Ahmed al-Nami (Ahmed bin Abdullah al-Nami)

Ahmed al-Nami

In March 2001, Ahmed al-Nami appeared in an al-Qaeda farewell video showing 13 of the muscle hijackers before they left their training centre in Kandahar; while he does not speak, he is seen studying maps and flight manuals. On April 23, Nami was recorded obtaining a new US Visa. On May 28, Nami arrived in the United States from Dubai with fellow-hijackers Mohand al-Shehri and Hamza al-Ghamdi. By early June, Nami was living in apartment 1504 at the Delray Racquet Club condominiums with Saeed al-Ghamdi in Delray Beach, Florida. He telephoned his family in ‘Asir shortly after arriving in the country. In June, he phoned his family for the last time. He was one of 9 hijackers to open a SunTrust bank account with a cash deposit around June 2001, and on June 29 received either a Florida State Identification Card or Drivers License. He may have been one of three hijackers that listed the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida as their permanent address on drivers’ licenses, though other sources claim he listed the Delray condominium. On August 28, Ahmed al-Nami and Ahmed al-Haznawi reportedly bothered a Delray Beach resident, Maria Siscar Simpson, to let them through her apartment to retrieve a towel that had fallen off their balcony onto hers. On September 5, Nami and Saeed al-Ghamdi purchased tickets for a September 7 flight to Newark at Mile High Travel on Commercial Boulevard—paying cash for their tickets. Ziad Jarrah and Ahmed al-Haznawi also purchased tickets for the same flight from Passage Tours.

On September 7, all four Flight 93 hijackers flew from Fort Lauderdale to Newark International Airport aboard Spirit Airlines. On September 11, 2001, Ahmed al-Nami arrived in Newark to board United Airlines Flight 93 along with Saeed al-Ghamdi, Ahmed al-Haznawi and Ziad Jarrah. Some reports suggest Haznawi was pulled aside for screening while others claim there is no record of whether any of the four were screened; the lack of CCTV cameras at the time has compounded the problem. Nami boarded the plane between 7:39 am and 7:48 am; seated in First Class 3C, next to Saeed al-Ghamdi. Due to the flight’s routine delay, the pilot and crew were notified of the previous hijackings and were told to be on the alert, though within two minutes Jarrah had stormed the cockpit leaving the pilots dead or injured. At least two of the cellphone calls made by passengers indicate that all the hijackers they saw were wearing red bandanas, which some have questioned may have signified an allegiance to the Egyptian Islamic Jihad. The calls also indicated that one of the men had tied a box around his torso, and claimed there was a bomb inside; it is not known which hijacker this was. Passengers on the plane heard through phone calls the fates of the other hijacked planes, and organized a brief assault to retake the cockpit. The hijackers crashed the plane into the Pennsylvanian countryside rather than cede control of the plane. All aboard died.

Born

  • August, 17, 1977
  • Asir Province, Saudi Arabia

Died

  • September, 11, 2001
  • USA
  • Shanksville, Pennsylvania

Cause of Death

  • plane crash

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