August 20, 2001: Hanjour Passes Check Ride, but Apparently Does Not Obtain Certification

According to the 9/11 Commission Report, alleged Flight 77 pilot Hani Hanjour successfully conducts “a challenging certification flight supervised by an instructor at Congressional Air Charters of Gaithersburg, Maryland, landing at a small airport with a difficult approach.” The instructor thinks that “Hanjour may have had training from a military pilot because he used a terrain recognition system for navigation.” However, it is unclear what certification the 9/11 Commission thinks Hanjour receives. [9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 248, 531] A stipulation used as evidence at the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui mentions the flight, but fails to mention any certification Hanjour allegedly receives based on it, merely saying that it is a “check ride with a flight instructor.” Hanjour subsequently rents aircraft from the company on August 26 and 28. [US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division, 7/31/2006, pp. 68 ]