New Zealand Police seized Ali 's flight logbook from the flight school , where he had flown several times in a Cessna aircraft accompanied by the flight school instructors . Immigration authorities also stated that Ali used a variation of his name when entering the country . In 2004 , the '' Arizona Daily Star '' reported him as Rayed Mohammed Abdullah . New Zealand Immigration Minister David Cunliffe said that Ali " was directly associated with persons responsible for the terrorist attacks in the United States on Sept. 11 , 2001 " He also quoted excerpts from the U.S. government 's 9/11 Commission Report on the attacks regarding Rayed Mohammed Abdullah Ali . The report says Ali lived and trained in Phoenix , Arizona with Hani Hanjour , the Saudi Arabian believed to have piloted Flight 77 into the Pentagon , on September 11 , 2001 . Abdullah was a leader at the Islamic Cultural Centre in Phoenix where , the FBI says , he " reportedly gave extremist speeches at the mosque " . Immigration Minister David Cunliffe also said that he could not comment on what happened after Ali returned to Saudi Arabia nor could he comment on what information he had on him or where it came from . " We 're satisfied he is the right man . " The 9/11 Commission Report also says Abdullah attended the same Phoenix flight school as Hanjour and records show the pair used a flight simulator together on June 23 , 2001
Flight 77
American Airlines Flight 77
Rayed Mohammed Abdullah Ali