Fayez Banihammad | |
|---|---|
| فايز بني حماد | |
 | |
| Born | Fayez Rashid Ahmed Hassan al-Qadi Banihammad 19 March 1977 |
| Died | 11 September 2001 (aged 24) |
| Cause of death | Suicide by plane crash (September 11 attacks) |
| Nationality | Emirati |
Fayez Rashid Ahmed Hassan al-Qadi Banihammad (Arabic: فايز راشد احمد حسن القاضي بني حماد, romanized: Fāyaz Rāshid Aḥmad Ḥasan al-Qāḍī Banī Ḥammād; 19 March 1977 – 11 September 2001), commonly known as Fayez Banihammad, was an Emirati terrorist who was one of five hijackers of United Airlines Flight 175, which crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center as part of the September 11 attacks in 2001.
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 likely forced their way into the cockpit and stabbed the pilots to death. Marwan al-Shehhi, the only other Emirati involved in the attacks, took control of the plane, and flew it into the South Tower, killing everyone onboard.
Fayez Rashid Ahmed Hassan al-Qadi Banihammad (who used many aliases but is mainly known as Fayez Banihammad[1][2]) was born on 19 March, 1977.[2] He was allegedly the son of a school principal,[3] and grew up in the Khor Fakkan region of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).[4][5]
Banihammad's family claimed he left the UAE in 1999, saying he was going to join an Islamic relief organization.[3] Instead, he would go to Saudi Arabia, where he joined the al-Qaeda terrorist group.[5] He and his family had only one phone call after he left.[3]
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Main articles: United Airlines Flight 175 and September 11 attacks |
The September 11 attacks were a series of terrorist attacks on the United States in 2001, formulated by the leader of al-Qaeda Osama bin Laden, and Khalid Sheikh Mohammad.[6][7] They would be committed by 19 attackers, targeting four different 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.[7][8] The fourth target is unknown, as the fourth plane was unsuccessful in hitting it, due to a revolt by its passengers.[8][9]
Banihammad was one of the hijackers.[6] He was described as one of the "bit players" within his group, which targeted the World Trade Center's South Tower.[3] The others were Ahmed al-Ghamdi, Hamza al-Ghamdi, Marwan al-Shehhi, and Mohand al-Shehri.[10] 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.[5][11] Banihammad had previously spent one year at university with al-Shehri.[12] He was one of two Emiratis to participate in the attacks, the other being al-Shehhi.[6] At the time of the attacks, he was 24.[5]
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.[5][13] Before arriving to the United States, he made bank accounts in the United Arab Emirates, at the same bank and time as Hawsawi. Familiar with the country's procedures, Banihammad helped Hawsawi complete his account application. He gave Hawsawi $3,000 and granted him power of attorney over his own account, so Hawsawi could forward a bank card to him while he was in the United States. This is likely when 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 to 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.[5][14]
Banihammad most likely lived in Florida during the planning, potentially with al-Shehhi and Mohammed Atta (the attacks' mastermind[15]) at their apartment in Hollywood, or with other hijackers.[16][17] 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.[16] 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.[1] The flight was scheduled to fly from Boston's Logan Airport to Los Angeles on September 11.[6] It would depart from Logan Airport along with American Airlines Flight 11, which Atta was on.[18]
In early September, al-Hisawi received a Western Union transfer of $26,000 from Atta, brothers Marwan and Waleed al-Shehri, and Banihammad.[12][19] The FBI believed this transaction was the hijackers returning their unusued funds as they did not want to "die as thieves". al-Hisawi later cleaned out Banihammad's bank account in Dubai, and he could do so because he had power of attorney over it.[19]
On September 11, Banihammad and his group checked in for Flight 175, which was scheduled to depart at 8:00 a.m..[20] They were armed with knives and mace,[21] but none of them were checked by CAPPS.[20] Between 7:23 and 7:28, the group boarded. Banihammad sat in seat 2A.[20] There were 56 passengers and 9 crew onboard in total.[10] 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.[18] 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.[10][21] One of the hijackers stabbed the flight crew and told the other passengers to get back.[10] Shehhi started controlling the plane.[10][21] Five minutes later, he changed course.[10]
At approximately 9:03 p.m., Flight 175 struck the South Tower.[6][8] The plane, flying at 540 miles per hour, hit the 81st floor, and made a hole from the 77th to the 85th floors. All 65 people onboard the plane, including the hijackers, died.[21] Flights 11 and 175 each heavily damaged their respective targets, and both towers collapsed. The South Tower collapsed first, at 9:59 a.m.[8] More than 600 deaths came from the attack on the South Tower.[10][21]
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 Emerati.[22] Banihammad was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the indictment of Zacarias Moussaoui.[16]
