WASHINGTON – The Sept. 11 hijackers used Mace or some other spray to paralyze passengers and crew on the first plane to hit the World Trade Center, an FBI agent told a German court in a terror case yesterday.
The agent testified that the information came from a flight attendant on the plane who called American Airlines controllers and relayed what was happening.
It was the first time an FBI agent testified publicly about how the hijackers commandeered the planes.
The agent said the hijackers used Mace in the front passenger section and stabbed passengers and flight crew, most likely with boxcutters.
“She also stated it was very hard to breathe, so we assume that Mace or another gas was used,” FBI special agent Matthew Walsh said.
Walsh testified in the trial of Moroccan Mounir El Motassadeq, an alleged member of the Hamburg al Qaeda cell who’s charged with handling finances for the hijackers.