Exclusive: Hijacker in City Sept. 10 Used navigation tool to pinpoint WTC site

New York Daily News ^ | 5/22/02 | GREG B. SMITH

[kattracks]

The leader of the Sept. 11 hijackers visited the World Trade Center days before the attack to obtain coordinates for a navigation device, law enforcement officials now believe.Mohamed Atta, who led the 19 hijackers that morning, was in New York on Sept. 10 and perhaps Sept. 9, according to a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation.

The FBI found transactions that show Atta used a credit card in Manhattan the day before the planes crashed into the World Trade Center. Until recently, law enforcement officials could not figure out why he was here.

New evidence has emerged that leads investigators to believe Atta made a last-minute visit to double-check coordinates of the twin towers and plug them into a sophisticated Global Positioning System device bought by the hijackers, the source said.

Investigators suspect Atta's trip to the Trade Center was necessary because they believe the hijackers were too inexperienced to handle the jumbo jets without help. They know the hijackers bought GPS devices in the months leading up to the attack.

The FBI's New York office declined to comment on what the bureau knows about Atta's final hours.

The unusual flight paths of American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 — which traveled from Boston and into the twin towers — indicates the hijackers used the devices to guide them as they flew across the country toward what was about to become known as Ground Zero, the source said.

Federal prosecutors say that on Aug. 25 — three weeks before the attack — one of Atta's co-conspirators, hijacker Ziad Jarrah, bought GPS components.

Flying Equipment Bought

Atta himself bought flight deck videos for jumbo jets and several unnamed items from Sporty's Pilot Shop in Ohio in November 2000. Sporty's owners said FBI agents investigating the Sept. 11 attacks asked about a Garmin GPS III Pilot, a hand-held device that simplifies aeronautical navigation.

And Zacarias Moussaoui, the so-called 20th hijacker now indicted on terrorism charges in the Sept. 11 plot, also tried to buy a GPS receiver, prosecutors have said.

With the coordinates of the twin towers entered as the desired destination, the devices would tell the hijackers when they were off course as they flew thousands of feet above the ground.

Experts noted that the hijackers could have obtained coordinates of the towers from available maps, but visiting the site with the device would ensure that the specific data were pinpoint accurate.

It's not clear how long Atta was in Manhattan before the attack. The source would not discuss the credit card transactions here except to say they took place in Manhattan.

Sometime on Sept. 10, the FBI believes, Atta traveled to Boston and rented a blue Nissan sedan. He and Abdulaziz Alomari then drove to Portland, Maine.

Seen on Video

They checked into a Comfort Inn in South Portland at 5:43 p.m., then visited two bank ATMs and a Wal-Mart, where they were captured on video.

The morning of Sept. 11, they checked out of the motel at 5:33 a.m., arriving at Portland International Jetport in time for a last-minute boarding of a 5:45 a.m. flight to Boston.

They arrived at Boston's Logan Airport just in time to board American Airlines Flight 11, departing at 7:55 a.m., fully fueled, with a scheduled destination of Los Angeles.

Sometime during the flight — as the plane headed west over upstate New York — the FBI believes Atta, Alomari and three others hijacked the jet and turned it south — toward the towers of New York.

[Ralph the Hun]

Great. Now GPS purchases will require waiting periods and background checks.

At very least, some will want "Selective Ability" turned back on to "reduce" the accuracy of civilian GPS units.

Like, as if, once in New York City, they couldn't have hit the towers being off 300 ft from SA.

[aristeides]

But they were taking a big chance then of missing their flight (if, say, they got caught in traffic.) I wonder what their plans would have been if they had missed it.

I think this means the cell-phone communications among the hijackers in the different planes were critical for whether the operation was allowed to go forward.

[InkStone]

sounds like a good plan

[ventana]

Their not invisible, check out the women they are with--they're wearing chadors. V's wife.

[RickyJ]

Mexican Officials Fired Upon Border Patrol

[KC_for_Freedom]

And, Islam has established the rules of engagement.

The side with the lowest level of morality chooses the rules of engagement. G-d be with us all.

[Tennessee_Bob]

Switch SA back on? That'll suck. No more geocaching.

[Rebelbase]

Unless the directions of East and South have changed, anyone with 1/100th of a brain could navigate a plane to NYC....unless they were a Public High School student, then there might be a problem.

[antidisestablishment]

Just like beaureacrats to think changing coodinates in a gmae will make a difference. You trivia reminded me of an apocryphal incident regarding the beginnings of glastnost. Russian officers were amazed by the availabilty of accurate maps in the states. They indicated that every map in the USSR had purposeful errors to ensure no one could use it against the regime.

Guess we are headed down the same path. Outlaw all GPS and MS Flight Simulator now—for the chillllllllldddddddrrrrruuuuun!

[erk]

This hotel is referred to as the "Comfort Inn Airport" and the following is from its website:

Location: The Comfort Inn is located off exit 7 of I-95 (North or South) at 90 Maine Mall Rd. We are 1 mile from the Portland International Jetport and offer complimentary airport transportation.

[NCDoc]

Where is William Tecumseh Sherman when we really need him?

[OldFriend]

Anyone else remember the middle eastern student who was arrested after 9/11. He was a staying at a hotel near WTC and a GPS was found in his room. The story became more bizarre and finally the charges were dismissed.

[ravingnutter]

Two possible reasons...

Mohamed Atta and Abdulatif A. Al-Omari spent the night at the Comfort Inn in South Portland on Monday and then, at 5:45 the next morning, flew from Portland International Jetport to Boston. From there, officials say, they hijacked an American Airlines jet and commenced to horrify the nation.

The Press Herald has learned that Al-Omari may have spent considerable time in Portland, over an undetermined period. Sources said Thursday that officials are investigating reports that the 31-year-old had a relationship with a woman here.

The woman, who may still live here, contacted authorities after two hijacked jetliners crashed into the World Trade Center towers in New York City.

The Times reported that the men then phoned the Bangor airport looking for a flight to Boston, but that there was no flight that met their desired departure time. The newspaper further reported that the men then phoned the Portland jetport, where two of them apparently made reservations on a Tuesday morning flight to Boston.

Portland News

[TankerKC]

I'm surprised that this wasn't in the story...

Well, I doubt that this is true. The lat/long for the WTC is hardly a secret. I can still get it right off of the Internet or MS Streets. Why pull all of the "games" to change an item that anyone can find. Has anyone else heard this story and can confirm or deny?

[Registered]

I remember that.

[John H K]

Anyone else remember the middle eastern student who was arrested after 9/11. He was a staying at a hotel near WTC and a GPS was found in his room. The story became more bizarre and finally the charges were dismissed.

Wasn't his GPS or radio (actually, I believe it was a radio.). Either someone else claimed the GPS (non-Arab, non Muslim) or the rooms were confused, can't remember how it shook out. It DEFINATELY wasn't his. Of course, on FR, he's automatically guilty being an Arab.

[John H K]

I have come to the conclusion that Islam and the rest of the world are incompatible. Either Islam will conquer the world or the world will rise up and exterminate Islam and all of its liberal appologists.

Could have made a far better case that, say, Germans and the rest of the world are incompatible; If you add up every single non-Muslim killed in Muslim terror attacks since World War II, it likely doesn't beat a good DAY at Auschwitz.

I notice all the Germans in the world haven't been exterminated, and they're not much of a problem anymore.

[VRWC_minion]

Can we equip planes with a GPS jamming device that can be intitiated remotely ?

[Jumper]

Just wondering if this store in Ohio was in or near Columbus and the Ohio State University.

The Clinton's went to Ohio State in Early Spring 1998 and got their head's handed to them by the Islamic presence in the Arena on Campus. No one ever thought to check the regional demographics and determine whether this would be a good place to talk about bombing Serbia, defending KLA, etc. The Islamic Congress of the US is in Columbus. One of the Clinton's very major political gafs. Islam has a major presence in this area. FBI Should BE ALL Over THIS Place!

[Harrison Bergeron]

"...unless we begin to round up mideastern men (OK, muslims, arabs) we lose."

We've lost.