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Nineteen men boarded the four planes, five each on American Airlines Flight 11, United Airlines Flight 175 and American Airlines
Flight 77, four on United Airlines Flight 93. Fifteen of the attackers were from Saudi Arabia, two from the United Arab Emirates,
one from Egypt, and one from Lebanon.
The group consisted of six core organizers, which included the four pilots, and thirteen others. In sharp contrast to
the standard profile of suicide bombers, the hijackers were well-educated, mature adults, whose belief systems were fully
formed.
Other potential hijackers
27 members of al-Qaeda attempted to enter the United States to take part in the September 11 attacks,but only 19 participated.
Other would-be hijackers are often referred to as the 20th hijacker.
Potential hijackers denied entry into U.S.
Ramzi Binalshibh allegedly meant to take part in the attacks, but he was repeatedly denied a visa for entry into the U.S.Mohamed
al-Kahtani, a Saudi Arabian citizen, may also have been planning to join the hijackers, but U.S. Immigration authorities at
Orlando International Airport refused his entry into the U.S. in August 2001. He was later captured in Afghanistan and imprisoned
at the U.S. military prison known as Camp X-Ray at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Other names of potential hijackers
Other al-Qaeda members who may have attempted, but were unable, to take part in the attacks include Saeed al-Ghamdi (not
to be confused with the successful hijacker of the same name), Mushabib al-Hamlan, Zakariya Essabar, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, and
Tawfiq bin Attash. According to the 9/11 Commission Report, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the attack's mastermind, wanted to remove
at least one member—Khalid al-Mihdhar—from the operation, but he was overruled by Osama bin Laden.
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