Mohamed Mohamed el-Amir Awad el-Sayed Atta ( ; '' '' ; September 1 , 1968 – September 11 , 2001 ) was an Egyptian hijacker and one of the ringleaders of the September 11 attacks in which four United States commercial aircraft were commandeered with the intention of destroying specific civilian targets . He served as the hijacker-pilot of American Airlines Flight 11 and crashed the plane into the North Tower of the World Trade Center as part of the coordinated attacks . At 33 years of age , he was the oldest of the 19 hijackers who took part in the attacks
American Airlines Flight 11
American Airlines Flight 11
Mohamed Atta