Posted on 09/25/2001 1:00:45 AM PDT by kattracks
LONDON (Reuters) - The man named by the United States as one of the pilots of a hijacked plane that crashed into the World Trade Center paraded as a Saudi prince at his Florida flight school, a fellow student said on Monday.
Anne Greaves, a 56-year-old osteopath from Sutton Coldfield in the English Midlands, said she was horrified to discover that Mohammed Atta, a man she took flying lessons with in Florida, had been fingered as a pivotal figure in the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington that killed thousands.
Asked by Sky News about her reaction on learning that she had shared an aircraft with the alleged suicide attacker, she said: "Absolute horror initially, utter disbelief to think that you innocently go halfway around the world to learn something that you are particularly fond of, only to find yourself among terrorists."
Greaves, who fulfilled a lifelong ambition to become a pilot, said Atta, a 33-year-old Egyptian, got preferential treatment at the flight school by posing as Arab royalty, in particular as a Saudi prince.
"I had to say to my instructor one day why is it that these Arabs aren't having the same sort of problems that I seem to have, technical problems with the aircraft? I was told by my instructor that he, Atta, was an Arab prince and his companion was his bodyguard," she said.
Greaves said Atta and his constant companion Marwan al-Shehi stood out from the other students at the Huffman International Flight School in Venice, Florida.
U.S. investigators suspect that Atta was aboard the first plane to hit the World Trade Center while Shehi, 23, was part of the team that crashed into the second tower.
"He was very different. People were very friendly and chatted, with the exception of Atta and his companion," Greaves said.
She said most pupils got excited before flying, but not Atta, who appeared to her to be hypnotised.
"He never chatted. He always appeared immaculate, with a set face. There was never a flicker of recognition, of emotion or excitement at what he was about to do."
Maybe he was/they were. That would certainly help explain their audacity.
Take a close look at the men surrounding Saddam Hussein in all his propaganda photos. They have that look too. Failure means punishment and cruel death, not only for themselves but for their families.
I still don't think Atta was his real name.
Not that it means anything except that it's so odd that the film makers would pick the name Atta and then this happens. Kinda wrecks the flick for me (in case you didn't see it, Flick is Dave Foley's character).
Just like Sirhan Sirhan.
Dennis...why are you laughing?
And then there's...
Shehi, 23
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