1. Early life and background
Abdulaziz al-Omari's formative years were spent in Saudi Arabia, where he pursued both secular and religious education, eventually becoming an imam. His early background also included alleged connections to extremist groups.
1.1. Childhood and education
Abdulaziz al-Omari was born on May 28, 1979, in Aseer, Saudi Arabia, into a poor Arab family. He was a fellow countryman of brothers Wail al-Shehri and Waleed al-Shehri, who were also hijackers in the September 11 attacks. It is alleged that he graduated with honors from high school before earning a degree from Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University. Shortly before the attacks, he got married and had a daughter. He served as an imam at his mosque in al-Qassim province, a region known as the "heartland" of Wahhabism, a strict form of Islam. Experts have referred to this mosque as a "terrorist factory," where al-Omari may have been taught by the radical cleric Sulayman al Alwan.
1.2. Early activities and extremist ties
According to Walid bin Attash, al-Omari was among a group of future hijackers who provided security at Kandahar airport following their basic training at an al-Qaeda camp. American authorities stated that immigration records indicate a person named Abdulaziz al-Omari visited Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, during the 2000 Al Qaeda Summit held there. However, they expressed uncertainty as to whether this was the same individual. Prior to his involvement in the 9/11 attacks, al-Omari was also noted as an airport security guard.
2. Involvement in the September 11 attacks
Abdulaziz al-Omari played a direct role in the September 11 attacks, from the initial planning stages to the final moments aboard the hijacked aircraft.
2.1. Planning and preparation
Al-Omari became involved in the planning of the September 11 attacks on the United States, an idea originally formulated by Osama bin Laden. The plan involved hijacking commercial airplanes and crashing them into significant buildings. Al-Omari's specific role was to hijack American Airlines Flight 11, which was designated to crash into the World Trade Center in New York City. He was 22 years old at the time of the hijacking. In the autumn of 2001, after the attacks, al Jazeera television broadcast a tape that they claimed was made by him. In this farewell suicide video, the speaker stated, "I am writing this with my full conscience and I am writing this in expectation of the end, which is near... God praise everybody who trained and helped me, namely the leader Sheikh Osama bin Laden."
2.2. Entry into the United States and pre-attack movements
A person identified as Abdulaziz al-Omari visited the Philippines twice in February 2001. On June 29, 2001, al-Omari and fellow hijacker Salem al-Hazmi entered the United States via a flight from Dubai, landing in New York City. Al-Omari gained entry using the Visa Express program. It is believed that the two were picked up by Salem's brother, Nawaf al-Hazmi, on June 30, a theory supported by a recorded traffic accident involving Nawaf on the George Washington Bridge that day.
Al-Omari likely stayed with several other hijackers in Paterson, New Jersey, where he rented a mailbox, before moving to his own residence in Vero Beach, Florida, accompanied by his wife and three children. On the rental agreement for his Vero Beach house, al-Omari authorized two license plates for parking, one of which was registered to Mohamed Atta, the mastermind of the attacks. Al-Omari attended the FlightSafety academy in Vero Beach along with fellow hijackers Mohand al-Shehri and Saeed al-Ghamdi. He also acquired a fake United States ID card from All Services Plus in Passaic County, New Jersey, a business known for selling fraudulent documents; another such ID was provided to Khalid al-Mihdhar. The employee who issued the IDs claimed to have no knowledge that the individuals were "anything more [than ordinary] customers." Atta purchased tickets for Flight 11 for both himself and al-Omari on August 28. On September 6, al-Omari and fellow hijacker Satam al-Suqami flew from Florida to Boston, where they stayed at the Park Inn Hotel.
2.3. Final days before the attack
On September 10, 2001, Mohamed Atta picked up al-Omari from the Park Inn Hotel in Boston, and the two drove to South Portland, Maine, in a rented Nissan Altima. While some sources state there is no evidence to explain their presence in Portland, ABC News suggested it was a last-minute decision by Atta to stagger the entrances of the Flight 11 hijackers into Logan International Airport on September 11. Although multiple individuals claimed to have seen Atta and other hijackers in Portland that summer, the FBI found no corroborating evidence.
On September 10, Atta and al-Omari rented room 233 at the town's Comfort Inn and did not request a wake-up call. Their luggage contained various items, including a folding knife, a videocassette related to a Boeing 757 flight simulator, pepper spray, Atta's will, and Atta's handwritten instructions for his 18 fellow hijackers; notably, American Airlines Flight 11 was a Boeing 767.
They remained in their hotel room for two hours, until 8 p.m., when al-Omari made a four-minute phone call from a nearby Pizza Hut's pay phone to a phone belonging to Marwan al-Shehhi, who would later hijack United Airlines Flight 175. Five minutes later, at a restaurant named Pizzeria Uno, the two withdrew 80 USD from an ATM. They then returned to the Pizza Hut, where a second pay phone call was placed at 8:50 p.m. They decided to go to Walmart but became lost and stopped at a gas station to ask for directions. In a video recorded at the gas station, Atta can be seen holding a piece of paper and showing it to al-Omari before they depart. At Walmart, the two purchased a six-volt battery converter for an unknown purpose. Walmart staff reportedly claimed that weeks earlier, Atta had purchased a box cutter there, though this claim remains uncorroborated. The two then returned to the Comfort Inn, where they stayed for several hours.
2.4. Day of the attacks
At 5:33 a.m. on September 11, al-Omari and Atta checked out of the Comfort Inn. Al-Omari made another cash withdrawal at the Pizzeria Uno ATM before the two proceeded to Portland International Jetport. Around 5:40 a.m., they spoke with a ticket agent who found nothing suspicious about them. Both men boarded their connecting flight, which landed at Logan International Airport at 6:45 a.m., where eight other hijackers were awaiting. It remains unclear why this connecting flight through Portland was necessary, particularly since the two nearly missed their subsequent flight at Logan. Their final flight, American Airlines Flight 11, was originally scheduled to fly to Los Angeles.
Atta and al-Omari then boarded Flight 11, accompanied by fellow hijackers Satam al-Suqami, Wail al-Shehri, and Waleed al-Shehri. The other hijackers at the airport boarded United Airlines Flight 175. Al-Omari's passport, which would later help investigators identify him as a hijacker, was in the aforementioned luggage that was accidentally left behind at Portland International Airport, failing to make it onto the connecting flight to Logan. The two men likely concluded that they did not need the folding knife and pepper spray from that luggage for their planned attacks. Atta and al-Omari were seated next to each other in first class, in row 8, on Flight 11. The flight departed the Logan runway at 7:59 a.m. The hijackers began to take control of the plane at 8:14 a.m., at which point multiple passengers were subjected to mace and stabbing. Atta then assumed command of the aircraft's controls. At 8:37 a.m., the plane initiated a rapid descent. At 8:46 a.m., American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center, killing everyone onboard. The impact affected floors 93 to 99, resulting in numerous fatalities within the building.
3. Aftermath and identity controversy
Controversy surrounding Abdulaziz al-Omari's identity arose shortly after the September 11 attacks. Initially, the FBI mistakenly identified Abdul Rahman al-Omari, a pilot for Saudi Arabian Airlines, as the pilot of Flight 11. It was quickly established that this individual was still alive, and the FBI subsequently issued an apology. It was also swiftly determined that Mohamed Atta was the actual pilot among the hijackers. The FBI then correctly named Abdulaziz al-Omari as one of the hijackers.
A man with the same name as that released by the FBI surfaced in Saudi Arabia, alive, stating that he had studied at the University of Denver and that his passport had been stolen there in 1995. The FBI had released the name, origin, birth date, and occupation of the hijacker, but the accompanying picture was not of this living individual. The man famously stated, "I couldn't believe it when the FBI put me on their list. They gave my name and my date of birth, but I am not a suicide bomber. I am here. I am alive. I have no idea how to fly a plane. I had nothing to do with this."
On October 5, 2001, the FBI held a press conference where they provided specific details regarding the movements of Atta and the real Abdulaziz al-Omari on September 10 and 11, clarifying the identity of the hijacker involved in the attacks.