Why Mohammed Atta Chose That Particular Tuesday in September for the Attack

Mohammed Atta chose September 11 for the 9/11 attacks, a day after Labor Day when most Americans and the administration would be back at work. This timing maximized the impact by inflicting more casualties. Additionally, the day was a Tuesday, allowing for easier air travel with fewer hostile passengers. Atta set up an American Airlines AAdvantage profile and reserved a business class seat on Flight 11 from Boston to Los Angeles.

He studied the Boeing 767-223ER aircraft extensively, taking test flights to familiarize himself with the plane's boarding and security procedures. Atta and his co-conspirators booked their flights over three days, with Atta paying for his own ticket and A. al-Omari's using his Visa card. The two Saudi brothers, Waleed and Wail al-Shehri, also purchased tickets for the same flight, arriving in the U.S. from Saudi Arabia in April 2001.

The other two "muscle men," Abdulaziz al-Omari and Satam al-Suqami, joined their team. These men selected seats in both first and business class, with Atta sitting in seat 8D in business class. Despite not being on any watchlists, the intelligence community had little means to intercept domestic hijackers, relying primarily on check-in personnel, security screeners, and gate attendants.