The Chinese gave him almost half a million dollars and a big job at a Chinese flying academy.
Law enforcement officials said that Mr. Moussaoui first contacted the Minnesota flying academy in May about training on a jet simulator, saying he wanted to become familiar with big jets and their cockpits.
Within a few weeks of their arrival, all three undertook the first task of the plot: they took flying lessons at various academies, getting their licenses around the end of 2000.
"Academy have been flying the football flag for the city in recent seasons and I'm delighted that we, as a men's club, are providing them with financial support.
His love of flying continued after leaving the academy.
In addition, investigators have examined more closely Mr. bin al-Shibh's unsuccessful efforts to obtain a visa to enter the United States, where he had signed up for flying lessons at a Florida aviation academy.
Above all, flight academies look for motivation, a yen for flying indistinguishable from vocation.
Women were not allowed into the service academies until 1976 and were barred from flying on combat missions or serving on combat ships until the 1990s.
Among his closest friends at the cadet academy were Manfred von Richthofen, the World War I flying ace and a fellow Silesian, and Hans von Aulock, brother of the World War II colonel Andreas von Aulock.
The women reportedly underwent "extensive martial arts and firearms training at a special academy" before they were officially inducted in the Guard, and their skills included flying fighter jets and hand-to-hand combat.
