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Thursday, 13 September, 2001, 17:20 GMT 18:20 UK
Evidence trails lead to Florida
Mohammed Atta
Atta took flying lessons for seven months
A trail of evidence led investigators into Tuesday's terrorist attacks from one abandoned rental car in Portland, Maine, to two houses in Vero Beach, Florida.

A second hired car, found in Boston's Logan Airport, led to a pair of homes in Coral Springs, Florida.

One of the Vero Beach houses had been rented by two brothers from Saudi Arabia.

Inside it were two pilot's certificates in the names of Adnan Bukhari and his brother, Ameer Abbas Bukhari.

The landlord said Adnan Bukhari and another man who lived in the house next door had described themselves as Saudi pilots. Both men lived with their wives and children.

Mr Atta's house in Coral Springs, Florida
Atta lived in Coral Springs
Investigators believe Mr Bukhari's neighbour may have been one of the hijackers, according to CNN reports.

The landlord, Paul Stimeling, said the Bukhari family moved out at the end of August.

Their neighbour's wife and children stayed longer, moving out just days before the terror attacks.

Adnan Bukhari has reportedly been taken into custody.

Although he was not on board the hijacked planes, investigators believe he may have been involved in the attack.

He is said to be cooperating with investigators.

Second car

The second abandoned rental car was discovered in Boston's Logan Airport, where two of the hijacked flights originated.

Seneca II Piper twin engine at Huffman Aviation International
The suspects trained in a twin engine plane
It too led investigators to the Florida homes of two pilots: Mohammed Atta and Marwan Yousef Al-Shehhi.

The pair lived in Coral Springs, and held passports from the United Arab Emirates.

The men reportedly received training at Huffman Aviation International in Venice, Florida.

For seven months last year, Mr Atta took flying lessons in a twin-engine Piper Seneca airplane.

He received a commercial license on 31 December.

Investigators believe he piloted one of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center.

Mr Al-Shehhi also graduated after training at Huffman Aviation, NBC reported.

Agents have removed boxes of records from the flying school.

They have also questioned employees at a bar in Hollywood, Florida, where Mr Atta sometimes went drinking.

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 ON THIS STORY
The BBC's Stephen Dalziel
"Perhaps the biggest breakthrough for the FBI... was finding both the black box flight recorders"
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