View source for Ziad Jarrah

{{Short description|Lebanese terrorist hijacker (1975–2001)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Use American English|date=September 2023}}
{{Family name hatnote|Samir|Jarrah|lang=Lebanese}}
{{Infobox criminal
| name              = Ziad Jarrah
| image             = Ziad Jarrah, 2001.jpg
| caption           = Jarrah in May 2001
| native_name       = {{lang|ar|زياد جراح}}
| native_name_lang  = ar
| birth_name        = Ziad Samir Jarrah
| birth_date        = {{Birth date|1975|5|11|df=yes}}
| birth_place       = [[Beirut]], Lebanon
| death_date        = {{death date and age|2001|9|11|1975|5|11|df=yes}}
| death_place       = [[Somerset County, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
| death_cause       = [[Suicide attack|Suicide]] by [[United Airlines Flight 93|plane crash]] during the [[September 11 attacks]]
| alma_mater        = [[University of Greifswald]]<br>[[Hamburg University of Applied Sciences]]
| relatives         = [[Jamal Jarrah]] (uncle)
| module            = {{listen voice
| filename            = Ziad1.ogg
| description         = Ziad Jarrah's first announcement, heard by ATC at 09:31:57
| recorded            = 11 September 2001 }}
| fatalities        = 40
| injuries          = 0
| country           = [[United States]]
| states            = [[Pennsylvania]]
| weapons           = Hijacked [[Boeing 757]]
| organization      = [[al-Qaeda]]<br>[[Hamburg cell]] (1990s–2001)
| targets           = [[U.S. Capitol Building]]
| date              = 11 September 2001
| time              = 10:03 AM ([[Eastern Time Zone|EDT]])
}}

'''Ziad Samir Jarrah'''{{efn|Or '''Abu Tariq''' ({{lit|the Visitors' Father}}), the ''[[Kunya (Arabic)|kunya]]'' given to him by [[Osama bin Laden]] after his visit to Afghanistan.}} ({{langx|ar|زياد سمير جراح}}; 11 May 1975{{snd}}11 September 2001) was a Lebanese aerospace engineer and terrorist hijacker for [[al-Qaeda]]. He was the [[Hijackers in the September 11 attacks|hijacker-pilot]] of [[United Airlines Flight 93]], which crashed into a [[Stonycreek Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania|rural area near Shanksville, Pennsylvania]], as part of the [[September 11 attacks]].{{Efn|Unless otherwise sourced, statements in this article come primarily from the ''[[9/11 Commission Report]]''.<ref name="cr">[[9/11 Commission|National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States]] ([[Richard Ben-Veniste|Ben-Veniste, Richard]]; [[Fred F. Fielding|Fielding, Fred F.]]; [[Jamie Gorelick|Gorelick, Jamie]]; [[Slade Gorton|Gorton, Slade]]; [[Lee H. Hamilton|Hamilton, Lee H.]]; [[Thomas Kean|Kean, Thomas]]; [[Bob Kerrey|Kerrey, Bob]]; [[John Lehman|Lehman, John F.]]; [[Timothy J. Roemer|Roemer, Timothy J.]]; [[James R. Thompson|Thompson, James R.]]) (2004). ''The [[9/11 Commission Report]]: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States.'' W.W. Norton & Company. {{ISBN|0-393-32671-3}}, also available [http://www.gpoaccess.gov/911/index.html online] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100807204647/http://www.gpoaccess.gov/911/index.html |date=August 7, 2010 }}</ref> Where there is substantial disagreement with the report about significant facts in Jarrah's life, this is mentioned explicitly.}}

He was born in [[Beirut]] to a secular, wealthy and respected Arab family. He completed his early education at Lebanon's prestigious French-speaking Christian schools. In 1996, at the age of 21, he moved to Germany to pursue his university education. He continued his secular life, far removed from religious devotion, even in his early university years. While studying [[aerospace engineering]] at [[Hamburg University of Applied Sciences]], he met [[Mohamed Atta]] and [[Marwan al-Shehhi]]. Between 1997 and 1998, he began to grow closer to religion. He quit drinking alcohol and smoking, and began [[salah]] and reading the [[Quran]]. He was influenced by the [[Jihad verse|verses on jihad]] in the Quran and believed that only [[Martyr#Islam|martyrdom]] could erase the sins he had committed in the past.

Later, [[Ramzi bin al-Shibh]], an [[al-Qaeda]] communications officer, met these three university students and founded the group known as the [[Hamburg cell]] with them. In 1999, bin al-Shibh took him and his two other school friends, Atta and al-Shehhi, to Afghanistan to meet [[Osama bin Laden]]. In June 2000, he flew to [[New Jersey]], United States. Shortly thereafter, he moved from New Jersey to [[Venice, Florida]] and trained with flight instructors [[Rudi Dekkers]] at [[Huffman Aviation]] alongside Atta and al-Shehhi until January 2001. On 7 September 2001, he arrived in [[Newark, New Jersey]] from [[Fort Lauderdale, Florida]]. Four days later, he boarded [[United Airlines Flight 93]] and hijacked the plane along with [[Saeed al-Ghamdi]], [[Ahmed al-Haznawi]], and [[Ahmed al-Nami]].

They attempted to crash the plane into the [[United States Capitol Building]] or the [[White House]].{{Efn|Various sources have speculated that the [[White House]] was the target of Flight 93; the ''9/11 Commission Report'', based on information derived from the interrogations of [[Khalid Sheikh Mohammed]], confidently asserts that it was, in fact, the Capitol Building that was targeted. Additionally, before he was captured, Sheikh Mohammed, along with bin al-Shibh, told an Al Jazeera reporter (who was taken blindfolded to his hideout) back in 2002 that the fourth target was in fact the Capitol Building.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2244146.stm|title=Al-Qaeda 'plotted nuclear attacks'|publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation|work=BBC News|date=September 8, 2002|access-date=October 9, 2010}}</ref>}} However, Jarrah, who noticed that the passengers had become aware of the other three attacks and were trying to force open the cockpit door, rocked the plane several times from side to side to throw them off balance and consulted with his accomplices. It was 9:45 a.m., and when Jarrah realized they would not achieve their goals, he whispered the ''[[Shahada]]'': "There is no god but [[Allah]]; [[Muhammad]] is the messenger of Allah." He did not surrender control to the passengers and crashed the plane into a field in [[Somerset County, Pennsylvania]], at around 10:03 a.m. Seconds before the plane crashed, Jarrah's last words, "[[Takbir|Allahu Akbar]]" (repeated many times), were recorded on the [[Flight recorder|CVR]].

According to the ''[[9/11 Commission Report]]'' and Aysel Şengün's (his girlfriend) statements to German police, Jarrah spoke at least four languages at a high level: [[Arabic]], [[French language|French]], [[German language|German]], and [[English language|English]].<ref name="cr" />

== Early life and education ==
Ziad Samir Jarrah was born on 11 May 1975, in [[Beirut]], Lebanon, into a wealthy and respected [[Arabs|Arab]] family. His father, Samir Jarrah, was a social service inspector employed by the Lebanese government, while his mother worked as an elementary school teacher.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Freedberg |first=Sydney |date=October 14, 2001 |title=The Making of a Terrorist // He Seemed Like Such a Nice Boy |url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2001/10/14/the-making-of-a-terrorist-he-seemed-like-such-a-nice-boy/ |access-date= |website=[[St. Petersburg Times]] |language=en}}</ref> Although nominally [[Sunni Islam|Sunni Muslim]], his parents maintained a secular lifestyle. In Lebanon, he received primary and secondary education at prestigious French-speaking Christian institutions favored by the country's elite.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Dirk Laabs |author2=Terry McDermott |title=Prelude to 9/11: A Hijacker’s Love, Lies |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-jan-27-fg-love27-story.html |access-date=28 October 2025 |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=January 27, 2003}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{cite news |last1=Williams |first1=Carol J. |url=https://www.latimes.com/world/sns-worldtrade-jarrah-lat-story.html |title=Friends of terror suspect say allegations make no sense |access-date=28 October 2025 |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=March 20, 2019}}</ref>

From an early age, Jarrah expressed a strong interest in aviation, but his family opposed this ambition. As his father later recounted to ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' one week after the attacks: "I stopped him from being a pilot. I only have one son and I was afraid that he would crash."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Walker |first1=Marcus |title=A Student's Dreams Or a Terrorist's Plot? |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB1000774372551721800 |access-date=November 28, 2018 |newspaper=[[Wall Street Journal]] |publisher=[[Dow Jones & Company]]|location=New York City|date=September 18, 2001}}</ref> According to Mahmood Ali, a sports club operator in [[Düsseldorf]] who last spoke with Jarrah by phone in July 2001, Jarrah's family was the most influential family in [[Marj, Lebanon]]. His uncle [[Jamal Jarrah]] ({{Born in|1956}}) was a wealthy banker at the time; he was a member of the Lebanese parliament from 2005–2018, and is currently a member of the political party [[Future Movement]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Biography of Information Minister Jamal Jarrah |url=https://www.mtv.com.lb/en/news/local/892429/biography_of_information_minister_jamal_jarrah |access-date=28 October 2025 |publisher=mtv.com |date=2019-02-01}}</ref> In addition, the father of his cousin Salim Ghazi Jarrah was a high-ranking official in the Lebanese government.<ref name=":2" />

Between 1995 and 1996, while Jarrah resided in Lebanon, an individual bearing the same name reportedly rented an apartment in [[Brooklyn]], New York. The landlords identified the tenant as matching the photographs later released by the [[FBI]].<ref name="BostonGlobe">{{cite news|url=https://boston.com/dailyglobe2/268/nation/Hijack_suspect_lived_a_life_or_a_lie+.shtml |title=Hijack Suspect Lived a Life, or a Lie |last=Neuffer |first=Elizabeth |newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]] |publisher=Boston Globe Partners L.P.|location=Boston, Massachusetts|date=October 25, 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010925140413/http://boston.com/dailyglobe2/268/nation/Hijack_suspect_lived_a_life_or_a_lie%2B.shtml |archive-date=September 25, 2001 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In spring 1996, Jarrah relocated to Germany with his cousin Salim Ghazi Jarrah to enroll in a German-language certificate program at the [[University of Greifswald]]—a prerequisite for non-native speakers pursuing higher education in the country. During this period, while sharing an apartment with his cousin, Jarrah frequently attended [[disco]]s and beach parties, and his mosque attendance diminished. [[Alcohol (drug)|Alcohol]] and [[cigarette]]s were part of his life. He formed a close friendship with Aysel Şengün, a German citizen of Turkish descent studying dentistry. The two maintained an intermittent romantic relationship for the rest of his life and briefly cohabited, a circumstance that displeased his more religiously observant acquaintances.<ref>{{cite news|title=The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=2004|page=163|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/20/books/review/20book.html|last1=Kakutani|first1=Michiko}}</ref>

In September 1997, Jarrah departed Greifswald to pursue a degree in [[aerospace engineering]] at the [[Fachhochschule]] ([[Vocational university|University of Applied Sciences]]) in [[Hamburg]]. Concurrently, he was employed at a [[Volkswagen]] paint shop in nearby [[Wolfsburg]]. While in Hamburg, he rented an apartment from Rosemarie Canel, who later painted his portrait; Jarrah presented the artwork to his mother as a gift during a visit home that December.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/thepilot/story.html|title=The Story of Ziad Jarrah|website=[[CBC News]]|date=October 10, 2001|access-date=September 13, 2006}}</ref>

The ''[[9/11 Commission Report]]'' states that Jarrah was a member of the [[Hamburg cell]], along with [[Mohamed Atta]] and the others. He did not live with any of the others, however, and can be confirmed to have met with any of them in Hamburg only on a single occasion: that of [[Said Bahaji]]'s wedding at the al-Quds Mosque in October 1999.<ref name="cnn">{{cite news|first=Mike|last=Boettcher|url=https://www.cnn.com/2003/US/05/07/hamburg.wedding/|title=Video shows inside look at al Qaeda cell, authorities say|website=[[CNN]]|publisher=[[Turner Broadcasting Systems]]|location=Atlanta, Georgia|date=May 7, 2003|access-date=February 25, 2019}}</ref>

== Training in Afghanistan ==
In late 1999, Jarrah, together with [[Mohamed Atta]], [[Marwan al-Shehhi]], [[Said Bahaji]], and [[Ramzi bin al-Shibh]], decided to travel to the Muslim [[Chechen Republic of Ichkeria]] to participate in ''[[jihad]]'' against Russian forces in the [[Second Chechen War#1999–2000 Russian offensive|Second Chechen War]]. At the eleventh hour, however, [[Khalid al-Masri]] and [[Mohamedou Ould Slahi]] persuaded the group to redirect their journey to [[Afghanistan]], where they were to meet [[Osama bin Laden]] and undergo training for terrorist activities. Upon arrival, Jarrah was assigned the ''[[Kunya (Arabic)|kunya]]'' {{Transliteration|ar|Abū Ṭāriq}} ({{lit|the Visitors' Father}}).{{Sfn|Ruthven|2004|p=301}}

They were told they were on a highly secret mission and were instructed to return to Germany after the operation and enroll in flight school.{{Efn|This account, in the ''9/11 Commission Report'', is provided solely from the testimony of captured [[al-Qaeda]] member [[Ramzi bin al-Shibh]].}} In October 1999, Jarrah was filmed at [[Said Bahaji]]'s wedding with other 9/11 hijackers, including al-Shehhi.<ref name="cnn" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2003-05-07-hijackers_x.htm|title=Wedding video shows Sept. 11 hijackers, plotters|agency=Associated Press|date=May 7, 2003|newspaper=[[USA Today]]|publisher=[[Gannett Company]]|location=Mclean, Virginia}}</ref> 

In 2006, a video surfaced showing Jarrah, still bearded, reading his will in January 2000 along with [[Mohamed Atta]].<ref name=TimesOnlineVideo /> Not long after this, Jarrah shaved his beard and began to act in a more secular way, according to Şengün. Many of the future hijackers attempted to hide their radicalism and blend in with the population. To hide his travels to Afghanistan (which may have concerned security officials at international airports) Jarrah reported his [[passport]] stolen in February 2000 and received a blank duplicate, just as hijackers Atta and Shehhi had done the previous month.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/network/personal/cron.html|title=Personal Stories: Chronology of the Sept. 11 Terror Plot|website=[[PBS]]|date=September 11, 2018|access-date=February 25, 2019}}</ref>

Jarrah dropped out of the ''[[Fachhochschule]]'' and began looking at flight schools. He claimed that this was to fulfill his childhood dream of being a pilot. After looking in several countries, he decided that none of the flight schools in Europe were adequate. On the advice of a childhood friend, he prepared to move to the United States.{{citation needed|date=May 2014}}

== In the United States ==
[[File:Jarrah-2000-Flying-Florida.jpg|right|thumb|Jarrah flying in [[Florida]], December 2000]]
Jarrah apparently entered the United States on seven occasions, more than any other hijacker. On 25 May 2000, he applied for and received a five-year US [[B-1/B-2 Visa|B-1/B-2
(tourist/business) visa]] in Berlin. On 27 June 2000, he went to the US for the first time, arriving at [[Newark Liberty International Airport|Newark International Airport]]. He then traveled to [[Florida]] together with al-Shehhi and [[Mohamed Atta|Atta]], where the three men enrolled full-time at [[Huffman Aviation]], in [[Venice, Florida|Venice]]. Jarrah did not apply for a change in his status, from a tourist visa to a student visa, thus violating his immigration status.<ref name="travel">{{cite web|url=http://www.9-11commission.gov/staff_statements/911_TerrTrav_Monograph.pdf|title=Staff Monograph on 9/11 and Terrorist Travel|publisher=9/11 Commission|year=2004}}</ref>

Jarrah was enrolled in flight school for six months, from June 2000 to 15 January 2001. At the flight school, many of his classmates remember him fondly, describing him as kind and trustworthy, and remember him drinking beer occasionally.<ref>[http://www.faqs.org/docs/911/911Report-180.html 9-11 Report]. p. 163. Retrieved on September 19, 2006.</ref> Jarrah was unique among the hijackers in that he did not live with any other hijackers, but rather with a German student named Thorsten Biermann. Biermann did not observe Jarrah acting particularly religiously or overtly politically. Jarrah occasionally flew back to Germany to visit Şengün, and called or e-mailed her nearly every day.

Rudi Dekkers, a [[Dutch people|Dutchman]] and the flight instructor of Huffman Aviation, was interviewed after the attacks in 2001 by authorities. According to Dekkers, both Jarrah and al-Shehhi were good students, unlike Atta, who misbehaved and refused to follow instructions. Dekkers told Atta that he was going to kick him out of the school if his behavior did not change, and as a response, Atta's behavior began to improve. Dekkers also said that he went with al-Shehhi and Jarrah to a bar in [[Sarasota, Florida]] named Shamrock Pub after one of their flight lessons. At the bar, they talked to Dekkers about their plans after getting their pilot licenses, and Jarrah said to Dekkers "I got a job lined up and we are planning to become pilots."

Jarrah had obtained his license to fly small aircraft in August 2000, and began training to fly large jets later that year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report.pdf|title=The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States|date=2004}} p. 224</ref> He flew to Beirut to visit his family, and then to Germany to visit his girlfriend, Şengün. He brought her back to the United States for a ten-day visit, and she even attended a flight school session with him. In late January 2001, he again flew to Beirut to visit his father, who was ill, and then to Germany to visit his girlfriend. He returned to the United States once again in late February. His behavior was markedly different from the other hijackers, who broke off all familial and romantic relations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report.pdf|title=The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States|date=2004}} p. 227</ref>

On his way back to the US, he passed through the [[United Arab Emirates]], according to that country's officials, where he was initially reported as having been interviewed by authorities on 30 January 2001, at the request of the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]].<ref name="MacVicar">{{cite news|first1=Sheiula|last1=MacVicar|first2=Caroline|last2=Faraj|url=http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/08/01/cia.hijacker/index.html|title=September 11 hijacker questioned in January 2001|website=[[CNN]]|publisher=[[Turner Broadcasting Systems]]|location=Atlanta, Georgia|date=August 1, 2002|access-date=September 8, 2006|archive-date=September 15, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100915124350/http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/08/01/cia.hijacker/index.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> He allegedly admitted to having been to Afghanistan and [[Pakistan]],<ref name="MacVicar" /><ref>{{cite news|title=Hijacker held, freed before Sept. 11 attack|last=Crewdson|first=John|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|publisher=[[Tribune Publishing]]|location=Chicago, Illinois|date=December 13, 2001}}</ref> although the CIA has since denied the claim and the ''[[9/11 Commission Report]]'' does not mention it. The Florida flight school where Jarrah had been studying also said he was in school there until 15 January 2001.<ref>{{cite book|last=Longman|first=Jere|title=Among the Heroes|publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]]|location=New York City|date=2002|isbn=0-7432-3098-1|pages=101–102}}</ref>
[[File:Ziad Jarrah Drivers License.jpg|thumb|Ziad Jarrah's Florida drivers license, which he received on May 2, 2001]]
On May 2, Jarrah and Atta were in [[Lauderdale Lakes, Florida]] to get Florida driver’s licenses, the same day that [[Marwan al-Shehhi|al-Shehhi]] returned to [[Miami]] after visiting Atta’s father in [[Cairo]] to pick up Atta’s international driver’s license and some money. 

On 6 May, Jarrah, Atta, and al-Shehhi registered for a two-month membership at the US1 Fitness Center, a gym in [[Dania Beach, Florida]]—they would later renew their membership for two more months, and eventually had lessons in close-quarters combat.<ref>{{cite news|title=Officials Told of 'Major Assault' Plans|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-092001probe.story|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010923042516/http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-092001probe.story|archive-date=September 23, 2001|last=Serrano|first=Richard A.|author2=John-thor Dahlburg |work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|url-status=dead|date=September 20, 2001}}</ref><ref name="Forty lives">{{cite news|title=Flight 93: Forty lives, one destiny |url=http://www.post-gazette.com/headlines/20011028flt93mainstoryp7.asp |last=Roddy |first=Dennis B. |author-link=Dennis Roddy |publisher=PG Publishing |newspaper=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]] |location=Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania|date=October 28, 2001 |access-date=November 2, 2001 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011102012349/http://www.post-gazette.com/headlines/20011028flt93mainstoryp7.asp |archive-date=November 2, 2001 }}</ref> It is believed that sometime in that month, [[Ahmed al-Haznawi]], who arrived on June 8, moved in with Jarrah. Jarrah rented a new apartment in [[Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida|Lauderdale-by-the-Sea]] after both men gave the landlord photocopies of their German passports, which he later turned over to the FBI.<ref>{{cite news|first1=Andres|last1=Viglucci|first2=Manny|last2=Garcia |title=Hijack plotters used S. Florida as a cradle for conspiracy|url=http://www.miami.com/herald/special/news/worldtrade/digdocs/046328.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010916000118/http://www.miami.com/herald/special/news/worldtrade/digdocs/046328.htm|archive-date=September 16, 2001|date=September 15, 2001|newspaper=[[The Miami Herald]]|access-date=September 8, 2006}}</ref>

According to the ''[[9/11 Commission Report]]'', Jarrah took surveillance flights in the summer of 2001 from [[Baltimore]] to [[Las Vegas]] watching the operations of the flight crew. The other two pilots Atta and Al-Shehhi went on surveillance flights in May and June 2001, Atta flew from [[Boston]] via Las Vegas while Al-Shehhi flew from [[New York City]] via Las Vegas and the 3 Hamburg Pilots went on surveillance flights from the [[United States]] to [[Europe]] in the summer of 2001. 

On 25 June, Jarrah took al-Haznawi to Holy Cross Hospital in [[Fort Lauderdale, Florida]], on the advice of his landlord. Al-Haznawi was treated by Dr. Christos Tsonas, who gave him antibiotics for a cut on his left calf. While he told staff that he had bumped into a suitcase,<ref>{{cite news|last=Fainaru|first=Steve|author2=Ceci Connolly |url=http://www.ph.ucla.edu/EPI/bioter/memoroilsanthraxprobe.html|title=Memo on Florida Case Roils Anthrax Probe |date=March 29, 2002|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=September 8, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610221325/http://www.ph.ucla.edu/EPI/bioter/memoroilsanthraxprobe.html|url-status=live|archive-date=June 10, 2011}}</ref> the media briefly reported it as a sign of [[anthrax|cutaneous anthrax]], hoping to show a link to the [[2001 anthrax attacks]], although the FBI later addressed the rumors, stating that "exhaustive testing did not support that anthrax was present anywhere the hijackers had been."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2002/US/03/23/anthrax/|title=Report raises question of anthrax, hijacker link|date=March 23, 2002|work=[[CNN]]|access-date=September 8, 2006}}</ref>

In mid-July 2001, some of the hijackers and members of the Hamburg cell gathered near [[Salou]], Spain, for a period of a few days up to a couple of weeks. There seemed to be tension between Jarrah and Atta about the plot in its late stages. Atta had complained to [[Ramzi bin al-Shibh]] about his difficulty in getting through to Jarrah and his fear that Jarrah might withdraw from the plot completely. On 25 July, Jarrah flew to Germany on a one-way ticket and again met with his girlfriend, the last time she saw him (though they would talk by telephone at least once more). Later, he met with bin al-Shibh who convinced Jarrah to go through with the operation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report.pdf|title=The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States|date=2004|page=246}}</ref> Jarrah arrived back in the United States on 5 August, though other sources indicate that he took his pilot's test on 2 August, having missed his sister's wedding to do so.<ref name="CJW Friends">{{cite news|last=Williams|first=Carol J.|title=Friends of terror suspect say allegations make no sense|url=http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sns-worldtrade-jarrah-lat.story|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020203214236/http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sns-worldtrade-jarrah-lat.story|archive-date=February 3, 2002|date=October 23, 2001|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=September 8, 2006}}</ref> On 27 August, he checked into the Pin-Del Motel in [[Laurel, Maryland]], only a mile away from the Valencia Motel, where four other hijackers were staying.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/thepilot/timeline.html |title=Life of a 9/11 Hijacker |publisher=CBC News |date=October 10, 2001 |format=photos|access-date=January 23, 2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050123023057/http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/thepilot/timeline.html |archive-date=January 23, 2005 }}</ref> On 7 September 2001, all four of the Flight 93 hijackers flew from [[Fort Lauderdale, Florida|Fort Lauderdale]] to [[Newark Liberty International Airport|Newark International Airport]] aboard [[Spirit Airlines]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Statement for the Record, FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III|url=https://fas.org/irp/congress/2002_hr/092602mueller.html|publisher=Joint Intelligence Committee Inquiry|access-date=September 13, 2006}}</ref>

In the early morning hours of 9 September 2001, Jarrah was pulled over for speeding in [[Maryland]] and received a ticket.<ref>{{cite book|title=The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States|date=2004|page=253}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.911myths.com/images/7/74/Ziad_Jarrah_Traffic_Stop.rm|title=Video of Ziad Jarrah traffic stop|date=September 9, 2001|access-date=April 26, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071220094253/http://911myths.com/images/7/74/Ziad_Jarrah_Traffic_Stop.rm|archive-date=December 20, 2007}}</ref> Jarrah phoned his parents later that day, mentioning that he had received the money order they had sent five days earlier.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web | title=The Pilot – Story of Zaid Samir Jarrah | website=CBC the fifth estate | date=January 19, 2005 | url=http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/thepilot/story.html | access-date=November 17, 2021}}</ref> He told them he intended to see them on 22 September for his cousin's wedding.<ref name="autogenerated1" />

On 10 September, Jarrah spent his final evening writing a letter to Şengün, with whom he had made marriage plans. This letter is widely interpreted as a [[suicide note]]. The letter did not reach Şengün; she had entered witness protection shortly after the attacks and her apartment was unattended. The letter was returned to the United States by the German postal service, where it was discovered and delivered to the FBI.<ref>{{cite news|last=Williams|first=Carol J.|title=Love Letter Written by Suspected Hijacker Reportedly Surfaces|url=http://ktla.trb.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-111801letter.story|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040604014007/http://ktla.trb.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-111801letter.story|archive-date=June 4, 2004|date=November 18, 2001|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=September 8, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/thepilot/note.html |title=Final Note to Aysel from Jarrah |publisher=CBC News |date=January 19, 2005 |access-date=February 24, 2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050224110404/http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/thepilot/note.html |archive-date=February 24, 2005 }}</ref> The note contained the phrases "I did what I had to" and "It is a great honour and you will see the result, and everyone will be celebrating."<ref>{{cite news|first=Kate|last=Connolly|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/nov/18/terrorism.september111|title='I did what I had to,' says suicide pilot's last letter|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|location=London|date=November 18, 2001|access-date=February 25, 2019}}</ref>

According to one source, Jarrah had set up a large mock [[cockpit]] made of cardboard boxes in his apartment just before the attacks.<ref name="Forty lives" />

== 9/11 attacks and death==
[[File:Ziad Jarrah Passport Photo.jpg|thumb|Charred passport found among the wreckage of [[United Airlines Flight 93|Flight 93]]]]
{{listen
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| filename     = Ziad1.ogg
| title        = Jarrah – 09:31:57
| description  = First announcement made by Ziad Jarrah.
| format       = Ogg
| filename2    = Ziad2.ogg
| title2       = Jarrah – 09:39:11
| description2 = Second announcement made by Ziad Jarrah.
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{{Main|United Airlines Flight 93}}

On 11 September 2001, Jarrah called his girlfriend Aysel Şengün from his hotel room, repeating the words "I love you" over and over.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Vasagar|first1=Jeevan|title=9/11 hijacker made last 'I love you' call|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/nov/20/september11.usa|access-date=March 6, 2017|date=November 20, 2002}}</ref> At 5:01 AM in [[Newark, New Jersey|Newark]], Jarrah placed a phone call to [[United Airlines Flight 175]] hijacker pilot [[Marwan al-Shehhi]] in [[Boston]]; the pair spoke for less than a minute, likely to confirm that the plan for the attacks was ready to proceed.<ref name="Mitchell">{{cite book |last=McMillan |first=Tom |date=2014 |title=Flight 93: The Story, the Aftermath, and the Legacy of American Courage on 9/11 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MXiFBAAAQBAJ&dq=Ziad+Jarrah+Marwan+Al+Shehhi+5:01+am+cell+phone+call&pg=PA64 |location=[[Lanham, Maryland]] |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |isbn=978-1442232853 |access-date=June 11, 2021 |archive-date=September 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911040828/https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Flight_93/MXiFBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Ziad+Jarrah+Marwan+Al+Shehhi+5%3A01+am+cell+phone+call&pg=PA64&printsec=frontcover%3Dfalse |url-status=live }}{{rp|64}}</ref> While Jarrah made a similar call to [[American Airlines Flight 11]] hijacker pilot [[Mohamed Atta]], this did not occur between Jarrah and [[American Airlines Flight 77]] hijacker pilot [[Hani Hanjour]].<ref>"9/11 Commission Report" (PDF). p. 18. Retrieved May 19, 2023.</ref><ref>"9/11 Commission Report" (PDF). p. 50. Retrieved May 19, 2023</ref>  Jarrah, [[Saeed al-Ghamdi]], [[Ahmed al-Haznawi]], and [[Ahmed al-Nami]] boarded [[United Airlines Flight 93]] from [[Newark Liberty International Airport|Newark International Airport]] at gate A17 without incident, and sat in first-class seats near the cockpit. Due to a delay, the plane took off at 8:42, four minutes before [[American Airlines Flight 11]] crashed into the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]]. The pilot and crew were notified of the first two hijackings that day, and were told to be on alert. Within minutes, around 9:28{{nbsp}}a.m., Flight 93 was hijacked as well. The [[9/11 Commission]] stated that Jarrah was the pilot.<ref>{{cite news |date=July 23, 2004 |title=Flight 93 Hijacker:'Shall We Finish it Off?' |publisher=CNN |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2004/US/07/22/911.flight.93/index.html |access-date=July 30, 2021}}</ref>

Jarrah's voice was heard by [[air traffic control]] "Ladies and gentlemen: here the captain. Please sit down, keep remaining seating. We have a bomb on board. So sit."<ref>{{cite news |last=Hirschkorn |first=Phil |title=On tape, passengers heard trying to retake cockpit |url=https://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/04/12/moussaoui.trial/ |date=April 12, 2006 |publisher=CNN |access-date=June 23, 2008}}</ref> At 09:32:08, the sound of breaking glass was heard as Jarrah, shouted in English, "Don't move! Shut up. Come on, come. Shut up! Don't move! Stop! Sit, sit, sit down! Stop!", while a wounded man, believed to be a pilot, was heard moaning, along with the sounds of a seat being adjusted.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2002-03-01 |title=CVR from UA Flight #93 |url=https://www.flight93friends.org/pdf/learning-center/crime-scene-investigation/CVR_Transcript_long_version.pdf |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=flight93friends.org}}</ref> Jarrah continued shouting, "Sit, sit, sit down! Sit down!" Another hijacker chimed in at 9:32:54 in English: "Stop!" At 9:33:09, the wounded man pleaded, "No more," as a hijacker simultaneously ordered, "Sit down!"<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Dwyer |first1=Timothy |last2=Markon |first2=Jerry |last3=Branigin |first3=William |date=2006-04-12 |title=Flight 93 Recording Played at Moussaoui Trial |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/technology/2006/04/12/flight-93-recording-played-at-moussaoui-trial/62691895-26b8-4d5f-91ca-4a8e5aff21b4/ |access-date=2025-05-18 |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> In Arabic, a hijacker said, "That's it, that's it, that's it", then switched to English: "Down, down!" Jarrah shouted, "Shut up!" At 9:33:34 a.m., after several clicking noises, a hijacker recited the [[Basmala]].<ref name=":0" /> Then someone said, "Finish, no more. No more!" A hijacker shouted, "Stop, stop, stop, stop!" The man pleaded, "No! No, no, no, no!" He repeated this four more times. A hijacker ordered, "Down! Go ahead, lie down. Lie down! Down. Down. Down!" The hijackers' orders of "Down, down, down!" and the desperate pleas of "No more...no more", continued, until at 09:34:27, a woman, thought to be first-class flight attendant Debbie Welsh, is heard in the background and is heard pleading, "Please, please, please..." A hijacker shouted, "Down!" The woman pleaded, "Please, please, don't hurt me." The hijacker said, "Down!" and again the man said "No more." The woman cried out, "Oh, God!" A hijacker again repeated, "Down, down, down!" and Jarrah said, "Sit down!" Another hijacker (or possibly the same) said "Shut up!" At 09:34:38, the sounds of a warning bell indicated Jarrah was trying to disconnect the autopilot to change the plane's destination.<ref>{{Cite web |last=PRESS |first=THE ASSOCIATED |date=2006-04-13 |title=Wife of 9/11 pilot says he was alive when plane crashed |url=https://www.summitdaily.com/news/wife-of-911-pilot-says-he-was-alive-when-plane-crashed/ |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=www.summitdaily.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Garofoli |first=Joe |title=United pilot's widow defends crew's role in 9/11 / Former flight attendant has been waiting 4 1/2 years to tell of Flight 93's final minutes |url=https://www.sfgate.com/politics/joegarofoli/article/United-pilot-s-widow-defends-crew-s-role-in-9-11-2520381.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907000627/https://www.sfgate.com/politics/joegarofoli/article/united-pilot-s-widow-defends-crew-s-role-in-9-11-2520381.php |archive-date=7 September 2023 |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=www.sfgate.com |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref> A knock on the cockpit door by another hijacker was answered by Jarrah saying in Arabic, "One moment, one moment."<ref name=":0" /><ref name="NYT1">{{cite news |last=Lewis |first=Neil A |title=Final Struggles on 9/11 Plane Fill Courtroom |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/13/us/13moussaoui.html |date=2006-04-13 |work=The New York Times |access-date=2008-08-24}}</ref> At 09:35:03, the shouting continued: the man said, "No more." Then, Jarrah shouted, "Down, down, down!" As Jarrah instructed the autopilot to turn the plane and head east at 09:35:09,<ref>{{cite news |title=A Nation Challenged: The Tapes; ''Voices From the Sky'' |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D05E3DF163EF935A25753C1A9679C8B63 |date=October 16, 2001 |work=The New York Times |access-date=August 24, 2008}}</ref> the man begged, "No, no, no, no, no, no..." Jarrah said, "Sit down, sit down, sit down! Down!" The other hijacker said, "What's this?" in Arabic. Jarrah, still talking in English said, "Sit down! Sit down! You know, sit down!" The woman spoke again at 9:35:24 apparently asking the wounded man, "Are you talking to me?" A hijacker shouted, "Down, down, down, down!" and ten seconds later, the woman pleaded for her life, "I don't want to die!" A hijacker again said, "No, no. Down, Down!" The woman repeated, "I don't want to die. I don't want to die." The man said "No" twice more while the hijacker again said "Down" six more times. The woman begged again, "No, no please." The "sound of a snap" reverberated in the cockpit as the woman sobbed "No!", and her crying continued as she was heard to struggle with the hijackers for less than a minute before being killed or otherwise silenced. At 09:37:06, Jarrah said in [[Arabic]], "That's it. Go back," then in English, "Back." He said "That's it!" in Arabic again, then in English again to the man, "Sit down!" At 09:37:36, the other hijacker said in Arabic, "Everything is fine. I finished."<ref name="NYT1"/><ref name=":0" /> At 9:39&nbsp;a.m., Jarrah in a much calmer voice, announced over the radio, "This is the captain. Would like you all to remain seated. There is a bomb on board and we are going back to the airport, and to have our demands, so please remain quiet."<ref>{{cite book|title=The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States|date=2004|page=29}}</ref> Flight 93 continued to descend more than 20,000 feet from a peak of 40,700 feet between 9:39 and 9:45 a.m.<ref name=":1">{{cite web |title=NTSB animation of the flight path |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XQDuiuX07M |website=[[youtube.com]] | date=12 May 2012 }}</ref> The plane finally stabilized by 9:46 a.m. before Jarrah, apparently worried that they were losing altitude too quickly, jerked the plane's nose upward, than began another more gradual descent.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB148/911%20Commission%20Four%20Flights%20Monograph.pdf |title= 911 Commission Four Flights Monograph}}</ref><ref name="ntsb">{{cite web |url=https://www.ntsb.gov/about/Documents/Flight_Path_Study_UA93.pdf | title=Flight Path Study – United Airlines Flight 93 |publisher=[[National Transportation Safety Board]] |date=February 19, 2002 |access-date=June 2, 2021}}</ref> At 9:45 a.m., with the plane's descent to eastward continuing, a hijacker discussed with Jarrah on whether to open the cockpit door to the other two hijackers. The hijacker said, "How about we let them in? We let the guys in now." Jarrah responded, "Okay." The hijacker asked again, "Should we let the guys in?" Jarrah answered, "Inform them, and tell him to talk to the pilot; bring the pilot back",<ref name=":0" /> suggesting one of the United pilots were possibly still alive. At 09:45;57, Jarrah whispered the [[Shahada]].<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB148/911%20Commission%20Four%20Flights%20Monograph.pdf |title= 911 Commission Four Flights Monograph}}</ref><ref name="ntsb"/>

At least two of the cellphone calls made by passengers indicate that all the hijackers they saw were wearing red bandanas, and indicated that one of the men, believed to be either al-Haznawi or al-Nami, had a box tied around his torso, and claimed there was a bomb inside. Passengers on the plane had learned the fates of the other hijacked planes through telephone calls; a group decided to act, to retake the plane. At 9:53 a.m., the hijackers in the cockpit, having either overheard or sensed that the passengers were preparing a revolt, suggested using the plane's fire axe, to intimidate the passengers and blunt a counterattack. "The best thing: The guys will go in, [you] lift up the [unintelligible word], and they put the ax into it. So, everyone will be scared." After some confusion among his collaborators, a hijacker explained that should hold up the axe to the peephole of the cockpit door, "Let him look through the window. Let him look through the window."<ref name=":0" /> A passenger uprising began at 9:57.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.newsweek.com/passengers-defeated-well-trained-hijacker-assigned-flight-93-1618911 | title=Passengers Defeated the Well-trained Hijacker Assigned to Flight 93 | website=[[Newsweek]] | date=17 August 2021 }}</ref> Analysis of the plane's [[Flight data recorder|cockpit recording]] by the [[United States]] investigators showed a group of passengers tried to break into the cockpit. The hijackers in the cockpit became aware of the revolt at 09:57:55, when they heard sounds of fighting and yells from the cabin, Jarrah exclaiming, "Is there something? A fight?"<ref name="Trans93" /> Another hijacker shouted "Yeah!" in response.<ref name=":0" /> Apparently, a third hijacker fled from the first-class section and shut himself in the cockpit.<ref>[https://www.flight93friends.org/pdf/learning-center/crime-scene-investigation/CVR_Transcript_long_version.pdf  United Flight 93 Cockpit Voice Recorder Transcript] "The transcript indicates that a hijacker banged on the cockpit door and sought refuge inside between 9:58:02 and 9:58:15 a.m.." </ref> Sounds of a fight and a man's screams reverberated off the plane's cabin walls.<ref>[https://www.flight93friends.org/pdf/learning-center/crime-scene-investigation/CVR_Transcript_long_version.pdf  United Flight 93 Cockpit Voice Recorder Transcript] "The transcript notes "the sound of a male scream from a distance," and fighting in the background at 9:58:20 a.m.." </ref> Jarrah yelled in Arabic, "Let's go guys!" and recited the ''[[takbir]]'' twice, pausing to say, "Oh, guys!" and recited the takbir again. Jarrah began to roll the airplane left and right to knock the passengers off balance, causing the plane to rock it wings.<ref name=":1" /> As a result, the plane left its Washington, D.C. course.<ref name="Chap1" /> The struggle outside the cockpit continued with grunts and yells. At 09:58:44, Jarrah yelled, "Oh Allah! Oh Allah! Oh, the most gracious!" Eight seconds later, a hijacker outside the cockpit, shouted "Stay back!" in English, but the passengers continued their assault and at 09:58:55, a passenger, most likely Burnett, shouted "In the cockpit! In the cockpit!"<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Burnett |first1=Deena |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kgYPRe8v5oMC&q=In+the+cockpit!+In+the+cockpit!+Burnett+Deena+recognized+voice |title=Living Life Beyond Ourselves: Fighting Back : Defining Moments in the Life of an American Hero, Tom Burnett |last2=Giombetti |first2=Anthony |date=2006 |publisher=Advantage Books |isbn=978-1-59755-037-6 |language=en}}</ref> A flustered Jarrah yelled at another hijacker in the cockpit to hold against the door at 09:58:57, "They want to get in here! Hold [the door], hold from the inside! Hold from the inside! Hold!"<ref name="Trans93" /> Jarrah wagged the plane's wings more sharply, but to no avail. A hijacker outside the cockpit shouted, "Sit down!" and repeated this two times. At 09:59:18, Jarrah, realizing how many passengers were taking part, exclaimed "What? There are some guys. All those guys."<ref name=":0" /> A passenger yelled "Let's get them!" at 09:59:20, as again the hijacker outside the cockpit said, "Sit down!"<ref name=":0" /> A passenger shouted, "Get ’em! Get ’em! C’mon! C’mon!"<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2008-11-22 |title=Sept. 11 loss leads mother to fight for gay rights |url=https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2008/11/22/sept-11-loss-leads-mother-to-fight-for-gay-rights/ |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=East Bay Times |language=en-US}}</ref> The fight continued, as Jarrah and a hijacker exclaimed "what?!" several times over the noise. The other hijacker in the cockpit said, "Trust in Allah, and in Him."  The hijacker outside the cockpit insisted, "Sit down.", but a violent struggle ensued and the hijacker was heard screaming. Jarrah changed tactics at 09:59:52 and began pitching the nose of the airplane up and down.<ref name="Chap1" /> Jarrah stabilized the plane at 10:00:03.<ref name="Chap1">{{cite book |chapter='We Have Some Planes' |url=https://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report_Ch1.htm |year=2004 |title=9/11 Commission Report |publisher=National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States |access-date=May 30, 2008}}</ref> At 10:00:06 a.m., the hijackers in the cockpit realized they would never reach their target. Discouraged, a hijacker said in Arabic, "There is nothing."<ref name=":0" /> Jarrah asked, "Is that it? Shall we finish it off?" Another hijacker (or possibly the same) responded, "No. Not yet. When they all come, we finish it off," before saying, "There is nothing!"<ref name="Trans93">{{cite web|url=http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2006/images/04/12/flight93.transcript.pdf |title=United Airlines Flight No.93 Cockpit Voice Recorder Transcript |access-date=July 4, 2009 |date=April 12, 2006 |publisher=CNN |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131208160527/http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2006/images/04/12/flight93.transcript.pdf |archive-date=December 8, 2013 }}</ref> The voice recorder recorded the sound of the passengers using the food cart as a battering ram against the cockpit door.<ref name="Chap1" /> At 10:00:22, Jarrah exclaimed, "Oh Allah! Oh Allah! Oh gracious!"<ref name="Trans93" /> At 10:00:37, Jarrah repeatedly pitched the plane's nose up and down, and instructed a hijacker to help him with the controls, switching between Arabic and English, he commanded: "Up, down. Up, down, in the cockpit." He then addressed al-Ghamdi by name, "Up, down. Saeed, up, down!"<ref>[https://www.flight93friends.org/pdf/learning-center/crime-scene-investigation/CVR_Transcript_long_version.pdf  United Flight 93 Cockpit Voice Recorder Transcript] "Jarrah addresses a hijacker in the cockpit as "Saeed" at 10:00:37 and 10:01:12." </ref> Jarrah ceased the violent maneuvers at 10:01:00 and recited the ''[[takbir]]'' twice. He then asked another hijacker, "Is that it? I mean, shall we put it down?" The other hijacker responded, "Yes, put it in it, and pull it down." At 10:01:11, Jarrah yelled for al-Ghamdi to cut off oxygen to the cabin, "Saeed! Cut off the oxygen! Cut off the oxygen! Cut off the oxygen! Cut off the oxygen!".<ref name=":0" /> The passengers continued their assault as Jarrah called out "Up, down. Up, down". A hijacker called out confused, "What?" and Jarrah repeated, "Up, down." At 10:02:17, a male passenger said, "Turn it up!" A hijacker, possibly al-Ghamdi, yelled, "Down! Down! Pull it down! Pull it down!" His cries were drowned by a passenger who said, "Down. Push, push, push, push, push."<ref name="Chap1" /> At 10:02:33, Jarrah shouted "Hey! Hey!" and screamed in Arabic, "Give it to me! Give it to me! Give it to me! Give it to me! Give it to me! Give it to me! Give it to me! Give it to me!", possibly referring to the plane's yoke.<ref>''Flight 93: The Story, the Aftermath, and the Legacy of American Courage on 9/11'', pp&nbsp;104–105</ref> At 10:03:02, amidst screams and shouts, a hijacker, possibly al-Ghamdi, began shouting the ''takbir'', his cries drowned out by a passenger shouting "No!"<ref>{{Cite web |title=Investigation of United Flight 93 |url=https://www.fbi.gov/video-repository/investigation-of-flight-93.mp4/view |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=Federal Bureau of Investigation |language=en-us}}</ref> The last sound was the hijacker whispering the ''takbir'', when the plane crashed,<ref name=":0" /> just [[Stonycreek Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania|outside]] of [[Shanksville, Pennsylvania]], at 10:03:11, 125 miles (200&nbsp;km) from Washington, D.C. All aboard died instantly. The [[National Transportation Safety Board]] reported that the flight impacted at {{cvt|563|mph|km/h m/s kn}}.

After 11 September, Jarrah's girlfriend, Şengün, filed a missing person report in [[Bochum]]. Jarrah became a suspect as FBI agents found a "Ziad Jarrahi" in the flight manifest (the additional ''i'' at the end a possible misspelling).<ref name="BostonGlobe" /> His remains were identified and turned over to the FBI as evidence after DNA samples submitted by his girlfriend were matched to remains recovered in Shanksville.<ref name="911myths_com">{{cite web|url=http://911myths.com/images/e/ef/Team5_Box62_AliasesAndIDs-FBIIDsHijackers-2.pdf|title=How The FBI Identified The 19 Hijackers's Identities|publisher=911 Myths|access-date=2009-06-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110918084810/http://911myths.com/images/e/ef/Team5_Box62_AliasesAndIDs-FBIIDsHijackers-2.pdf|archive-date=2011-09-18|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Mistaken identity claims ==
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Image-Attavideo.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Ziad Jarrah and [[Mohamed Atta]] in a January 18, 2000 "martyrdom" video.]] -->
There have been claims that Jarrah was not a hijacker but rather an innocent passenger or that he was not present on the plane and his identity was stolen. It has been pointed out that his behavior deviated from the profile presented by the other hijackers and that the passengers reported three and not four hijackers. However, the October 2006 emergence of a video shot on 18 January 2000, showing Jarrah recording his will alongside [[Mohamed Atta]] has cast heavy doubt on such claims.<ref name="TimesOnlineVideo" />

Shortly after the September 11 attacks, family and friends claimed that Jarrah did not exhibit the same "smoldering political resentments" or "cultural conservatism" as Atta and the other hijackers. Although his family was Sunni Muslim, Jarrah was not raised with a background of religious conviction and did not hold to an obviously conservative lifestyle. Personnel at the flight school Jarrah attended described him as "a normal person". Jarrah called his family two days, and his girlfriend Aysel Şengün three hours, before boarding United Airlines Flight 93; Şengün described the conversation as "pleasant" and "normal". She also claimed that he never mentioned any names of the other hijackers.<ref name="CJW Friends" /> In his call two days before the attack, Jarrah told his family he would be coming home for a cousin's wedding. "It makes no sense," his uncle Jamal claimed. "He said he had even bought a new suit for the occasion." Jarrah's family in [[Lebanon]] claimed in September 2001 that he was an innocent passenger on the plane.<ref name="BostonGlobe" /> His uncle, [[Jamal Jarrah]], served as a deputy in the [[Lebanese parliament]] from 2005 to 2018 and was appointed minister on 18 December 2016, and a member of the [[Future Movement]], a pro-Saudi Arabian political party led by [[Saad Hariri]]. On 2 January 2012, in a televised interview on Future TV, [[Member of parliament|MP]]{{nbsp}}Jarrah denied his nephew's involvement in the 9/11 attacks, alluding to a conspiracy.{{citation needed|date=September 2013}}

On 23 October 2001, [[John Ashcroft]] claimed that Jarrah had shared a Hamburg apartment with [[Mohamed Atta]] and [[Marwan al-Shehhi]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A39318-2001Oct23&notFound=true |title=German Fugitives Sought in Attack Investigation |last=Eggen |first=Dan |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 23, 2001 |access-date=September 8, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110224023639/http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A39318-2001Oct23&notFound=true |archive-date=February 24, 2011 }}</ref> though [[Germany|German]] authorities that same day told the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' that they had no evidence that any of Jarrah's three apartments in Hamburg had been connected with the other hijackers. One high-ranking German police official stated, "The only information we have connecting the three Hamburg suspects is the FBI's assertion that there is a connection."<ref name="CJW Friends" /> In October 2006, however, a video surfaced showing Atta and Jarrah together in Afghanistan, clearly connecting Jarrah to the members of the Hamburg cell.<ref name="TimesOnlineVideo" />

The [[9/11 Commission]] concluded without qualification that Jarrah was a hijacker on the plane when it crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.<ref>{{cite book|title=The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States|date=2004|page=14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Friends of terror suspect say allegations make no sense |url=http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sns-worldtrade-jarrah-lat.story |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020203214236/http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sns-worldtrade-jarrah-lat.story |archive-date=February 3, 2002}}</ref>

In October 2006, an [[al-Qaeda]] video was released showing Jarrah and Mohamed Atta recording their wills in January 2000 in [[Osama bin Laden]]'s [[Tarnak Farms]] base near [[Kandahar]], Afghanistan.<ref name="TimesOnlineVideo">{{cite news|title=Watch the video: Osama Bin Laden's HQ|work=The Times|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2382919,00.html|date=October 1, 2006|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061004072035/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2382919,00.html|archive-date=October 4, 2006}}</ref>

== In popular culture ==
* Jarrah is portrayed by French-Lebanese actor Karim Saleh in the film ''[[The Hamburg Cell (film)|The Hamburg Cell]]'' (2004),<ref name="lat" /> Iranian-American actor [[Pej Vahdat]] in the Television film ''[[The Flight That Fought Back]]'' (2005), Iranian-American actor [[Dominic Rains]] in the television film ''[[Flight 93 (2006 film)|Flight 93]]'' (2006),<ref>{{cite web |date=June 8, 2015 |title=Dominic Rains Actors &#124; Soaps.com |url=https://soaps.sheknows.com/general-hospital/actors/dominic-rains/ |publisher=Soaps.sheknows.com |accessdate=November 17, 2021}}</ref> and Egyptian-British actor [[Khalid Abdalla]] in the award-winning film ''[[United 93 (film)|United 93]]'' (2006).<ref name="lat">{{cite web|date=April 26, 2006|title=Do they really want the part?|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-apr-26-et-terrorist26-story.html|access-date=November 17, 2021|website=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> The 2021 German-French film ''[[:de:Die Welt wird eine andere sein|Copilot]]'' ([[German language|German title]]: ''Die Welt Wird Eine Andere Sein,'' [[Literal translation|Lit. trans.]] ''The World Will Be Different'') is based on Jarrah's relationship with Aysel Şengün, prior to the attack.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.modernfilms.com/copilot|title = Copilot}}</ref> Portrayed by Lebanese actor Roger Azar, Jarrah is renamed as Saeed Awaad to distance the film from being a docudrama. It was an official Panorama entry at the [[71st Berlin International Film Festival]], and was theatrically released on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
* The 2016 album ''Media in the Service of Terror'' by the [[industrial techno]] act [[Vatican Shadow]] opens with the track 'Ziad Jarrah Studied Mathematics'.<ref>{{cite web |date= June 20, 2016 |title= Media in the Service of Terror &#124; Vatican Shadow, 2016 |website= [[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/22034-media-in-the-service-of-terror/ |accessdate=July 23, 2024}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
{{Sisterlinks|s=no|v=no|b=no|wikt=no}}
* {{cite book|last=Baer|first=Robert|title=See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism|year=2002|publisher=Three Rivers Press|location=New York}}
* {{cite book|last=Ruthven|first=Malise|title=A Fury for God: The Islamist Attack on America|year=2004|publisher=Granta|isbn=9781862075733}}
* {{cite book|last=Rodriguez|first=Bert|title=Face Fear, Create Courage|year=2013|publisher=Dog Ear Publishing|location=Indianapolis, Ind.}}
* {{cite web|url=http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&Hearing_ID=4192bcd4-5412-432f-8619-703e09e0ce88|title=Building an Agile Intelligence Community to Fight Terrorism and Emerging Threats|last=Collins|first=Susan M.|date=September 8, 2004|publisher=Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs|access-date=January 3, 2005|archive-date=13 August 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090813172129/http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&Hearing_ID=4192bcd4-5412-432f-8619-703e09e0ce88|url-status=dead}}
* {{cite press release|title=The FBI releases 19 photographs of individuals believed to be the hijackers of the four airliners that crashed on September 11, 01 |author=FBI National Press Office |work=Federal Bureau of Investigation |location=Washington, D.C. |date=September 27, 2001 |url=https://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel01/092701hjpic.htm |access-date=October 1, 2001 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011001123059/http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel01/092701hjpic.htm |archive-date=October 1, 2001 }}
* {{cite web|url=http://notablecases.vaed.uscourts.gov/1:01-cr-00455/docs/67545/0.pdf|title=Government's submission regarding relevance of cockpit voice recorders|publisher=United States district court for the eastern district of Virginia|date=September 13, 2002|access-date=January 23, 2004|archive-date=May 31, 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040531064708/http://notablecases.vaed.uscourts.gov/1:01-cr-00455/docs/67545/0.pdf|url-status=dead}}
* {{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/20/books/review/20book.html?_r=0|title=Ordinary but for the Evil They Wrought|last=Kakutani|first=Michiko|work=The New York Times|date=May 20, 2005|access-date=February 17, 2005}}
* {{cite book|last=McDermott|first=Terry|title=Perfect Soldiers: The Hijackers: Who They Were, Why They Did It |title-link=Perfect Soldiers (book) |year=2005|publisher=HarperCollins|isbn=978-0-06-058469-6}}

{{United Airlines Flight 93}}
{{9-11 hijackers}}
{{GermanTerrorism}}
{{AmericanTerrorism}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jarrah, Ziad}}
[[Category:1975 births]]
[[Category:2001 deaths]]
[[Category:2001 suicides]]
[[Category:United Airlines Flight 93 hijackers]]
[[Category:Hamburg cell]]
[[Category:Hamburg University of Applied Sciences alumni]]
[[Category:Lebanese al-Qaeda members]]
[[Category:Lebanese Islamists]]
[[Category:Lebanese mass murderers]]
[[Category:Lebanese Sunni Muslims]]
[[Category:Male suicides]]
[[Category:People from Beirut]]
[[Category:Salafi jihadists]]
[[Category:University of Greifswald alumni]]
[[Category:21st-century Lebanese people]]