Nawaf al-Hazmi

Nawaf Muhammad Salim al-Hazmi (Arabic: نواف محمد سالم الحازمي, romanized: Nawāf Muḥammad Sālim al-Ḥāzmī; 9 August 1976 – 11 September 2001) was a Saudi terrorist who took part in the attacks on September 11, 2001. He was one of the five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77, which was flown into the Pentagon.

Al-Hazmi and a friend, Khalid al-Mihdhar, left Saudi Arabia in 1995 to fight in the Bosnian War. He later went to Afghanistan to fight with the Taliban. In early 1999, he returned to Saudi Arabia.

Al-Hazmi and al-Mihdhar were chosen by Osama bin Laden to be part of a big plan to crash airplanes into important places in the United States. Al-Hazmi arrived in Los Angeles, California, in January 2000. He and al-Mihdhar lived in San Diego and tried to learn to fly, but they struggled because of their limited English.

On September 11, 2001, al-Hazmi and four other hijackers took control of American Airlines Flight 77. The plane was flown into the Pentagon, causing many deaths. Later, it was learned that al-Hazmi had played a bigger part in planning the attacks than first thought.

Early life and activities

Nawaf al-Hazmi was born in Mecca in Saudi Arabia. As a teenager, he traveled to Afghanistan. Later, he and his friend, Khalid al-Mihdhar, went to fight with Bosnian Muslims in the Bosnian War. After that, they returned to Afghanistan where they fought alongside the Taliban against the Afghan Northern Alliance. Eventually, al-Hazmi went back to Saudi Arabia.

Selected for the 9/11 plot

Osama bin Laden respected al-Hazmi and his friend al-Mihdhar for their past experiences fighting in wars. Bin Laden chose them to be part of a big plan involving airplanes. Al-Hazmi was very eager to join and already had a special travel document to the United States when he was chosen.

In late 1999, al-Hazmi and others went to a training camp in Afghanistan. They later traveled to Malaysia for an important meeting where they discussed plans. After the meeting, they traveled to the United States to prepare for their roles in the attacks.

In the United States

Enters the United States with Mihdhar

On January 15, 2000, al-Hazmi and al-Mihdhar arrived together at Los Angeles International Airport from Bangkok and were allowed to stay for six months. On February 1, 2000—just 17 days after entering the United States—they met Omar al-Bayoumi and Caysan Bin Don at a restaurant in Culver City, California. Al-Bayoumi helped them move to San Diego, where they rented an apartment and got by with very little furniture.

While living in San Diego, the two took flight lessons but struggled because of their poor English skills. They also spent time at a local mosque and got a part-time job at a car wash. In April 2000, al-Hazmi took a short flight lesson, and both men continued learning to fly later that May. However, they had trouble understanding instructions and did not progress well.

In late May 2000, they moved to Lemon Grove, California. Al-Mihdhar soon left the country, angering a leader who did not want al-Hazmi to be alone. In July 2000, al-Hazmi extended his visa, which was set to expire soon.

In September 2000, both men moved into the home of an FBI informant in San Diego, though he did not think they were suspicious. Al-Mihdhar left again shortly before October, and al-Hazmi stayed until December.

Another hijacker, Hani Hanjour, joined al-Hazmi in San Diego in December 2000. They later moved to Phoenix, Arizona, for more flight training, and then to Mesa, Arizona, where they rented an apartment in January 2001.

2001

In March 2001, al-Hazmi received videos about flying large airplanes and maps of New York City. On March 30, he told his utility company he might move away. In April, he was pulled over for speeding in Oklahoma but had no alerts on his driver’s license.

Al-Hazmi and Hanjour moved to Virginia and met a man named Eyad Alrababah, who helped them find an apartment in Alexandria. Later in May, two more hijackers joined them. In June, al-Hazmi’s car had a minor accident on the George Washington Bridge. He got driver’s licenses in Florida and Virginia during the summer.

Al-Hazmi and Hanjour took a practice flight together in July. Throughout the summer, al-Hazmi met regularly with another leader to discuss plans. In August, al-Hazmi’s name was given to American intelligence agencies by Israeli intelligence, but the connection was not made with earlier contacts by local law enforcement.

On August 27, al-Hazmi and his brother bought plane tickets online. On September 1, al-Hazmi checked into a motel in Maryland, where another hijacker had stayed a few days earlier.

Attacks

Main article: American Airlines Flight 77

On September 10, just before a big event, three men, including al-Hazmi, stayed at a hotel in Herndon, Virginia. The next morning, al-Hazmi got on American Airlines Flight 77. The plane took off a little late. During the flight, the hijackers took control of the plane and turned it toward Washington, D.C. The plane crashed into a building called the Pentagon at 9:37, and everyone on the plane and many people in the building were hurt.

Aftermath

Nawaf al-Hazmi's blue Toyota Corolla was found the next day at Dulles International Airport. Inside, there were maps of Washington, D.C. and New York City, a cashier's check for a flight school, drawings of a Boeing 757 cockpit, a box cutter, and some notes and phone numbers.

During the recovery at the Pentagon, the remains of the hijackers were identified by checking against DNA samples from the victims. The FBI took care of these remains. Some time later, a worker at a Las Vegas hotel told the FBI she thought she had met al-Hazmi and asked about hotels near Los Angeles.

Timeline in America

In 2005, some people said that a government project had watched Nawaf al-Hazmi and his friends because they thought they were part of a dangerous group.

• On 15 January 2000, al-Hazmi and a friend arrived in Los Angeles from Thailand.
• In February 2000, they moved to San Diego.
• In Autumn 2000, al-Hazmi worked at a gas station in San Diego.
• In March 2001, al-Hazmi and another friend moved from Phoenix to Falls Church, Virginia.
• In Mid-March 2001, al-Hazmi and three friends stayed in a hotel in Fairfield, Connecticut, where they met someone who might have helped them with papers.

In popular culture

An Arabic actor named Massey Ahmar played Nawaf al-Hazmi in two TV shows. These shows were called "9/11: The Pentagon Attack" from the series Mayday and "Headline News" from the series Air Crash Investigation Special Report.