Investigators renew hunt for Saudi pilot who drew scrutiny before attacks

By KARIN MILLER
Associated Press Writer

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The FBI is searching anew for a Saudi pilot they first inquired about more than two weeks before the Sept. 11 attacks, and who purchased two small planes and left Tennessee shortly before the suicide hijackings, officials said.

Khaled Alzeedi's name appears on a list of 370 people that emerged overseas earlier this month. Most are wanted for questioning in the attacks investigation, officials have said.

The FBI interviewed in August employees of a Nashville hotel where Alzeedi stayed. Since the attacks, the FBI has interviewed the broker who sold Alzeedi two planes, and seized records of Alzeedi's company, Zidi Aviation.

It's at least the second instance in which the FBI is known to have asked questions in the weeks before Sept. 11 about someone who later became a figure in the FBI's terrorism investigation. However, a top FBI official said Sunday that the bureau doesn't believe Alzeedi had any connection to the Sept. 11 hijackings.

"The FBI wants to interview Alzeedi in connection with a matter that remains totally unrelated to the hijackings," FBI assistant director John Collingwood said in Washington. "He is not on a watch list because of any suspected involvement in, or knowledge of, the Sept. 11 attacks."

In another case, Zacarias Moussaoui, a French-Algerian, was detained Aug. 17 in Minnesota after he aroused suspicions by seeking to learn how to steer but not land planes. Moussaoui is not cooperating with investigators.

Efforts to reach Alzeedi for comment were unsuccessful. The Jeddah, Saudi Arabia telephone number listed on Zidi Aviation's Web site does not work, and e-mail sent to an address listed on the site was returned as undeliverable.

Alzeedi and two or three other men stayed from Aug. 5 to Aug. 28 in three rooms at the Hilton Suites hotel in downtown Nashville, said Mark Moravec, hotel general manager.

In the same period, Alzeedi was arranging the aircraft purchase from Outlaw Aircraft Sales of Clarksville, Tenn., about 60 miles northwest of Nashville. The company's airfield and hangars are less than a mile from Fort Campbell, Ky., home of the Army's 101st Airborne Division.

Alzeedi bought two Tampico TB-9 airplanes – small, single-engine, European-made aircraft often used for pilot training and by flying clubs. The planes were advertised on Outlaw's Web site.

Federal Aviation Administration records show the planes were registered Aug. 16 to Zidi Aviation Corp., which Alzeedi incorporated last year in Delaware. Alzeedi moved the planes to an unknown location, according to a law enforcement source who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Moravec said hotel management called the FBI in late August after there was a problem with Alzeedi's bill.

"His credit card was declined and he was locked out of his room. Before he was locked out, security went in and found some items they thought were peculiar," Moravec said.

Moravec declined to specify what was found.

Two Nashville FBI agents went to the hotel to inquire about Alzeedi, law enforcement officials said. Moravec said the agents spoke with some hotel employees.

Alzeedi left the hotel about a week later, settling the bill with a personal check, Moravec said.

Since August, the FBI has not spoken with Moravec or any of his employees, Moravec said.

After the Sept. 11 attacks, Outlaw owner Robert Wyatt was questioned by the FBI. Wyatt was in Florida over the weekend and did not return several telephone calls from The Associated Press.

FBI spokesman Jon Stephens in Nashville said he could not comment on whether Alzeedi was the subject of an investigation.

Sidney Garnett, executive vice president of Registered Agents Ltd. of Wilmington, Del., acknowledged his company handled the incorporation of Zidi Aviation last year. He declined to comment further on Alzeedi or Zidi Aviation.

He said an FBI agent showed up at his office two to three weeks ago with a subpoena for Zidi Aviation's records. "We turned over everything we had in that file to the local FBI office," Garnett said.

The company had a Web site that showed the cockpit of commercial jetliners and listed services including pilot training and private shuttles. The site was changed this week to a black page listing the company's name, address and phone number in white print.

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Associated Press writers John Solomon in Washington, Randall Chase in Wilmington, Del., and Amanda Kell in Baltimore contributed to this story.

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