Hani Hanjour, the hijacker pilot would fly American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon begins Boeing large airplane simulator training in Arizona. The Saudi is the most experienced of the three pilots, having received his commercial airline license in 1999. But he evidently could not get a job with any airline.
After the 9/11 attacks, much was written, based on FBI leaks and inquiries with the various flight schools where the hijackers trained, about how poor the flying skills of the four were, particularly of Hanjour, who even Mohammed Atta doubted. These types of stories – that they were bad pilots or bad Muslims – seem in hindsight to be foolish and short sighted. Their piloting skills were obviously good enough to fly their aircraft into their targets – Hanjour being the most skillful when one considers how low he had to fly to plow into the Pentagon building at virtual ground level. And as for questioning their faith or dehumanizing the hijackers, it seems foolish in terms of understanding their extreme motivations that carried them to the attacks.
Day: February 8, 2021