8/14/2001

Potential hijacker Zacarias “Moussaoui’s classroom instructor knew that affluent hobbyists sometimes signed up for simulator training even if they didn’t have a [pilot’s] license, but Moussaoui’s decision to rush the training, and to ask so many questions about things like protocol for communicating with air traffic controllers, created worry. At a routine staff meeting on August 14 [2001], the instructors soon were speculating how much damage a hijacker could do flying a 747 loaded with fuel. One of the flight school’s managers volunteered to call a friend with the local FBI office, and that night, Moussaoui was arrested on visa violation charges.”

 – John Miller, Michael Stone, and Chris Mitchell, The Cell, Page 298