A Kenyan national, who underwent extensive commercial flight training with the explicit goal of executing a terrorist attack mirroring the September 11 atrocities, has been sentenced to spend the rest of his life behind bars. The sentencing concludes a protracted international investigation into a chilling plot to use a hijacked passenger plane as a weapon against the United States.
From Somalia to Flight School: The Making of a Terrorist Pilot
Cholo Abdi Abdullah, aged 35, was handed a life imprisonment term without the possibility of supervised release. This came after a jury found him guilty on November 4, 2024, on multiple counts, including conspiring to murder U.S. nationals, hijack aircraft, and provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.
U.S. authorities identified Abdullah as an operative of the Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab. Court evidence revealed he joined the group in 2015, spending a year in Somalia at safehouses where he received training in weapons and explosives. Senior leaders later selected him for a "greater plan" that moved beyond ground combat.
That plan was sinister and ambitious: to turn Abdullah into a licensed commercial pilot capable of commandeering an aircraft abroad and crashing it into a target on American soil. To this end, between October 2017 and July 2019, Abdullah enrolled at a flight school in the Philippines. Prosecutors stated that Al-Shabaab funded his training using money obtained through extortion.
During this period, he logged hundreds of hours in classrooms, simulators, and actual flights. By the time of his arrest, he had nearly completed all requirements for his commercial pilot license and was close to obtaining the rating needed to fly for a major airline.
Detailed Attack Planning and FBI Admissions
Judge Jay Clayton, during sentencing, stated Abdullah was "dedicated to recreating the horrific September 11 terrorist attacks." The meticulous planning undertaken by Abdullah supported this claim.
After his arrest in the Philippines in July 2019, Abdullah confessed to FBI agents that he was training specifically to hijack a plane for Al-Shabaab. He admitted he expected casualties among passengers and believed he would die during the attack.
Investigators found his research included cockpit door security, airline safety protocols, the presence of air marshals, and the feasibility of bringing knives onboard. He also studied post-9/11 hijackings and searched for airline job opportunities. His focus had narrowed to Delta Air Lines flights and tall buildings in Atlanta, with the Bank of America Plaza being a potential target.
In communications with his handler, Abdullah expressed admiration for the 9/11 attackers and emphasized that having a pilot inside the cockpit was crucial for a "very successful mission."
Verdict and Closure of a Long Investigation
Philippine authorities arrested Abdullah before he could obtain his final license rating or advance his plot. He was transferred to U.S. custody in December 2020.
The November 2024 jury conviction covered six terrorism-related charges, several of which carried mandatory life sentences. FBI official Christophe Raia said Abdullah was "justly punished today for his plotting to commit a 9/11-style terrorist attack."
The life sentence without release marks the end of a years-long effort by international agencies to thwart a potentially catastrophic act of terrorism and brings a measure of justice for the planned attack aimed at the heart of the United States.
