Shortly Before 7:35 a.m. September 11, 2001: Flight 77 Hijacker Hanjour Checks in at Dulles Airport

Hani Hanjour, one of the men who will allegedly hijack Flight 77, checks in at the American Airlines ticket counter at Washington’s Dulles International Airport. He is flagged by CAPPS (the Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System). [9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 3] CAPPS is an automated system created to identify passengers who should be subjected to special security measures. Passengers selected by it have their baggage screened for explosives or held off the plane until they have boarded. [9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 1, 84; Trento and Trento, 2006, pp. 12] The exact time when Hanjour checks in at the ticket counter is unclear. American Airlines will be unable to find information about his check-in time when the 9/11 Commission requests it. However, the 9/11 Commission will conclude, the check-in “had to have taken place between 7:25 a.m., when he may have parked the rental car in the airport parking lot, and 7:35 a.m., when he appears on the checkpoint videotape” (see 7:35 a.m. September 11, 2001). [9/11 Commission, 8/26/2004, pp. 93]