Posted on 04/09/2005 3:45:08 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
A man trained as a pilot at a Lawrenceville airport three years ago raised an international terror alert this week. He was found in Britain on Friday, the FBI said.
Zayead Christopher Hajaig, a 35-year-old British national, "remains a person of interest" although he has been located, said Steve Emmett, an FBI spokesman in Atlanta.
FBI officials released little information about Hajaig on Friday. They would not say whether he had been detained or how he had been located.
Earlier this week, authorities issued a "special alert bulletin" warning airports about Hajaig, who took flight lessons at Astron Enterprises at Gwinnett County Airport-Briscoe Field during 2002. The alert said he should not be allowed to rent or fly airplanes or take flying lessons.
In the special bulletin sent to law enforcement agencies and aviation facilities, the Atlanta Joint Terrorism Task Force said Hajaig tried to have his pilot rating upgraded despite not being qualified and became "aggressive" while pushing for the flight school to speed up his training schedule.
An upgrade in rating could mean several things for a pilot. It could mean the pilot is qualified to fly larger and more complex aircraft or the pilot is trained to fly in poor conditions. FBI officials would not say why Hajaig sought to upgrade his pilot rating.
Astron flight instructor Arthur Gagnon confirmed Hajaig had been a student at the school. "But I did not teach that guy," Gagnon said Friday. "I just work part time there."
Employees at the school, located in a one-story, metal-sided building about a half-mile from the main entrance to the airport, referred questions about Hajaig to the owner. The school's owner did not return messages left at the school Friday seeking comment.
Hajaig was in the United States illegally, but was able to obtain an FAA pilot's license, according to the FBI terror alert.
Two of the hijackers who crashed airliners in to the World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, 2001, trained as pilots at Briscoe Field. Mohamed Atta and Marwanal-Shehhi rented single engine airplanes at the Lawrenceville airport about eight months before the attacks and flew with flight instructors of Advanced Aviation.
Manoj Lamba, chief flight instructor at the Flight School of Gwinnett — another business that teaches pilots at Briscoe Field — said it was hard to believe someone could slip through the "extensive" screening process put in place for flight schools after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Lamba said that to enroll in a flight school, an applicant must prove he or she is a U.S. citizen and must present a valid birth certificate or passport. A citizen of a foreign country must register with the Transportation Security Administration and submit to a lengthy background check, he said, and applicants must submit fingerprints and cannot start lessons until the background check is completed.
It is unclear what sort of identification Hajaig used to enroll in the flight school or how long he took classes. FAA spokesman Roland Herwig said Hajaig received a private pilot license in April 2002. Hajaig obtained single-engine, multi-engine and instrument ratings, Herwig said. But Hajaig's pilot licence was voided in November 2002 because he had not sought an examination from an aviation physician, Herwig said.
Herwig declined to answer questions about the background checks the FAA uses when screening people applying for a pilot's license. Hajaig listed a post office box in Morrow as his address when applying for his pilot license, Herwig said. A public records search of Hajaig's name gave as his residence, for several years, a home on Peridot Court in Jonesboro.
Neighbors there said they did not know Hajaig. "I did not know anybody like that lived next door," said Jeryl Clemons, who said her family has lived on Peridot Court for 14 years.
Hajaig registered to vote in Clayton County, according to records. Elections Director Annie Bright said he was removed from voter rolls in 2002 after county officials discovered he was not a citizen.
— Staff writers Saeed Ahmed, Dave Hirschman, Bill Montgomery, Add Seymour, Pete Scott and Eric Stirgus contributed to this article.
The FAA changed that SSN rule about a year ago.
My guess is that he appeared that way but something made someone believe he was something else. Lying about being a US citizen, using only a PO Box, and then running away at about the time he needed a flight physical were all probably good signs that no one picked up on immediately. His previous physical was probably pre- 9-11 when no one even noticed things he had put down on the physical forms. After 9-11, even the Docs (and Oklahoma City) looked things over more carefully. I'm also guessing that Hajaig semi panicked at about that time and made it look like he had lost interest in getting his upgraded rating. Someone finally put two and two together.
I believe a few of the 9/11 terrorists were college graduates.
I can think of a number of reasons. The FAA routinely issues licences to non-residents (myself included) and given the way bureaucracies work I'd bet they never talk to the folks at Immigration.
Dear cincinatus wife and fellow site users.
Hey lets bare facts ok . one is( I AM NOT A TERRORIST) if I was one , the UK authorities would have jailed me by now . or something to that effect. Now lets see I am considered a person of interest by the government of the US. So there you go ,does that quell your hatred for me or yet.
Dumb as a rock ,are the words that come to mind when I think of the so called cincinatus wife.
OK..
First. I have been flying for over 11 years mate with apx 700 hours . its taken that long because of financial reasons and supporting 3 kids ..yeah sound normal yet mate??
NOW I worked in the us since 91 , do we agree and understand thus far that 91 is well before sept /11/01. so how is this chronology unfolding in your minds??? .
On going I flew with several flight schools in Georgia . none of which where part 141 or so and if some where I always flew under part 61. so bollix to your assertions as a flight instructor in the know …you know nothing mate.
I am not a student nor did I let my medical lapse you spastic wankers. why not check with the last school I flew with . astron enterprises . you will get the facts straight from the horses mouth .
While in the usa for nearly ten years I paid my taxes and worked to sustain a life and career plan ,just like any average normal Joe ..
I am a Christian an Adventist to be precise …the name hajaig is of Armenian origin . yes to the dumb many readers of this site ,,there are other countries other than the us of a . and beyond the borders lie other cultures ,people with two legs and two hands ..and a brain and language to boot . what I am trying to say who is not an immigrant in the USA today ,,to those in favour of only Irish immigrants do not reply …now I was born in colonial west Africa i.e.; British and moved to the UK when I was a baby ..my dad is British and my mom is French . yes my grand parents are the Armenian folks …you now have a picture of my roots ..I hope you are not confused yet??????????
So I was in aviation well before the murdering bastards flew in to the buildings . I have nothing to do with them nor did I ever come with in a billion miles close to any of them,. I am too busy raising my kids and saving money for my flying , keeping up with my credit and paying my bloody taxes .all that I am guilty off was overstaying my visa ….to find out how this unfolded to this big time saga in the minds of the many racist amongst you . refer to Astons enterprises and indulge in bare honest to god facts…. May god never judge you like you have judged me . I forgive you all as brethren in this time and earth .. other facts ..I got my private pilot license in 99. my instrument rating 2000. my multi engine instrument in 2002. also passed all my written commercial exams twice scoring 98 the first time in 2000 and 100 the second time in 2004. in addition I had taken my ground instructor written exam . AGI. And IGI and passed with high scores too ..if you must know I have a masters in aviation flight technology…to the concerned out there read more in to my plight …and do not judge me ..i am not running from any one ..except the ignorant many out there…AND I KNOW OF NO GUNS THAT I OWEN ...I DID NOT TRY TO VOTE , THEY SENT ME A VOTING CARD AND UPON THEM ASKING ME TO ATTEND JURY DUTY, I INFORMED THEM THAT THERE IS A MISTAKE IN TH ERECORDS . THEY CLAIM I WAS A CITIZEN AND I CLIAMED I WAS NOT..SO I SENT THEM A COPY OF PASSPORT NOTORISED , AND THE VOTER CRAD BACK ..END OF STORY. BACK TO THE GUNS, THE GUN IN TE RIVER BELONGS TO A MATE ,I HAD TO LEAVE IN AHURRY SO I DUMPED IT IN ORDER TO AVOID OTHERS GETTING HOLD OF IT ... END OF DRAMA PUHLEEEEZE.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.