Hamza al-Ghamdi
One of the nineteen al-Qaeda operatives who carried out the September 11 attacks, hijacking United Airlines Flight 175 which was flown into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
1980–2001 (age 21)·Saudi terrorist and 9/11 hijacker·Birthday: November 18·Generation X
Biography
Hamza al-Ghamdi was a young Saudi national who became a foot soldier in the most devastating terrorist attack on American soil. Little is concretely documented about his early life beyond his birth in Saudi Arabia's Al Bahah region. He was recruited into Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, undergoing training in Afghan camps before being selected for the 9/11 plot. At age 20, he boarded United Airlines Flight 175 in Boston on September 11, 2001, as part of a five-man hijacking team. His role, like the others, was to subdue the crew and passengers, allowing the designated pilot, Marwan al-Shehhi, to seize control of the aircraft. The plane was deliberately crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center, killing all aboard and hundreds within the building. Al-Ghamdi's existence is primarily defined by this single, catastrophic act of violence.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Hamza was born in 1980, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Hamza Was Born
The biggest hits of 1980
#1 Movie
The Empire Strikes Back
Best Picture
Ordinary People
#1 TV Show
Dallas
Hamza's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1980Born
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1985Started school
Live Aid concerts raise money for Ethiopian famine
Gas: $1.12/galHome: $62,900Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Careless Whisper" — Wham!Best Picture: Out of Africa
1993Became a teenager
European Union officially established
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $86,600Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"I Will Always Love You" — Whitney HoustonBest Picture: Schindler's List
1996Could drive
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
1998Could vote
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2001Turned 21
September 11 attacks transform the world
Gas: $1.46/galHome: $126,400Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Hanging by a Moment" — LifehouseBest Picture: A Beautiful Mind
Did You Know?
His older brother, Ahmed al-Ghamdi, was also a 9/11 hijacker, on board American Airlines Flight 175.
A passport belonging to him was reportedly recovered from the wreckage near the World Trade Center.
He was one of the younger hijackers involved in the 9/11 attacks.
In a purported pre-attack will video, he is seen with other hijackers in a desert setting.
“We wrote our wills and prayed before the mission.”
