Hijackers Hani Hanjour and Khalid Almihdhar meet Luis Martinez-Flores, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, in a 7-Eleven parking lot in Falls Church, Virginia. Martinez-Flores is paid $100 cash to accompany the two to a local Department of Motor Vehicles office and sign forms attesting to their permanent residence in Virginia. Given new state identity cards, the cards are used the next day to get Virginia identity cards for several (five to seven) additional hijackers, including Abdulaziz Alomari, Ahmed Alghamdi, Majed Moqed, and Salem Alhazmi. [Arizona Daily Star, 9/28/2001; Washington Post, 9/30/2001; Wall Street Journal, 10/16/2001]
August 16, 2001: Moussaoui’s Belongings Possess Information Sufficient to Roll Up 9/11 Plot
After Zacarias Moussaoui is arrested, the FBI wishes to search his possessions (see August 16, 2001 and August 23-27, 2001). According to a presentation made by FBI agent Aaron Zebley at Moussaoui’s trial, the belongings are sufficient to potentially connect Moussaoui to eleven of the 9/11 hijackers: Mohamed Atta, Marwan Alshehhi, Ziad Jarrah, Hani Hanjour, Khalid Almihdhar, Nawaf Alhazmi, Fayez Banihammad, Ahmed Alhaznawi, Hamza Alghamdi, Satam Al Suqami, and Waleed Alshehri. The connections would be made, for example, through Ramzi bin al-Shibh, who spoke with Moussaoui on the telephone and wired him money (see July 29, 2001-August 3, 2001), and who was linked to three of the hijacker pilots from their time in Germany together (see November 1, 1998-February 2001). Bin al-Shibh also received money from Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi, who was connected to hijacker Fayez Ahmed Banihammad (see June 25, 2001). [US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division, 7/31/2006] Moussaoui’s notebook contained two recognizable control numbers for the Western Union wire transfers from bin al-Shibh and, according to McClatchy newspapers, a check on these numbers “would probably have uncovered other wires in the preceding days” to bin al-Shibh from al-Hawsawi. [McClatchy Newspapers, 9/11/2007] The discovery of the eleven hijackers could potentially have led to the discovery of some or all of the remaining eight plot members, as they were brothers (Wail and Waleed Alshehri, Nawaf and Salem Alhazmi), opened bank accounts together (see May 1-July 18, 2001 and June 27-August 23, 2001), lived together (see March 2001-September 1, 2001), obtained identity documents together (see April 12-September 7, 2001 and August 1-2, 2001), arrived in the US together (see April 23-June 29, 2001), and booked tickets on the same four flights on 9/11 (see August 25-September 5, 2001).
August 23-September 10, 2001: Flight 77 Hijackers Stay at Valencia Motel
From September 2 (or August 23, according to some reports) until the day before the attacks, five of the hijackers stay in Room 343 at the rundown Valencia Motel in Laurel, Maryland. The five men—Khalid Almihdhar, Majed Moqed, Nawaf Alhazmi, Salem Alhazmi, and Hani Hanjour—are later identified as the hijackers of Flight 77. Their suite has only one bedroom, with two double beds. Reportedly, they all leave it at 10 each morning and go out for the day in an old Toyota Corolla with California license plates. The motel’s manager later will state that only two men rented the room for one week, paying $308 for it with a credit card, though several long-term motel residents will remember a larger group. [Washington Post, 9/19/2001; Baltimore Sun, 9/20/2001; Chicago Tribune, 9/23/2001; Newsday, 9/23/2001; Washington City Paper, 9/28/2001; Cox News Service, 10/15/2001] During their time at the motel the five men show up several times at a nearby gym (see May 6-September 6, 2001). However, there are conflicting accounts that Almihdhar, Hanjour, and Nawaf Alhazmi stayed in San Diego until about September 9 (see Early September 2001).
August 25-27, 2001: Hijackers Alhazmi and Almihdhar Buy 9/11 Plane Tickets Despite Presence on Watch List
Hijacker Khalid Almihdhar buys his 9/11 plane ticket on-line using a credit card; hijacker Nawaf Alhazmi does the same two days later, and also buys a ticket for his brother Salem (see August 25-September 5, 2001). Both men were put on a terrorist watch list on August 23 (see August 23, 2001), but the watch list only means they will be stopped if trying to enter or leave the US. There is another watch list that applies to domestic flights that some of their associates are on, but they are only placed on the international watch list (see April 24, 2000). Procedures are in place for law enforcement agencies to share watch list information with airlines and airports and such sharing is common, but the FAA and the airlines are not notified about this case, so the purchases raise no red flags. [Los Angeles Times, 9/20/2001; US Congress, 9/26/2002] An official later states that had the FAA been properly warned, “they should have been picked up in the reservation process.” [Washington Post, 10/2/2002] On September 4 and 5, 2001, an FBI agent will attempt to find Alhazmi and Almihdhar in the US, but will fail to conduct a simple credit card check that should have revealed these purchases (see September 4-5, 2001).
August 25-September 5, 2001: 9/11 Hijackers Spend Over $30,000 on 9/11 Tickets
All the 9/11 hijackers book their flights for September 11, 2001, using their apparent real names. The total cost of the tickets is in excess of $30,000: 
August 25: Khalid Almihdhar, who was watchlisted two days previously (see August 23, 2001), and Majed Moqed book tickets for American Airlines flight 77 using the AA.com website. They are collected from the American Airlines ticket counter at Baltimore Washington International Airport on September 5. The tickets were not mailed, because the shipping address did not match the credit card address. [US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division, 7/31/2006, pp. 72, 74 
] August 26: Wail Alshehri buys a ticket for American Airlines flight 11 over the phone with his debit card. His brother Waleed buys a ticket for the same flight at the AA.com website using his debit card. [US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division, 7/31/2006 ; US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division, 7/31/2006, pp. 72 ] August 27: Nawaf Alhazmi, who was watchlisted four days before (see August 23, 2001), buys tickets for himself and his brother Salem for American Airlines flight 77 through Travelocity from a Kinkos computer in Laurel, Maryland, using his debit card (see August 25-27, 2001). [US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division, 7/31/2006 ; US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division, 7/31/2006, pp. 72 ] August 27: Saeed Alghamdi uses his debit card to purchase tickets for United Airlines flight 93 for himself and Ahmed Alnami from the UA.com website. The tickets are not paid for until September 5, 2001, due to a problem with the debit card. [US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division, 7/31/2006, pp. 72 ] August 27: Fayez Ahmed Banihammad uses his visa card to purchase tickets for himself and Mohamed Alshehri for United Airlines flight 175 over the telephone. [US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division, 7/31/2006, pp. 72-73 ; US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division, 7/31/2006 ] August 28: Mohamed Atta uses his debit card to buy tickets for American Airlines flight 11 for himself and Abdulaziz Alomari from the AA.com website. [US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division, 7/31/2006 ] August 28: Waleed Alshehri purchases a ticket for Satam Al Suqami for American Airlines flight 11 in person from the company’s counter at Fort Lauderdale Airport. [US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division, 7/31/2006, pp. 73 ] August 28: Marwan Alshehhi purchases a ticket for United Airlines flight 175 from the company’s counter at Miami International Airport. [US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division, 7/31/2006 ; US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division, 7/31/2006, pp. 73 ] August 29: Hamza Alghamdi books tickets for himself and Ahmed Alghamdi for United Airlines flight 175 from the UA.com website. [US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division, 7/31/2006 ] August 29: Ahmed Alhaznawi creates a new e-mail account and Travelocity.com account and uses them to book a ticket for himself on United Airlines flight 93. [US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division, 7/31/2006 ; US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division, 7/31/2006, pp. 74 ] August 30: Ziad Jarrah purchases a ticket for himself for United Airlines flight 93 from the UA website. [US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division, 7/31/2006 ] August 31: Hani Hanjour purchases a ticket for American Airlines flight 77 from ATS Advanced Travel Services in Totowa, New Jersey, paying in cash. [US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division, 7/31/2006 ]
At least five tickets are one way only. [Los Angeles Times, 9/18/2001] There are numerous connections between the hijackers booked on the four flights by this point: Hijackers on different 9/11 flights arrived in the US on the same plane. For example, Salem Alhazmi (Flight 77) arrived with Abdulaziz Alomari (Flight 11), and Fayez Ahmed Banihammad (Flight 175) arrived with Saeed Alghamdi (Flight 93) (see April 23-June 29, 2001); Two of the pilots, Mohamed Atta and Marwan Alshehhi, train and live together, and have a joint bank account (see (Mid-July 2000 – Early January 2001), July 6-December 19, 2000, and June 28-July 7, 2000); Hijackers from different planes open bank accounts together (see May 1-July 18, 2001 and June 27-August 23, 2001); and The hijackers obtain identity documents together (see April 12-September 7, 2001 and August 1-2, 2001).
Six hijackers also provide the same phone number and three use the same address. [Miami Herald, 9/22/2001]
September 4-5, 2001: FBI Agent Fails to Conduct Simple Credit Card Check that Could Have Stopped 9/11 Attacks
On September 4 and 5, 2001, FBI agent Robert Fuller attempts to find hijackers Nawaf Alhazmi and Khalid Almihdhar in the US. However, he fails to perform many basic checks, including a check of credit card usage (see September 4-5, 2001). In 2006, journalist Bob Woodward will report that CIA Director George Tenet believed that FBI could have potentially stopped the 9/11 attacks. Woodward will write, paraphrasing Tenet, “If the FBI had done a simple credit card check on the two 9/11 hijackers who had been identified in the United States before 9/11, Nawaf Alhazmi and Khalid Almihdhar, they would have found that the two men had bought 10 tickets for early morning flights for groups of other Middle Eastern men for September 11, 2001. That was knowledge that might conceivably have stopped the attacks.” [Woodward, 2006, pp. 79-80] Alhazmi and Almihdhar did buy some tickets for themselves and Nawaf Alhazmi also bought a ticket for his brother Salem Alhazmi, but it has not been reported that they bought as many as ten tickets (see August 25-27, 2001 and August 25-September 5, 2001).
September 10, 2001: One or Two Flight 77 Hijackers Are Caught on Video at Dulles Airport
One or two of the future hijackers of Flight 77 are recorded on video in a terminal at Washington’s Dulles International Airport—the airport from which Flight 77 will take off on September 11. [Federal Bureau of Investigation, 4/19/2002; 9/11 Commission, 10/16/2003 ] The video captures Khalid Almihdhar and “possibly” Salem Alhazmi visiting the airport, according to an FBI chronology. [Federal Bureau of Investigation, 11/14/2003 ] They appear to be lost and are paying special attention to the emergency exits in the terminal. [9/11 Commission, 10/16/2003 ] They are captured on video at an unspecified time this evening. Whether any other men are with them is unclear. They are in Terminal B at the airport. Flight 77 will depart from Terminal D. However, Edward Faggen, vice president and general counsel for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which operates Dulles Airport, will later note that the mobile lounges for departures from Terminal B and Terminal D are located next to each other. [9/11 Commission, 9/29/2003 ] A group of five Middle Eastern men is witnessed by two employees at the airport this evening, behaving suspiciously and trying to go through a door that leads to the airport’s secure areas (see (Between 8:00 p.m. and 8:45 p.m.) September 10, 2001). Two of these men will be identified as Flight 77 hijacker Nawaf Alhazmi and Flight 175 hijacker Marwan Alshehhi. [Federal Bureau of Investigation, 9/14/2002; Trento and Trento, 2006, pp. 2-6, 43-44]
7:15 a.m.-7:36 a.m. September 11, 2001: Flight 77 Hijackers Are Recorded on Video at Dulles Airport
Security cameras at Washington’s Dulles International Airport capture the alleged hijackers of Flight 77 checking in at the airport and passing through a security screening checkpoint. [Federal Bureau of Investigation, 9/19/2001; 9/11 Commission, 4/6/2004 ] A surveillance camera located above the British Airways ticket counter points toward the American Airlines ticket counter, and therefore records alleged hijackers Nawaf Alhazmi and Salem Alhazmi when they check in at the airport (see 7:29 a.m. September 11, 2001). [Federal Bureau of Investigation, 9/25/2001] Another surveillance camera located by the British Airways ticket counter also points toward the American Airlines ticket counter, and records alleged hijackers Khalid Almihdhar and Majed Moqed when they check in (see 7:15 a.m. September 11, 2001). [Federal Bureau of Investigation, 9/19/2001; Federal Bureau of Investigation, 9/19/2001] All five of the alleged hijackers of Flight 77 are recorded on video as they go through a security checkpoint at the airport (see 7:18 a.m. September 11, 2001, (Shortly Before 7:35 a.m.) September 11, 2001, and 7:36 a.m. September 11, 2001). [9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 3; 9/11 Commission, 8/26/2004, pp. 27] Dulles Airport is the only one of the three airports used by the hijackers this morning that has videotaping equipment in use at its security checkpoints. Consequently, William Johnstone, a member of the 9/11 Commission staff, will later note, “the most specific information that exists about the processing of the 9/11 hijackers is information about American Airlines Flight 77,” which will take off from Dulles Airport this morning (see (8:20 a.m.) September 11, 2001). [9/11 Commission, 1/27/2004] In 2004, news organizations will receive a copy of a surveillance video apparently showing the alleged hijackers passing through a security checkpoint at Dulles Airport before boarding Flight 77. The Associated Press will describe the video as “grainy” and report that details are “difficult to distinguish.” It will note that “[n]o knives or other sharp objects are visible” on the video. [Associated Press, 7/22/2004]
7:29 a.m. September 11, 2001: Flight 77 Hijackers Nawaf and Salem Alhazmi Check in at Dulles Airport
Brothers Nawaf Alhazmi and Salem Alhazmi, two of the men who will allegedly hijack Flight 77, check in at the American Airlines ticket counter at Washington’s Dulles International Airport. [9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 3, 452; 9/11 Commission, 8/26/2004, pp. 27] They are running late. They “come running in the front door, looking around, and didn’t know which way to go,” Vaughn Allex, an employee at the ticket counter, will later describe. [CNN, 9/8/2012; ABC 7, 9/10/2016] They are captured on security video pulling large, dark, roller-type suitcases as they approach the counter. [Federal Bureau of Investigation, 9/19/2001] They are allowed to check in despite having missed the official deadline for doing so by a few minutes. [CNN, 9/8/2012; ABC 7, 9/10/2016]
Trainee Checks in the Hijackers – Nawaf and Salem Alhazmi are checked in by Inga Hill, a trainee who is overseen by Allex. [Federal Bureau of Investigation, 9/19/2001; Federal Bureau of Investigation, 9/25/2001] Today is only her second day working at Dulles Airport. [Federal Bureau of Investigation, 9/12/2001] Allex looks on while she confirms the brothers’ tickets. [Federal Bureau of Investigation, 9/25/2001] The Alhazmis check in two dark-colored bags, one of them a hard plastic suitcase, the other a soft bag, Hill will recall. One of the brothers has a carry-on bag, she will say. [Federal Bureau of Investigation, 9/12/2001] Allex will recall the brothers having only one bag, which he considers to be “totally inappropriate for a trip to Los Angeles.” The bag is “almost like a satchel” with straps across the top but which doesn’t seal, he will say. [CNN, 9/8/2012]
Hijackers Have Difficulty Answering Questions – Nawaf and Salem Alhazmi show passports for their photo identification but are unable to recall the country from which these were issued. They also have trouble answering the security questions that all passengers must answer. Allex therefore has to get involved and take over the task of questioning them, Hill will recall. [Federal Bureau of Investigation, 9/12/2001] However, Allex will say he takes on the task of checking them in from the outset because they are running late. [CNN, 9/8/2012] Nawaf Alhazmi is the only one of the brothers who speaks during the check-in, but his English is poor. Salem Alhazmi, meanwhile, acts “very anxious or excited,” according to Allex. [Federal Bureau of Investigation, 9/12/2001; Federal Bureau of Investigation, 9/25/2001] “He was grinning, he was smiling, and he was dancing back and forth,” Allex will say. [CNN, 9/8/2012]
Hijackers Are Selected for Extra Scrutiny – Allex selects the two brothers for extra security scrutiny. He does this because he finds them suspicious, and one of them—probably Salem Alhazmi, according to the 9/11 Commission—has no photo identification and cannot understand English. However, the only consequence of the extra scrutiny will be that their bags are held off Flight 77 until it is confirmed that they have boarded it.
Employee Is Suspicious and Follows the Hijackers – After being checked in, Nawaf and Salem Alhazmi proceed to a security screening checkpoint (see 7:36 a.m. September 11, 2001). [9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 3; 9/11 Commission, 8/26/2004, pp. 27-28; USA Today, 9/12/2016] They no longer have their suitcases with them when they leave the ticket counter. [Federal Bureau of Investigation, 9/19/2001] Allex is still uncomfortable with the two men and follows them for a few steps. He stops himself, though, as he is concerned that his suspicion may be racially motivated. [CNN, 9/8/2012] The name of Nawaf Alhazmi was recently added to a terrorism watch list (see August 23, 2001). [Associated Press, 7/22/2004; 9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 270] An employee at Dulles Airport will recall encountering him and four other Middle Eastern men as they tried to get to a secure area of the airport the previous evening (see (Between 8:00 p.m. and 8:45 p.m.) September 10, 2001). [9/11 Commission, 1/19/2004 ; Trento and Trento, 2006, pp. 2-6, 43-44]
7:36 a.m. September 11, 2001: Flight 77 Hijackers Nawaf and Salem Alhazmi Go through a Security Checkpoint at Dulles Airport and One of Them Sets Off Alarms
Brothers Nawaf Alhazmi and Salem Alhazmi, two of the men who will allegedly hijack Flight 77, go through a security screening checkpoint at Washington’s Dulles International Airport. They are screened at the west checkpoint in the airport’s main terminal. Both men have one carry-on bag. After entering the checkpoint, Salem Alhazmi walks through a metal detector without setting off the alarm and so is allowed to continue on his way. However, Nawaf Alhazmi sets off the alarm when he passes through it and so he has to walk through a second metal detector. He again sets off the alarm. He is therefore hand-wanded by a member of staff and has his carry-on bag swiped by an explosive trace detector. These checks apparently find no problems and so he is allowed to proceed on his way. Salem Alhazmi’s bag is not physically inspected while the two men are at the checkpoint, nor are the contents of Nawaf Alhazmi’s bag. Security camera footage will later reveal that Nawaf Alhazmi has an unidentified item clipped to the rim of the back pocket of his pants. One of the other Flight 77 hijackers passed through the west checkpoint a minute ago (see 7:35 a.m. September 11, 2001) and two more passed through it 17 minutes before that (see 7:18 a.m. September 11, 2001). The FAA’s Washington Civil Aviation Security Field Office will investigate the security screening at Dulles Airport today and the screeners who were on duty will recall having encountered no suspicious activity and nothing out of the ordinary this morning. [Federal Bureau of Investigation, 9/19/2001; 9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 3; 9/11 Commission, 8/26/2004, pp. 27-28]
