Hijacker had Phoenix connection
Associated Press

Associated Press
Sept. 14, 2001 

A man identified as a hijacker of the plane that hit the Pentagon had lived in the Phoenix area and may have received pilot training in Scottsdale.

Hani Hanjour was one of 19 people identified by the U.S. Department of Justice as hijackers in Tuesday's terror attacks and one of five believed to have been aboard American Airlines Flight 77. It said he was a "possible pilot."Ed Hall, an FBI spokesman in Arizona, confirmed that Hanjour lived in Arizona during parts of at least the last two or three years. Hanjour also lived in San Diego last year, the FBI said.

T. Gerald Chilton Jr., a corporate officer for CRM Airline Training Center in Scottsdale, said a Hani Hanjoor received pilot instruction there for three months in 1996 and in December 1997. He put down a $100 deposit toward additional training in 1997, but did not attend any other classes.

"We have notified the FBI of this and turned over all our records," Chilton said.

CRM President Duncan K.M. Hastie said Hanjoor did not qualify for a pilot's license while training in Scottsdale, but contacted him again last year for advanced training after receiving his pilot's license somewhere else. That request was turned down.

Hanjoor was polite and personable, but a poor student, Hastie said. "He didn't do his homework and he didn't show up on time."

Hanjoor was a small man, about 5 feet tall and 120 pounds, Hastie said, adding that he did not express any hostilities toward the United States.

"Like all Americans I'm horrified at the events of this week and have done everything possible and will continue to do everything possible to supply information, which might help the authorities in their investigation," he said.

The FAA Airmen Directory lists a Jani Saleh Hanjoor as having at one time had a student pilot license with an address corresponding with CRM. The company, located in an office complex at Scottsdale Airport, provides instruction for those seeking to become commercial and private pilots.

Flight 77 was one of four planes hijacked by terrorists. Two hit the World Trade Center in New York and the last crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers apparently tried to retake the plane.

FBI agents were contacting flight schools across the country where the hijackers may have received training. Agents also were searching apartments and houses believed to have been rented by the hijackers.

According to an Associated Press database search, a Hani Saleh Hanjoor was listed as living in an apartment complex in north Phoenix.

The complex has no records of a tenant with that name, according to Carol Fogarty, manager of Valle Cita Garden Apartments.

The FAA Airmen Directory also lists a Hani Saleh Hanjoor with a P.O. box in Taife, Saudi Arabia. Hanjoor held a commercial  pilot's license with an October 1999 expiration date for his medical certification.

There were no phone listings for Hani Hanjour, Hani Saleh Hanjoor or Jani Saleh Hanjoor in the Phoenix area.

Hanjour and two other hijackers - Khalid Al-Midhar and Nawaq Alhamzi - lived in the San Diego area during 2000, FBI spokeswoman Jan Caldwell said.