Mohamed Atta

Mohamed Atta (September 1, 1968 – September 11, 2001) was an Egyptian engineer and architect who became a leader in a group of people who planned very bad actions against others. He was the main person in planning the attacks that happened on September 11, 2001, where planes were used to hit big buildings in the United States.

Atta was born and grew up in Egypt. He studied architecture at Cairo University and later went to Germany to study more. While in Germany, he met some other people who shared his ideas, and they formed a group together.

In the years before the attacks, Atta traveled to meet important leaders of a group called al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. He also learned how to fly planes in the United States. In the months leading up to September 11, Atta helped plan every detail of the attacks.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, Atta and others took control of a plane called American Airlines Flight 11 and flew it into a tall building known as the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. This was part of a plan to cause great harm, and many people sadly lost their lives because of these actions.

Aliases

Main article: Arabic name

Mohamed Atta used many different names on documents. Some of these names include "Mehan Atta", "Mohammad El Amir", and "Muhammad Atta". In Germany, he registered as "Mohamed el-Amir Awad el-Sayed Atta" and used the name Mohamed el-Amir at the Hamburg University of Technology. He also sometimes said he was from the United Arab Emirates instead of being Egyptian.

Early life

Mohamed Atta was born on September 1, 1968, in Kafr el-Sheikh, a town in the Nile Delta area of Egypt. His father was a lawyer, and his mother came from a family that was wealthy and involved in farming and trading. They married when his mother was very young, and the family was known for being private and keeping to themselves. Atta was their only son and had two older sisters who both did very well in their careers.

When Atta was ten, his family moved to a neighborhood in Cairo close to the city center. He grew up studying a lot at home because his father did not want him to play much with other children. He was very good at school and later went to Cairo University, where he studied engineering and then architecture. After finishing school, he worked on building projects in Cairo. Later, he got engaged, though the wedding did not take place.

Germany

Mohamed Atta finished his studies at Cairo University but did not have good enough marks to continue to a higher level. His father wanted him to study in Germany, so Atta began learning the German language in Cairo. In 1992, a German couple invited him to study in Germany, and he arrived there in July.

In Germany, Atta joined the urban planning program at Hamburg University of Technology. He first stayed with two teachers but later moved into university housing. During this time, he kept to himself and focused on his studies and religious practices.

Atta became more involved in religious activities after moving to Hamburg. He was upset about certain policies of the United States and his home country of Egypt. He met other people who shared his views, and they began planning together. Later, Atta traveled to Afghanistan and met with leaders of a group that supported their plans. He returned to Germany and continued his studies.

United States

On March 22, 2000, Atta sent an email from Germany to a flight school in Florida, asking about training to become a pilot. He and other men wanted to learn to fly airplanes. He applied for a visa to visit the United States and received it the next day.

Atta arrived in the United States in June 2000 and began flight training in Florida with other men. They practiced flying and took many lessons to become skilled pilots.

In the months before the attacks, Atta traveled between the United States and Spain to meet with other planners. They discussed their plans and targets, including important buildings in the United States. Atta returned to the United States in July 2001 to finish preparing for the attacks.

9/11 attacks and death

Main article: American Airlines Flight 11

On September 10, 2001, Mohamed Atta and another person drove to an airport in Maine. They flew to Boston early the next morning.

Atta was on American Airlines Flight 11, which left Boston at 7:59 a.m. heading toward Los Angeles. About fifteen minutes into the flight, the plane was taken over by a group of hijackers. The pilots stopped talking to air traffic control, and the plane’s tracking system was turned off.

At around 8:46 a.m., Atta flew the plane into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. Everyone on the plane and many people inside the tower were killed. The damage made it impossible for people above the 91st floor to escape before the tower fell later that morning.

Atta's luggage, which did not make it onto the plane, was later found at the Boston airport. It contained items related to flying and some personal notes about preparation.

Family reaction and denial

Mohamed Atta's father strongly denied that his son was involved in the 9/11 attacks. He believed others, including groups and governments, were responsible instead. He described his son as a quiet and serious student focused on studying architecture. Even after the attacks, Atta’s father claimed his son was still alive and hiding.

Years later, in 2021, Atta’s mother also denied her son's involvement in the attacks and expressed her belief that he was somewhere far away.

Mistaken identity

After the terrible events of September 11, some people were confused about who Mohamed Atta really was. At first, some thought he was another man named Mahmoud Mahmoud Atta, who was from Jordan. This Mahmoud Atta did something very bad many years earlier, but he is not the same person as Mohamed Atta. Mahmoud Atta was much older and was later caught, tried, and put in prison.

There were also stories that Mohamed Atta had visited a place called Prague in the Czech Republic to meet with someone from Iraq. But investigators looked into this and decided this meeting probably never happened. Some people thought they saw him there, but they were mistaken.

There was also talk about a project called Able Danger that might have known about Atta before September 11. But later reviews found that this information was either misunderstood or not clearly reported.

Assessment and motivation

People have different ideas about why Mohamed Atta did what he did. Some believe he was just following orders from leaders of a group called al-Qaeda. Others think he was deeply committed to a political cause and was not struggling with his mental health.

There is a video from 2000 that shows Atta and another person together in Afghanistan. In the video, they appear happy and are smiling. This video helps show where Atta was at an important time as plans were being made.

In popular culture

Canadian actor Elie Gemael showed Atta in the second episode of the BBC/Discovery docudrama Zero Hour, called "The Last Hour of Flight 11".

Atta was the main character in the 2004 British-Canadian film The Hamburg Cell, played by Egyptian-French actor Maral Kamel.

Martin Brodie played Atta in The Path to 9/11, a 2006 ABC miniseries.