Saeed al-Ghamdi
|
Saeed al-Ghamdi (November 21, 1979 - September 11, 2001) was one of four hijackers of United Airlines Flight 93 as part of the September 11 attacks. Born in Saudi Arabia, al-Ghamdi left his home to fight in Chechnya after dropping out of college, but was reported to have diverted to Afghanistan to train in an Al-Qaeda camp. It was reported he was chosen by Osama bin Laden to participate in terrorist attacks in the United States and arrived in the U.S. in June 2001. During his stay in the U.S., he quietly settled in Florida, planning out how the attacks would commence and training on flight simulators. On September 11, 2001, it was reported he boarded United 93 and assisted in the hijacking of the plane, which was crashed into a field in the control of hijacker-pilot Ziad Jarrah in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after the passengers attempted to take control of the plane in an uprising.
Attacks edit
On the morning of September 11, 2001, al-Ghamdi boarded United Airlines Flight 93 without incident. Due to the flight's delay, the pilot and crew were notified of the previous hijackings that day, and were told to be on the alert. Within minutes, Flight 93 was hijacked as well.
At least two of the cellphone calls made by passengers indicate that all the hijackers they saw were wearing red bandannas. The calls also indicated that one of the men had tied a box around his torso, and claimed there was a bomb inside. That Hijacker was Ahmed Al-Nami.
According to the Cockpit transcript released later, it appeared Saeed may have been at the controls of the flight with Ziad Jarrah when it crashed, although the 9/11 commission asserts that Ziad Jarrah was the pilot.
Passengers on the plane heard through phone calls the fates of the other hijacked planes. A passenger uprising resulted in the plane crashing into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing everyone aboard.
In popular culture edit
He is portrayed by Iranian actor Lewis Alsamari in United 93 and by Canadian actor Shawn Ahmed in Flight 93.