Fayez Banihammad

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Fayez BanihammadTemplate:Efn (March 19, 1977Template:SndSeptember 11, 2001) was an Emirati terrorist hijacker from al-Qaeda who was one of the five terrorist hijackers aboard United Airlines Flight 175 that was flown into the South Tower of the World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks.

In 1999, Banihammad left the United Arab Emirates for Saudi Arabia, where he joined the al-Qaeda terrorist group. He met Mustafa al-Hawsawi, who allegedly funded the attacks. He entered the United States with a tourist visa, and on August 29, 2001, Banihammad paid for his flight ticket. Flight 175 was meant to fly from Boston's Logan Airport to Los Angeles. On the day of the attacks, after the plane took off, his group of hijackers forced their way into the cockpit. Marwan al-Shehhi, the only other Emirati involved in the attacks, took control of the plane, and flew it into the World Trade Center South Tower, killing everyone on board.

Early lifeEdit

Fayez Rashid Ahmed Hassan al-Qadi Banihammad (who used many aliases but is mainly known as Fayez Banihammad<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":14" />) was born on March 19, 1977.<ref name=":14">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He was allegedly the son of a school principal,<ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and grew up in the Khor Fakkan region of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Little is known about Banihammad's life prior to his involvement with Al-Qaeda. In an FBI report after the attacks, investigators considered him an 'anomaly'.<ref>https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/document/24294-11-september-plot-and-plotters-ctc-2003-40044hc-central-intelligence-agency</ref> Banihammad was married to a Syrian national and had a child. It has been stated that he worked as an immigration officer in the UAE at some point prior to joining Al-Qaeda.<ref>https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1213676/m2/1/high_res_d/911_TerrFin_Monograph.pdf</ref> According to an FBI report, his bank records with Standard Chartered listed his employment as Al Khatab Aluminum Company located in Khor Fakkan, where it was stated he worked in a managerial position.<ref>https://www.scribd.com/document/13120363/FBI-Summary-about-Alleged-Flight-175-Hijacker-Fayez-Ahmed-Banihammad</ref>

Banihammad's family claimed he left the UAE in 1999, saying he was going to join an Islamic relief organization.<ref name=":1" /> Instead, he would go to Saudi Arabia, where he joined the al-Qaeda terrorist group.<ref name=":2" /> He and his family had only one phone call after he left.<ref name=":1" />

September 11 attacksEdit

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BackgroundEdit

The September 11 attacks were a series of terrorist attacks on the United States in 2001, formulated by the al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and Khalid Sheikh Mohammad.<ref name=":3">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":12" /> They would be committed by 19 attackers, targeting four locations with hijacked commercial planes. Three of these locations were each of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, and the Pentagon in Washington D.C.<ref name=":12">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":4">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The fourth target was potentially the U.S Capitol Building, but the fourth plane was unsuccessful in hitting it, because of a revolt by its passengers.<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Banihammad was one of the hijackers.<ref name=":3" /> He was described as one of the "bit players" within his group, which targeted the World Trade Center's South Tower.<ref name=":1" /> The others were Ahmed al-Ghamdi, Hamza al-Ghamdi, Marwan al-Shehhi, and Mohand al-Shehri.<ref name=":5">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> However, he still played a "unique role" in his group; during his time in Saudi Arabia, he met Saudi businessman Mustafa al-Hawsawi, who is alleged to have funded the attacks.<ref name=":2" /><ref>9/11 Commission Report (2004), p. 231.</ref> Banihammad had previously spent one year at university with al-Shehri.<ref name=":6">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He was one of two Emiratis to participate in the attacks, the other being al-Shehhi.<ref name=":3" /> At the time of the attacks, he was 24.<ref name=":2" />

PlanningEdit

Banihammad received his tourist visa on June 18, 2001, one of three hijackers which received their visa much later than the others. Khalid Sheikh Mohammad claimed these three hijackers were not replacements for unsuccessful candidates, but rather extra men to increase the odds of success.<ref name=":2" /><ref>9/11 Commission Report (2004), p. 525.</ref> Before arriving in the United States, he made bank accounts in the United Arab Emirates, at the same bank and time as al-Hawsawi. Familiar with the country's procedures, Banihammad helped al-Hawsawi complete his account application. He gave al-Hawsawi $3,000 and granted him power of attorney over his own account, so al-Hawsawi could forward a bank card to him while he was in the United States. This is likely when al-Hawsawi's role as a financial facilitator of the attacks began. $30,000 was deposited into Banihammad's account on June 25. On June 27, he arrived in the United States using his tourist visa. He landed at Orlando after taking a flight from London. After that, he made Visa and ATM withdrawals from his UAE accounts.<ref name=":2" /><ref>9/11 Commission Report (2004), pp. 237, 527, 528.</ref>

Banihammad most likely lived in Florida during the planning, potentially with al-Shehhi and Mohamed Atta (the attacks' ringleader<ref name=":7"/>) at their apartment in Hollywood, or with other hijackers.<ref name=":11" /><ref>9/11 Commission Report (2004), p. 528.</ref> He reportedly took flight lessons with Atta in Florida. His pilot's license had an address for a flight school in Tulsa, but the school had no record of him attending. A person with his name did attend the Lackland Air Force Base Defense Language Institute in San Antonio.<ref name=":11">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} ABC News. 2003.</ref> In July, he rented a postal box at Mail Boxes Etc. in Delray Beach, and on August 29, he paid for a first-class seat, 2A, on United Airlines Flight 175, using the postal address.<ref name=":0" /> The flight was scheduled to fly from Boston's Logan Airport to Los Angeles on September 11.<ref name=":3" /> It would depart from Logan Airport along with American Airlines Flight 11, which Atta was on.<ref name=":7">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In early September, al-Hawsawi received a Western Union transfer of $26,000 from Atta, al-Shehhi, Waleed al-Shehri, and Banihammad.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":8">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The FBI believed this transaction was the hijackers returning their unused funds as they did not want to "die as thieves". al-Hawsawi later cleaned out Banihammad's bank account in Dubai, and he could do so because he had power of attorney over it.<ref name=":8" />

Day of the attacksEdit

File:WTC 2 plane crash (Myers clip6).webm

United Airlines Flight 175 crashing into the South Tower of the World Trade Center at approximately 9:03 a.m.

On September 11, Banihammad and his group checked in for Flight 175, which was scheduled to depart at 8:00 a.m.<ref name=":13">9/11 Commission Report (2004), p. 2.</ref> They were armed with knives and mace,<ref name=":9">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> but none of them were checked by CAPPS.<ref name=":13" /> Between 7:23 and 7:28, the group boarded. Banihammad sat in seat 2A.<ref name=":13" /> There were 56 passengers and 9 crew on board in total.<ref name=":5" /> At some point, while both Flight 11 and 175 were on the Logan tarmac, Atta and Marwan al-Shehhi talked on their cell phones, confirming their final plan.<ref name=":7" /> 175 departed Logan at 8:14. Around 8:42 to 8:46, the hijackers likely forced their way into the cockpit and stabbed the pilots to death.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":9" /> One of the hijackers stabbed the flight crew and told the other passengers to get back.<ref name=":5" /> al-Shehhi started controlling the plane.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":9" /> Five minutes later, he changed course.<ref name=":5" />

At 9:03 a.m., Flight 175 struck the South Tower.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /> The plane, flying at around 590 miles per hour, hit the 81st floor, and made a hole from the 77th to the 85th floors. All 65 people on board the plane, including the hijackers, died.<ref name=":9" /> Flights 11 and 175 each heavily damaged their respective targets, and both towers collapsed. The South Tower collapsed first, at 9:59 a.m.<ref name=":4" /> More than 600 deaths came from the attack on the South Tower.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":9" />

AftermathEdit

During the FBI's investigation into the attacks, they learned from Ahmed al-Hada, the father-in-law of hijacker Khalid al-Mihdhar, that Banihammad was Emirati.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Banihammad was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the indictment of Zacarias Moussaoui.<ref name=":11" />