;;:ii:]HanjourHan'our's oorflying skills lessons weretook guage two to barrier._ threetimes er wee , or two months. I after two months, I IHanjour as veryquiet, anddid not discuss politics, the mi itarv or any aspect of his personal life; howeverh] IHanjour became verv upset,| I L anjour woufdoccasionafly on cheat several flyin testsand when confronted aboutit, Hanjour would lieabout it. E:::::::::::::] E:::]IHanjour only associated with the other Arab students, while at Arizona Aviation Academy. [:::::;::::::::;]Hanjour aas male, 5'5", dark short hair, light comp exion, s ight build well spoken, and possessed ade uateEn lish skills. [::::]was shown picturea of Hanjour Aviationand immmmmm gmmmmmmuthat Aca emy. the person[::::::::::::::PtArizona was I lwhen he refusedto continue instructing Haniour. Haniourstarte traininfI Hanjour completed his I trainingJ I 6 b6 Ib7C LOTFI RAISSI On September16, 2001, Phoenix interviewedE;::::::::]FBI [:::::::]regardin her knowledge of Hani Hanjour and nown associates. came in regular contact with Hanjour and his associates lat Arizona Aviation from January 1998 to September 1999. | |had contacted the task force to report that she had some information about Hani Hanjour. [::::::]provided the following information: Istudents pursing various ratings. W ile at Arizona Aviation she had occasional contact with Hanjour and associates. ' . | |Hanjour as a small man who wasvery quiet. A picture of Hanjour was shown[::::::::::]and she recognized him as the Hanjour that trained at Arizona Aviation. F¢Q§k$Hanjour often then and participated would disappear in flying lessonsweeks for months foror a one ato attime. two Arizona Aviation, often had to call» Hanjour in an effort to get Hanjour to pay his bill. Hanjour did not pay his fees daily but often let the monthly bill add up to $1,500 to $2,500, based on the money owed for the plane rental and instructor's fees. On at least two occasions, Hanjour came into th e office ' ' and paid[:::::::]in ' cash ' using small denominations, which he retrieved from an envelope that he was carrying. l IJHanjour and thoughtthat hewas, pursing His private pilots icense while at Arizona Aviation. She thought that Hanjour may have also been pursing his instrument rating as well, after getting his private pilots license. 7 b6 LOTFI RAISSI 1 - bl , I IHan3our was friends with three other student pilots and two other pilot instructors, all of Middle Eastern decent. She assumed that Hanjour was roommates with several of the students based on them sharing rides to and from the airport I_ I _ I IHanjour associates and described him as 22 or 23 years old, who was friendlier than the others. She knewhis name because[:::::::::] I Ifor all the Arizona Aviation s u en s 0 en pic ed up and dropped off the other Middle Eastern stu ents in his own car Another ofHanjour's associates,I I wasa very large man weighing about 250 lbs and described him as having [:ii:::::]fora ood sense of a "Stage humor. Onl Phase Check" May 31, l998,I which I wasrequired to logsecure hisbook that private shepilotsdid notrecommendE5555555}fjto license. ote in hersolo. flight fly also recognizedthe photoI I as a former Arizona Aviation stu en pi ot an an associate of Hanjour. She described him as a very small man, and [ff fjAbdullah'rmed that he was but saw only himaboutaround 5'0" Arizona tall.AvLatIU T J I Ithe photograph ofI I L anjour.I Irecalled IArizona thatI Aviation IHan1our and an associate both tookof " flying lessonsI I Ia very nice man with a nice family and could not possibly see him as being involved in any terrorist attack. a frlelance Ithe hotoat Falcon 9 raP h I Fie , Mesa,I 9 workin anand as iassociate of Hanjour. often rented Arizona Aviation's planes as an instructor but never was on Arizona Aviation payroll. [::::::]flew multi-engine airplanes and was checked out E;______£Zo; Zr;ii;;£;cin:e;£reviation. instructor allowedpilots at fly Arizona atArizonato being Aviation o e i u or hygiene of these Middle Eastern ' odor.students and wasIt were reluctant arrangedto haveg::i:::Lbe to fl with them assigned because of their as[::::::::::] to at le t three o t e a ove fo r students aHanjour,f5 very forceful and pushyu1Ia guy with ba teeEh. I I I a so reca led that he often traveled back and forth to the Middle 8 .b¬ Ib7C LOTFI RAISSI East andremembered conversation one she that had[::::;:::::] of him complaining that he could not smoke cigarettes on merican flights, but that he could smoke on the airlines in his country. | |all of the individuals associated with Hanjour were chain smokers include Hanjour. conductedAn analysis the by of Phoenixrecords Division received from determinedg::::::::]flight Arizona Aviation Egiigggifiida ivi y began total on November a $7,465.15 of 19, 1997 andthe ende training.for on May All 10, 1999. of training was conducted without an instructor. . Hani Hanjour trained on 151 days at Arizona Aviation during athe periodtotal of December $15,110.74 29, for 1997 tothe training. December 23, 2000.Hanjour[::;:::::::;§:::] Hanjour aid engaged in flight activity at Arizona Aviation on t e same ates no less than five times, including: May 29, 1998, June 1, 1998, June 17, 1998, September 30, 1998, and October 7, 1998. On September19, 2001,| |provided FBI Phoenix the following information: In approximately 1996,[::::::]moved to Arizona to finish his flight training. He attended a program at Westwind Aviation for which he would pay $14,000.00 to complete the program. Westwind Aviation was located near the Deer Valley Airport. [:::::::] [:::::::::::::] worked at the airport concession stand in order to raise money for the flight training and living expenses. In April 1997, he was granted his instructor certification. He was certified in commercial, multi engine, and instrument ratings. [::::::]wanted to become an instructor in order to build hours . towards getting a higher level flight status and also to be more marketable to become an air transport pilot. Also, whilef______] in ' While Westwindat Aviation,| lMiddle Eastern students. One student named] |was rom Qatar and was the first student] | This student was government subsidized and attended training at Westwind Aviation.k_ lwhereabouts at this time but be ieves he may be in Qatar. 9 . b6 Ib7C LOTFI RAISSI WestwindAnother student[::::::::::::::::]whoAcademy.He wasapproximately alsomonths twoattended behindE;;:::::]the in his flight training.| Iflewl Ion two di erent occasions that he knows of and described him as having a temper.. He wasAl erianby nationality.At thepresent time,g::%::::::] as adRaissino is otherCOI'1 CaCt in Algeria or ossibl Englan ; owever, [;;;;:;;:]asHani Hanjour very, wasvery a Saudi quiet Arabianwho did not National[::::::::::] interactwith theother s u en s, to include the Arabic or the Muslim students. Hassan had seen Hanjour at the mosque many times and considered him to I 'i His 'ous fatherHani Hanjour's wasdeceased;| flight training was financed| that Hanjou |took on the financial o ligations to ensure that Hanjour was taken care of. Hanjour was described as not anti-social but very much to himself. He sat by himself at lunch and would not go out with the other pilots to do things. The only place that Hanjour was seen outside of the aviation school was by the mosque. 10 b6 ,b'7C LOTFI RAISSI Hani Hanjour was also] [::::::::::::::::]Hanjour as a very poor pilot who did not react to criticism very well. Hanjour was very, very nervous inside the cock it to the point where Hanjour was almost fearful. E;::::::::;::::;fheangours rugg ed withthewith flew instrument HaniHanjour rating,| five on tosix flights. withHanjour theFAA. eventually He had initially passed his failed commercial it once[::::::g:%::]for pilot certification Hani Hanjour s English was extremely weak, and it is e ieved that he wanted to become a Saudi Arabian airlines pilot. Immediately after Hanjour passed his check-out ride for his [:i%:f:i:f%]Hanjourco m r i rating, Hanjoursometime left was for Saudi duringthe Arabia. religious The holidayslast time of Ramadan at the mosque. Hanjour did not approach[:::::::] They spoke only briefly. Hanjour said he wanted to come back to the United States to build more hours. Hanjour also asked 'f he knew where to go to get a 737 aircraft type rating. told him that he would have to contact the school to fin ou ow to get that rating. i [:;;::]became awarethat HaniHanjour wasone ofthe pilots of the ijacked aircraft on approximately Friday or Saturday, September 13 or 14, 2001. While he was talking to his wife on the phone,E:::::]noticed that Hani Hanjour s name and picture had come up on the media. , . On September21, 2001,[::::::::::::::::]provided FBI Phoenix the following information: . I F]America West Airlines.| |employees on the Boein 737 flight system. Prior to his current job the flight - simulators at Sawyer Aviation SA!. a one hour dual ' check flight on the simulators of al in ivi uals joining the Sim Club. I |a check flight on the simulator of an Arab man named Hani. Hani was not interested in going 't school, he was only interested in using the simulator. first met Hani in 1998. I Iwas introduced to Hani |the flight simulators. recalled hat this meeting took place in the hallway of SA. a picture of Hani Hanjour. [:::::]was unaware ll 106 b7C LOTFI RAISSI that the picture was of Hanjour. I Ithe individual pictured Hanjour! was very similar to a man he recalled seeing walking in a hallway at SA[:::::::::::::] - In addition to the Arab man named Hani [:::::::::::::::] other men of Arab descent that were members of the Sim Club. was s ecifically asked if he knew of a man named[::::::::]v . whic remembered well. I Iwas both a member of the Sim Club and the SA flight school. I Ieventually went on to obtain a commercial pilots license, and recalled that E::::]wentairline. back [::::;]did to a middlenot finish easternhis country flight school to fly for training an with SA. He was as ed to leave the program at some point because of hisdone poor hisway. perfo n I Idid .E:::::]hadnot likea badthe peo temper le andor the wantedculture things in the UnitedStates. Fcould possibly be connected in some way, or may have some information regarding the recent terrorist attack on the United States. [:::::]was shown several photographsof menof Arab descent. The photographs were of Arab men whose identities were known to the investigators'' n i 'es. showin the I hoto ra hs.Ithe faces I Iwas of not aware Ef:ffiif:¥%f:E:Eib2uuuAlshehh __13EE?____]andJarra . a member_n£_Lhe_SinL_]Samir. Zaad HeClub. was Heeighty remembered percentsure doingIthat he had seenAlshehhi usingthe simulator He thought he recognized the faces E:::]from his time at SA, and was one hundred percent sure that he had talk to Jarrah at SA. He identified Jarrah's lip as the distinctive feature which made him sure that he had talked with usingJarrah. I thesimulator. I was Ithat Hehe onlei may hty havesure seen bec£;;%&;;;;;;;;;;5 was picturedwith a beard,and[:f:::idid notrecall anyof the men having a beard. [:::::::::::::::]the Arab men that used the simulator come alone. From their behavior he felt that they were all a part of E:::ff::::?:::¬]liveda su ort rou to help each at an apartment com other learn on lex the with simulatoranother [::::::::] Arab man, whoseidentity wasunknown[:::::::::f _ [;::::]recalled thatmen middleof easterndescent beganto "floc " to the Sim Club when word got out that it provided unlimited access to a flight simulator. 12 L<>l _RLS_ 32$, I Iindividuals of middle e rn escent knew that the Phoenix, Arizona area, described as the valley, provided renowned flight training, to inc u e Lufthansa Airlines. Lufthansa has significant operations in both the Phoenix area and the middle east. | |around 1990 there was a significant increase in the amount of people of middle eastern descent that began to request flight training in the Phoenix area. ' [:::::::::::::]the following description of the man known to him as Hani. 9 Sex: Male Weight: 145-150 pounds Hair: Curly, close cropped Build: Very slight and thin Height: 5'5"-5'6" 'Hands= Big and gangly . On September24, 2001,[:::::::::]provided the following information: | ll I Ishown photographsHani of Han'ourE;::;::;:::;::]a o w ome recognized as having attended flight training together at Arizona Aviation. I |Arizona Aviation as a[:::::::::] [from November, 1997 until May, 1999. Hani Hanjour, irst namewas | LastIand another Name Middle EasternUnknown!attended student whose flight trainin to et er a rizona Aviation, arriving very shortly after working there. The only one-on one contact that had with any of the men was on January 6, 1998, at whic m | a flight training testing requirement with Hanjour. A Not long after Haniour| ILNU arrived t |Arizona Aviationhj| alsoI arrived there. I Ibelieved the becausefive men must havewere they known veryclose each other frompriorthe beginning. to the fliEéjigjwould ht training see the men on a regular basis at the flight school, an t ey were usually together. They spoke some English, but mostly they spoke a foreign language[:::::::::::]thought to be Arabic. mista e, Lk las he always Blamed 1 on someone "cocky". else, orIf[::::::lmade c aimed a there 13 b6 .b CI by/D LOTFI RAISSI was a problem with the aircraft. [::::::]talked about going to flight school in Scottsdale, Arizona, and in fact had a 737 [::::i