<P> Fifteen minutes into the flight , the hijackers injured at least three people ( possibly killing one ) , forcibly breached the cockpit , and overpowered the captain and first officer . Atta , an al - Qaeda member and licensed commercial pilot , took over the controls . Air - traffic controllers noticed the flight was in distress when the crew was no longer responding . They realized the flight had been hijacked when Mohamed Atta 's announcements for passengers were transmitted to air traffic control . On board , flight attendants Amy Sweeney and Betty Ong contacted American Airlines , and provided information about the hijackers and injuries to passengers and crew . </P>
<P> Fifteen minutes into the flight , the hijackers injured at least three people ( possibly killing one ) , forcibly breached the cockpit , and overpowered the captain and first officer . Atta , an al - Qaeda member and licensed commercial pilot , took over the controls . Air - traffic controllers noticed the flight was in distress when the crew was no longer responding . They realized the flight had been hijacked when Mohamed Atta 's announcements for passengers were transmitted to air traffic control . On board , flight attendants Amy Sweeney and Betty Ong contacted American Airlines , and provided information about the hijackers and injuries to passengers and crew . </P>
who was the pilot that crashed into the twin towers
who was the pilot that crashed into the twin towers
Atta , an al - Qaeda member and licensed commercial pilot
Atta , an al - Qaeda member and licensed commercial pilot