title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: The noted industrial designer Raymond Loewy designed the passenger cabin, with furnishings provided by Marshall Field's. It was divided into four compartments, each with six deep comfortable reclining chairs which could be converted into 16 sleeping berths. Each compartment was provided with adjustable air conditioning vents, reading lights, and a call button. Nine additional seats were provided along the port side of the aircraft, while washrooms which doubled as dressing rooms were provided at both ends of the cabin. The rear washroom was for women and was named the "ladies charm room", which aside from the walls being covered in heavy plate glass mirrors, in its it two dressing tables, each with a sink, plush upholstered stools, soft indirect lighting provided by fluorescent lamps, ashtrays, hot and cold running water, shelves with towels, and a separate cubicle was provided for the toilet. The men's washroom was in front as the "Men's Lounge", and also had a separate cubicle for the toilet, and two sinks, along with outlets to run an electric razor. A somewhat cramped galley of provided hot food was situated at the rear of the cabin, behind which was positioned the rear hemispherical pressure bulkhead. Up to or of baggage could be stowed under the floor of the cabin, between the wing spars, and behind the rear spar, which was accessible in flight through a hatch in the cabin floor, or on the ground through three hatches on the underside of the fuselage. Extensive use was made of the latest in sound proofing, and the Dynafocal engine shock mounts were designed to reduce vibrations from being felt by the passengers. The air conditioning system used both electrical and mechanical systems, which drew air in through vents in leading edge of each wing near the roots to bring outside air to two engine driven superchargers that compressed the air, which was then passed through radiator condensers to cool the air, and it was then run through channels to the vents in the cabin. External hookups allowed ground air conditioner units to cool the cabin air when the engines were off.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: The Stratoliners were normally flown with a pilot and co-pilot, and both Pan Am and T&WA aircraft carried a flight engineer to reduce the workload on the two pilots, by monitoring the engines for any problems and fine tuning them, while they also controlled fuel consumption from each of the tanks to maintain the aircraft's fore-aft and lateral balance. Too much fuel used in one tank could result in the aircraft becoming uncontrollable. They also monitored other aircraft systems, including hydraulics and the cabin pressurization system. The Flight engineer was also an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (AME) and aside from operating the radio, which required training in Morse code, he was also responsible for all technical issues, and would carry out repairs and maintenance on the 307s. Pan Am aircraft had one additional crew member compared to T&WA aircraft. Because they made long overwater flights, they carried a navigator, who wasn't considered necessary for overland flights, which were served by a network of beacons across the continent, when the aircraft weren't being flown by visual flight rules (VFR).


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: Both T&WA and Pan Am normally carried two flight attendants. T&WA began using Hostesses (as they called them) as cabin crew in late 1935, while Pan Am continued to use male stewards until late in WW2.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: Following the entry of the United States into World War II in December 1941, long-range transports were needed to ferry government and military officials around the globe and many aircraft, including T&WA's Boeing 307s, were pressed into service. Beginning in February 1942, these were flown to Albuquerque, New Mexico for conversion, which included the removal of the plush, but heavy civilian fittings, including the massive mirrors in the women's "charm room" and the pressurization system to save weight. The sound insulation was also stripped out leaving the cabin much noisier than it had been. The forward men's washroom, and two of the four forward compartments were replaced with five gravity fed fuel tanks and a oil tank fed with a wobble pump, along with a rest area for the crew. A desk was added behind the pilot for a radio operator, who had a 50 watt Bendix TA-12 high frequency Morse transmitter, and a BC-348 tunable receiver. A trailing wire antenna was used with a lead weight on the end - which the radio operator needed to remember to reel in, by hand, when landing. Inexperience sometimes led to either the antenna being torn off, or lashing against the fuselage. An astrodome was fitted and the perspex top windows which produced excessive parallax were replaced with optically flat glass, to allow the navigator to take star shots (the angle between stars and the horizon could be used to determine how far north or south they were), necessary to determine their position when crossing large bodies of water. The SA-307B-1s retained the astrodomes when converted back from C-75 in 1944. To further aid navigation, a B-3 driftmeter was installed, along with an aperiodic compass that didn't lag or lead in turns as a conventional compass does. Mae West life vests and life rafts were also provided.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: The landing gear was strengthened, and the maximum takeoff weight was increased from , leaving the Stratoliner underpowered, and the climb suffered accordingly. The overloading burnt out engines and destroyed piston rings, but closely monitoring engine oil consumption often caught failures before they occurred.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: Passenger facilities were reduced to 4 bunks which when folded away allowed seating for 12, along with 4 seats along the opposite side of the aircraft. Removable tables were provided in the cabin to lay out maps and do paperwork. The exterior was then camouflaged in standard USAAF colours, with olive drab upper surfaces and neutral grey undersides, and each aircraft had its name painted on the nose and over the cabin door, which would also be used by many later operators. The names had previously been used in TWA publicity, but not painted on the aircraft.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: After three years the USAAF had amassed sufficient long range transports that it no longer needed the C-75s, and they sold the fleet back to TWA, who paid to have them converted back to civil standard under Boeing's SA-307B-1 designation. CAA concerns over cracks in the wing spar tubing led to the TWA Stratoliners getting new B-17G wings and horizontal tail, with the leading edge of the longer span, narrower chord horizontal stabilizer moved about to the rear, while more powerful versions of the same Wright Cyclone engines increased power from , but without the B-17G's turbosuperchargers. New propellers and landing gear were also installed. The change to the tailplane required that the structural bulkhead supporting the forward spar be moved aft, while the rear bulkhead was reworked and additional fuselage stiffeners were added. The tailwheel switched to using B-17G wheels and 26" smooth tread tires, which required that the wheel well be enlarged, and structure supporting the tailwheel reinforced. The main undercarriage wheels, tires, tubes & brakes remained unchanged, although the legs themselves were strengthened. The fuselages were stripped to bare metal and rewired with a 24VDC 1800 amp system from the B-29 Superfortress, replacing the original 24VDC 800 amp system. Maximum weight was increased to and the maximum landing weight rose to . Slots were re-incorporated into the wingtip leading edges, as they had been with the pre-war airliners.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: The cabin was redesigned and passenger capacity was increased from 33 to 38, with the cabin now divided into a 10-seat front section and a 28-seat rear section, with no sleepers. The cabin pressurization system was never re-installed The B-17G wings came with turbo-supercharger ducting for the engines that wasn't needed for the simpler supercharger installation used on the Stratoliner, while one duct opening was retained on each wing between the engine nacelles, to provide additional cabin air. Further mods made by TWA included improved sound proofing and temperature control and on March 15, 1945, the B-1 recertification tests were completed to the CAA's satisfaction. The estimated cost to repurchase and refurbish the five aircraft was $2 million.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: Ten 307s were built. "NC19906" was temporarily marked as "NX1940" and "NC1940" for publicity purposes.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: The first Boeing 307 Stratoliner, serial 1994, registration "NX19901", made its first flight from Boeing Field, near Seattle on December 31, 1938, prior to its intended delivery to Pan Am following testing and certification. As related above, it crashed on a test-flight on March 18, 1939, killing all 10 occupants, and forced several design changes, of which the fin and rudder are the most immediately obvious.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: KLM was considering four-engine airliners for the European routes, and a longer ranged four-engine aircraft for their routes to the Netherlands East Indies (now Indonesia). Aircraft considered included the Douglas DC-4(E), the Boeing 307, the Junkers Ju 90, the Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor, and the Bloch 160, of which only the DC-4 and 307 came close to meeting their requirements


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: Boeing made a proposal to KLM on September 20, 1936, for exclusive option on 10 certified 307s for $2.4 million with options for 18 aircraft and with first delivery in 14 months. By January 14, 1937, the price had increased for 18 aircraft to $265,000 each, not including pressurization equipment. KLM let Boeing know that they were interested in 4 aircraft, for use as an interim measure pending a larger more suitable design, and they that they would use it for familiarization training with four engine aircraft. They required that it fly on just two engines, use Pratt & Whitney automatic mixture controls, have a range, be able to carry freight or mail, and have moderate tire ground pressure. KLM then requested a quote for three 307s, either with Wright Cyclones and with Pratt & Whitney 1830 engines, fitted with constant speed propellers and automatic carburettor mixture control and with additional fuel to provide a range of . Boeing responded that the price for three aircraft would be $289,000 each if fitted with Cyclone engines or $314,000 if fitted with R-1830s, plus $3,100 - $4,000 per aircraft to increasing fuel capacity to either or , provided that the US Government gave export permission on the engines. After not hearing back, Boeing sent a new quote to KLM for $300,000 per aircraft, or $320,000 for the pressurized version December 20, 1938, the KLM board made the decision to order two four-engine aircraft, with consideration of the Boeing 307 and Focke Wulf Fw 200 Condor, however the Condor was not suitable for the East Indies route.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: Following T&WA defaulting on payments, the first three T&WA aircraft were offered to KLM in late 1939 but a quick decision was needed by Saturday, March 18, 1939,


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: but KLM was unable to make that decision before the offer expired, and requested an extension. On March 21, 1939, KLM confirmed that they still planned to buy 307s and insisted that they were content with Boeing's progress. Ultimately though, KLM didn't buy the 307s because their representatives' test flight insurance coverage was rejected, and KLM found Boeing's response to providing for the next of kin unsatisfactory, a disagreement that wasn't cleared up until after World War 2. The insurance coverage on the aircraft was sufficiently large that it had the insurance industry worried about fallout, and as was the norm at the time, neither passengers nor crew could get coverage from any insurance company, but the aircraft itself was covered for a replacement cost of $500,000, with hull coverage and passenger liability, carried by Aero Insurance Underwriters and Associated Aviation Underwriters, despite the fact that Boeing was offering to sell the aircraft to KLM for much less than that.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: Another company that Boeing was in discussions with was Australian National Airways, who they quoted $310,000 per Stratoliner, or $340,000 for a pressurized version, on July 27, 1938, but nothing came of these discussions and ANA never operated the type.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: The first customer delivery was to millionaire Howard Hughes on July 13, 1939. He bought aircraft serial number 1997 registered as "NX19904" for $315,000 for a round-the-world flight, hoping to break his own record of 91 hours 14 minutes set between July 10 and 14 in 1938 in a Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra. Hughes' Stratoliner was fitted with extra fuel tanks and was ready for the first leg of the round-the-world attempt when Nazi Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, causing the attempt to be cancelled. Hughes' aircraft was stored in Glendale, California for the duration of the war, prior to being converted into a flying condo. Hughes had the extra fuel tanks removed, and for around $250,000, he had it fitted with much more powerful Wright R-2600 engines for its transformation into "The Flying Penthouse", which included a Master Bedroom, two bathrooms, a galley and a bar as well as a living room. In 1949, Hughes spent an additional $100,000 renovating it so he could sell it, which, like the TWA and Pan Am aircraft now included an interior designed by Raymond Loewy. Oil tycoon Glenn McCarthy bought it to coincide with the opening of his new Shamrock Hotel and he renamed it "Shamrock " and had it repainted, however McCarthy defaulted on payments and it was returned to Hughes. It languished unflown until August 1965, when it was damaged beyond repair by Hurricane Cleo, with only about 500 hours on the airframe. It was then bought for $69 by Kenneth W. London, who cut the damaged wings and tail off, built a hull under it, and installed a pair of V-8 engines to convert it into a houseboat which he named "Londonaire". After various repossessions, deaths and failed sales later, it became the "Cosmic Muffin", in which form it still survives.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: As one of the companies sponsoring the development of the Douglas DC-4, Transcontinental & Western Air lost interest due to delays and poor performance, but the agreement they signed with Douglas limited the maximum weight of any replacement design to 43,000 lbs. After discussing their needs with Boeing, T&WA signed a contract with Boeing to buy six 307s with an option for 13 more for $1,590,000 on January 29, 1937, with deliveries to be made in mid-1938. T&WA defaulted on their payments though and the T&WA markings which had already been applied to their airframes was removed. T&WA filed a lawsuit against Boeing for default of contract, and Boeing sued T&WA for breach of contract over the non-payment. Hughes had begun secretly buying up T&WA shares and by March 1939, Hughes has a controlling interest in Trans-World Airlines (or TWA - as it was rebranded once he had taken over), with roughly 46% of the shares. By August 1939, TWA and Boeing had resumed negotiations so TWA would get five 307s, and Hughes would get one. The cost to TWA had risen, and was now $1,750,000 or $350,000 per aircraft - three times the cost for Douglas DC-3s. In early 1940, Hughes bought up all remaining outstanding TWA shares not otherwise reserved for employees.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: TWA received its first Stratoliner on May 6, 1940, and the last of their five was delivered on June 4, 1940. It was not their first four engine airliner, as one of their parent companies, Western Air Express had operated the Fokker F-32. All five were named in TWA promotional material for North American Indigenous tribes - names that would be used throughout their careers, continuing long after they left TWA. War intervened in December 1941, and civil aircraft production was halted, preventing any further deliveries. TWA first service flight was chosen to be on July 8, 1940, to coincide with anniversary of TAT's 48 hour coast-coast service, which had used trains for night legs. TWA's Stratoliners flew between Los Angeles and New York, making three stops.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: TWA's Burbank - La Guardia flight via Chicago was 2 hours quicker than for a DC-3 (13:40 east and 15:38 west) with 3 stops in each direction.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: The main route was La Guardia, NY to Chicago, Illinois to Kansas City, Missouri to Albuquerque, New Mexico to Burbank California and the reverse.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: 1940 was the best year for TWA, with 50% increase in passenger traffic over 1939, but they were still running exclusively in the red.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: On September 9, 1940, a TWA Stratoliner from Chicago to New York set a commercial speed record flying the in two hours and 52 minutes at an average speed of . and a few weeks later, on September 26, a TWA New York bound Stratoliner at with a jetstream providing a strong tailwind reached a ground speed of .


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: On December 14, 1941, representatives from various airlines as well as the Air Transport Association of America (ATA) met with Colonel Robert Olds of the Air Corps Ferrying Command (later renamed Air Transport Command) over the use of their airliners in wartime. Pan Am had already signed a contract on the 13th, in which it would keep its 307s, but sell the 314s to the government. T&WA sold all five of its 307s to the USAAF, but would then operate them on behalf of the USAAF on a cost plus basis though a new subsidiary. At the time the Stratoliner was the only available landplane transport capable of transatlantic flights with any payload. Seaplanes were too slow and not numerous enough, while the Douglas C-54 Skymaster would not enter service until March 1942 and took months to be available in any numbers, aside from a few ad-hoc conversions from Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers, the Consolidated C-87 Liberator Express wouldn't be ready until September 1942, and the Lockheed C-69 Constellation wouldn't fly until January 1943, while aircraft with two engines were considered unsafe for ocean crossings with VIPs on board.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: On the entry of the United States into World War II, Pan Am continued operating its Stratoliners on routes to Central and South America, but under direction of the Army Air Forces' Air Transport Command, All five TWA Stratoliners were withdrawn from operations on December 24, 1941, while TWA created a subsidiary, the Intercontinental Division (ICD), whose civilian crews would operate them on behalf of the United States Army Air Forces. Otis Bryan was made head of the ICD The Stratoliners were sold to the USAAF, who assigned the type the C-75 designation, and each of them was given a USAAF serial number. The first of these was accepted by the USAAF on March 1, 1941, and the last one on December 17, 1942. ICD crews included pilots, 1st & 2nd officers, navigators, flight engineers, flight radio operators and pursers. ICD Supervisor pilots and captains were paid $1100/month, first officers $800/month, Navigators $600/month, Flight Engineers (FEs) $500/month and Flight Radio Operators (FROs) $400/month. Personnel were issued with USAAF uniforms which they wore with rank stripes (two solid stripes for a captain) but with civilian insignia.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: The first ICD service flight began on February 26, when a 307 flew south to Brazil from Washington, before crossing the South Atlantic to Africa, and north to Cairo, before continuing on to Prestwick, Scotland where they arrived on April 20, 1942, having primarily carried 25,000 rounds of armour piercing shells to British troops in Cairo, who were facing Rommel and his Afrika Corps. ICD was initially set up at the crowded Washington Bolling Field but was soon transferred all of their operations to nearby Washington National Airport. Passengers continued to be loaded at Bolling Field, after flying the short hop from Washington National Airport.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: The first north Atlantic crossing was in March 1942, when a flight from Washington to Prestwick carried senior military and government officials to Europe, which included the Army Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall, General Dwight D. Eisenhower (to command Operation Torch for the invasion of North Africa), Deputy Chief of Staff of Army Ground Forces General Mark W. Clark, Operation Torch Air Force liaison officer Colonel Hoyt Vandenberg, Chief of the Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics Rear Admiral John Henry Towers, who oversaw Navy aircraft procurement and training, and presidential advisors W. Averell Harriman and Harry Hopkins who were crossing to negotiate the lend-lease program. From April 22, regular crossings were being made. and ICD was growing rapidly, growing from 71 personnel in January, to 343 by April, and they were now making 16 ocean crossings a month. Following his April 1942 raid on Tokyo, but before it had been made public, Jimmy Doolittle took a C-75 from Karachi in India through Khartoum, Kano, Accra, Robertsfield Airport, crossed the Atlantic to Natal in Brazil, and headed north to Belem, and from there with an additional fuel stop to Washington, DC, arriving in time for the news of the raid to be made public. Many of the surviving members of the raid followed soon after in another Stratoliner.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: The North Atlantic ferry route was set up with help from former Arctic explorer Colonel Bernt Balchen, who assisted with Bluie East Two and Bluie East Eight in Greenland to reduce the Gander, Newfoundland - Scotland leg distance. The first aircraft to land at these fields, which were north of the Arctic Circle, was an ICD C-75, on April 20, 1942.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: Marshall, Eisenhower, "Hap" Arnold and Admirals King and Towers flew to London from Washington via Montreal, Gander and Prestwick on May 23, 1942, and returned to Washington via Prestwick, Reykjavik and Gander. On June 20, 1942, Air Corps Ferrying Command became Air Transport Command


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: The exiled (but not yet deposed) King Peter II of Yugoslavia was flown in July 1942 from London to Washington to meet with North American leaders, with the engines leaned out so much that the last leg of the trip was able to skip numerous stops, so that they ended up being in the air for 21 hours 16 minutes when they arrived in Washington.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: On July 10, 1942, Ascension Island's airfield opened in South Atlantic, shortening the hazardous transatlantic leg enough that smaller aircraft could now make the crossing, and the ICD C-75s would routinely lead flights of USAAF twin-engined aircraft, such as Douglas A-20s across.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: In November 1943, a C-75 carried Soong Mei-Ling, wife of the Chinese Nationalist warlord Chiang Kai-Shek, from Chungking to Washington to receive medical care and to negotiate military aid for China.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: Two main routes were flown, between Washington, D.C. and Cairo across the South Atlantic, and between New York and Prestwick, Scotland, across the North Atlantic. They often flew non-stop the between Gander, Newfoundland and Prestwick, Scotland in the north, and the between Natal, Brazil and Accra, Ghana in the south. After July 1942 a refueling stop at Ascension Island was added in the South Atlantic. In the north, stops at Iceland or Greenland were often necessary, when flying west against unusually strong prevailing winds. As Douglas C-54 Skymasters took over the Gander to Prestwick route, the C-75s operated between Marrakech and Prestwick over the Atlantic.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: ICD C-75s crossing the Atlantic had to be careful to avoid Allied convoys and German U-boats, to avoid being shot at. Cherokee was returning American troops from Reykjavik to Gander at , and was shot at by a US Navy ship that left over 200 holes in the aircraft's tail, and which nearly severed the elevator controls. Many transatlantic trips were made at night, so the navigator could get good star sightings.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: By 1944 the USAAF had enough long range transports that it no longer needed the small number of C-75s it had, and sold the fleet back to TWA, with the aircraft being transferred between January 6, 1944 and December 19, 1944. On August 11, 1942, ICD had received the first of 12 C-54s. and Pan Am would also supplement their Stratoliners with 12 C-54s. TWA received two C-54s in August and had 5 by September, and a full allotment of 12 by November, along with the first three C-87s, to supplement the C-75s. At the same time Curtiss C-46 Commandos, Douglas C-47s and C-53s provided feeder links to the C-75s, C-54s and C-87s, as their range was inadequate for the Atlantic.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: By the time they were withdrawn, over 3000 trans-oceanic crossings had been made, and they had flown 21,284 while in USAAF service with the ICD. The sole accident occurred during night landing at Natal in Brazil when an undercarriage leg was torn off by a mound of dirt.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: It cost TWA about $2 million to have the five aircraft rebuilt by Boeing and the first of them resumed passenger service on April 1, 1945. The CAA recertified these as SA-307B-1 civilian airliners with their original registration numbers.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: On April 1, 1945, the first post-war civil commercial flight was made by Zuni, now as a SA-307B-1, from La Guardia to San Francisco via Pittsburgh, Saint Louis, Kansas City, Albuquerque, and Burbank, but the second transcontinental flight didn't happen until a month later, when on May 1, 1945, a flight was made from Washington, DC to Spokane, Washington, via Dayton Municipal Airport, St Louis, Kansas City, Albuquerque and Burbank, reflected a loosening of the tightly controlled government access to routes. TWA's fare structure remained the same as pre-war.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: New TWA flight routes were added with routes 370 & 371 between La Guardia and Spokane with intermediate stops in Chicago, Albuquerque, for fuel, and Burbank and routes 48 & 49 between La Guardia and Kansas City with a stop in St Louis. At this time, the TWA Stratoliners were briefly the sole four-engine commercial airliner in domestic service in the US.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: On July 10, 1939, TWA had signed a contract with Lockheed to develop the Constellation, which was to be capable of 5 miles/min () compared to the Stratoliner's 4 miles/min (), but with production diverted to military for the duration of the war, the first TWA Constellations didn't enter service until February 1946 and were soon grounded dealing with the usual teething problems encountered with a new type, from July 11 to September 20, 1946, while the Douglas DC-4s began arriving in 1946 in small numbers and the Douglas DC-6 similarly, from 1947. At the same time, due to strong competition from war-surplus non-sked flights operating cheaply purchased war-surplus Douglas C-54s, in May 1949 the Stratoliner's were downgraded to a coach-only service with the fares slashed by a third. The first coach service, from New York La Guardia to Chicago via Pittsburgh was made on June 1, 1949, with a full load of 38 passengers.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: In November 1950, TWA introduced the similarly sized but cheaper to operate twin-engine Martin 2-0-2A on domestic routes, and transferred some DC-4s from international routes to domestic service, supplementing the Stratoliners which were mainly being used for service between La Guardia and cities in the mid-west, until TWA finally phased them out between April and July 1951. At that time the aircraft had an average of 25,205 hours flying time, each, with Cherokee having the most with 26,324 hours, and they had covered while in ICD service.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: In 1937 Pan American Airways placed their first order for two Stratoliners, which they soon increased to six. Deliveries to Pan Am started in March 1940, and they had received their first three before war intervened and civil aircraft production halted. The other three would not be built. All three were named for historically notable Clipper ships. Pan Am carried out their first revenue flight on July 4, 1940, with service between Miami, Brownsville, Texas and Los Angeles. Unlike TWA, Pan Am did not exclusively assign their aircraft to specific routes, and instead they were used for their Latin American routes and ranged from Miami and Los Angeles to Brazil.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: At the same time TWA's Stratoliners were getting new wings and tails, Pan Am's 307s were being modified in Miami to repair the cracked spar tubing with doublers, and didn't get new wings or engines, and the maximum gross weight remained the same. Pan-Am flights then resumed between Miami, the Caribbean and Belem, until all three were sold to the "Airline Training Company" of Miami in late 1948 and early 1949, before being sold on to other operators.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: The former "Clipper Comet" NC19910, was sold to "Aerovias Ecuatorianas" (AREA) in Ecuador, in 1951, who used it as "Quito" with the registration "HC 004" to provide service between Ecuador and Miami. From 1955, it was with Quaker City Airways for two years as "N75385", making non-scheduled charter flights. On May 10, 1958, while still carrying the same registration and after having been stored for some time, it was being readied to be ferried to Boeing for modification for use as a crop duster, but flight tests were carried out despite finding fuel leaks whose source couldn't be determined, and with untested auxiliary fuel tanks installed in the cabin. During the flight test, it caught fire, and while the crew landed it safely on a boulder-strewn mesa and the crew escaped unharmed, the airframe was destroyed by the fire.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: The former "Clipper Rainbow" NC19902, was to have been sold to the short lived Mercury Airways of South Africa, and was even given a South African registration, ZS-BWU, however the sale was never completed, and likewise, it was supposed to have been sold to "Aerovias Ecuatorianas", with registration HC-SJC-003, but that sale also appears to have fallen through, and in 1951 it was sold to "Aigle Azur" as F-BHHR.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: The former "Clipper Flying Cloud" NC19903, was purchased by the "Corps d'Aviation d'Garde d'Haiti" (Haitian Air Force) in 1954 and assigned the number "2003", but plans to use it for a passenger service by the "Compagnie Haïtienne de Transports Aériens" (CoHaTA) were cancelled and it was fitted out as a Presidential transport. When François "Papa Doc" Duvalier came into power in 1957 he chose not to use it, and instead had the aircraft sold the same year, with the money from the sale going toward five North American T-6G Texan training aircraft. This aircraft returned to the U.S. and after brielfy being registered as "N9307R" and "N19903", is now restored and at the Smithsonian Museum as "NC19903".


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: TWA sold all five TWA SA-307B-1s to the French operator "Aigle Azur" (French for Blue Eagle) in April 1951, for $525,000, along with their remaining supply of spares. "Aigle Azur" received them between May 14, 1951, and December 19, 1951. and modified these for 48 passengers in Bordeau, and used them on scheduled flights between Paris and North and Central Africa (Casablanca, Dakar, Tunis) Madagascar, French West Africa and French Equatorial Africa and later in 1952, to French Indo-China.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: The Stratoliners were no longer competitive against the larger and faster Douglas DC-6 and Lockheed Constellation then entering service, which on May 1, 1955, led to "Aigle Azur" along with its subsidiary in Asia, "Aigle Azur Indochine", being bought by "Union Aéromaritime de Transport" (UAT). On the same date, "Aigle Azur Indochine" was renamed "Aigle Azur Extreme-Orient". On September 16, 1955, "F-BELV", "F-BELX", "F-BELY", and "F-BELZ" were transferred from Europe to "Aigle Azur Extreme-Orient", mainly for charter work. During 1955 and 1956, "F-BELU" and "F-BELY" and "F-BELZ" returned to Europe to be leased to "Airnautic". The former Pan Am aircraft, "F-BHHR" had joined "Aigle Azur" in 1951 and was transferred to "Aigle Azur Extreme-Orient" in March 1957. "Aigle Azur Extrême-Orient" branding was retained for several years before the aircraft were repainted in "UAT Aéromaritime" colors.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: After four years in service in Asia, during which it was briefly leased to "Air Laos Transport Aériens" (later renamed Royal Air Lao) and assigned the Laotian XW registration "XW-TAC", "F-BHHR" was destroyed in an accident on May 22, 1961, while being operated by "Aigle Azur Extreme-Orient" on a non-scheduled Saigon-Vientiane passenger flight, with 28 on board. It had departed from Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Saigon and was heading for Vientiane when the number four engine had to be shut down, and when it returned to land, it overshot the runway in deteriorating weather, and a violent squall or microburst blew it sideways, causing it to hit the ground. All 28 people on board survived but the aircraft was wrecked.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: "Union Aéromaritime de Transport" merged with "Transports Aériens Intercontinentaux", to become "Union de Transports Aériens" UTA on October 1, 1963, but by then had already sold all of its Stratoliners to CITCA.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: "Airnautic" (or "Air Nautic") received three ex-"Aigle Azur" SA-307B-1s in 1955 and 1956 including, "F-BELU", "F-BELY", and "F-BELZ", which were operated in southern Europe around the Mediterranean providing charter flights, especially around Corsica.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: On December 29, 1962, "F-BELZ" collided with a mountain while on a charter flight with 22 basketball players and fans while flying from Bastia to Ajaccio, on the island of Corsica. It was flying at an altitude of about , despite having been cleared for and at 12:12pm slammed into a sheer rock face just from the peak, before falling about down the side of the mountain.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: Air France became the principal shareholder of "Airnautic" in 1962, at which time it purchased DC-6s, and in 1966 "Airnautic" ceased to exist, having been absorbed into Air France.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: "Compagnie Internationale de Transports Civil Aériens" (CITCA) bought five Stratoliners, "F-BELU" "F-BELV" "F-BELX" "F-BELY" "F-BELZ", which were leased out to other operators.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: In 1965, Cambodia Air Commercial leased "F-BELY" as "XW-PGR", and "F-BELU" as "XW-TFP", before both went to Royal Air Lao the same year, which then leased all five of the CITCA Stratoliners, which were also assigned Laotian XW registrations, and "F-BELV", became "XW-TAA", and "F-BELX", became "XW-TFR". The Air Laos Transport Aériens and Royal Air Lao Stratoliners were flown between Vientiane and Hong Kong with a large detour around North Vietnam. Royal Air Laos was operating "XW-TFP" and "XW-PGR" when they were destroyed in accidents, while "F-BELV" would be leased to Royal Air Cambodge.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: On February 27, 1971, "XW-PGR" collided with a Lao Air Force Douglas C-47 while landing at Luang Prabang, Laos, and damage to the left wing was unrepairable due to a lack of spares.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: The pilot of "XW-TFP" was forced to ditch in the Mekong river on March 13, 1975, near the Laos-Thailand border while on a flight from Hong Kong to Vientiane. Both the pilot and co-pilot escaped the wreck but were captured by the communist Pathet Lao and held until May. The wreckage was still there in 1986.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: The "Commission Internationale de Contrôle" (International Control Commission in English) (CIC/ICC) and its successor International Commission of Control and Supervision leased three aircraft in 1964, under their old French registrations of "F-BELV", "F-BELU", and "F-BELX", which now had seating for as many as 60, and were used to provide what were often hazardous diplomatic flights around south-east Asia until 1974, when it suspended operations with the impending defeat of US forces in Vietnam. They were flown under diplomatic immunity along specially delineated wide corridors between Saigon in South Vietnam, Vientiane in Laos, Phnom Penh in Cambodia, and Hanoi in North Vietnam. Passengers usually included diplomats, members of the Red Cross, press, businessmen and Control Commission officials.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: When "F-BELV" disappeared on October 18, 1965, it was flying from Vientiane-Wattay Airport, in Laos to the Hanoi-Gia Lam Airport, in Vietnam. and was supposed to have been cleared to fly at and . On this flight, there were five CIC delegates from India, three from Canada and one from Poland, as well as four French crew members, all of whom died. Due to radio interference, a message indicating that their clearance period had been delayed was never received. Poor communications meant it took until the next day, and around 19 hours before anyone realized the aircraft had gone missing as the destination airport had assumed it had returned to its point of origin, and that airport was unaware it hadn't arrived at its destination. The search for the downed aircraft was delayed further due to the need to negotiate access to the likely crash area, with several warring parties wary from previous experience of the search mission being a cover for either intelligence gathering, or other military activities. A Canadian investigation long after the war determined that it had likely been shot down by North Vietnamese anti-aircraft fire, but they were unable to determine if it was intentional or not.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: "XW-TFR" (previously "F-BELX" and briefly "XW-TAB") had been returned to Cambodia Air Commercial when it was destroyed in an accident on June 27, 1974, following three of the four engines failing while climbing out from Battambang Airport. During the forced landing it collided with trees causing extensive damage, including tearing one wing off before the aircraft caught fire. 17 passengers and two crew members out of the 39 on board died in the crash that the crash investigation blamed on poor maintenance.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: The Boeing 307 was involved in eight hull-loss incidents with 67 fatalities. Four of the ten incidents involved fatalities, with one likely being shot down while in a war zone.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: The sole intact Boeing 307 Stratoliner, "NC19903" is preserved in flying condition at the Smithsonian's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. After having been restored to flying condition, it was being delivered to the Smithsonian on what was to be its last flight when it ran out of fuel and ditched in Elliott Bay near Seattle, Washington in March 2002. Despite the incident, it was raised and again restored, and it completed its flight to the Smithsonian, where it was placed on display.


title: Boeing 307 Stratoliner

text: The forward fuselage of Howard Hughes' 307 (NX19904) also survives, although it was stripped of flying surfaces and the rear fuselage, and converted into a houseboat. The aircraft was awaiting restoration at Fort Lauderdale International Airport in August 1964 when it was severely damaged when Hurricane Cleo tore it loose from its tiedowns, and it was blown into a stand of trees. The aircraft was later salvaged and converted into a house boat and the interior remains notable for the additions made when owned by Howard Hughes. It is now part of the Florida Air Museum's collection.


title: Khalid al-Mihdhar

text: Khalid Muhammad Abdallah al-Mihdhar (, ; also transliterated as Almihdhar) (May 16, 1975 – September 11, 2001) was a Saudi Arabian terrorist hijacker. He was one of the five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77, which was flown into the Pentagon as part of the September 11 attacks.


title: Khalid al-Mihdhar

text: Al-Mihdhar was born in Saudi Arabia and fought with the Bosnian mujahideen during the Bosnian War of the 1990s. In early 1999, he traveled to Afghanistan where, as an experienced and respected jihadist, he was selected by Osama bin Laden to participate in the attacks. Al-Mihdhar arrived in California with fellow hijacker Nawaf al-Hazmi in January 2000, after traveling to Malaysia for the Kuala Lumpur al-Qaeda Summit. At this point, the CIA was aware of al-Mihdhar, and he was photographed in Malaysia with another al-Qaeda member who was involved in the USS "Cole" bombing. The CIA did not inform the FBI when it learned that al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi had entered the United States, and al-Mihdhar was not placed on any watchlists until late August 2001.


title: Khalid al-Mihdhar

text: Upon arriving in San Diego County, California, al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi were to train as pilots, but spoke English poorly and did not do well with flight lessons. In June 2000, al-Mihdhar left the United States for Yemen, leaving al-Hazmi behind in San Diego. Al-Mihdhar spent some time in Afghanistan in early 2001 and returned to the United States in early July 2001. He stayed in New Jersey in July and August, before arriving in the Washington, D.C. area at the beginning of September.


title: Khalid al-Mihdhar

text: On the morning of September 11, 2001, al-Mihdhar boarded American Airlines Flight 77, and assisted in the hijacking of the plane which was hijacked approximately 30 minutes after takeoff. al-Midhar and his team of hijackers then deliberately crashed the plane into the Pentagon, killing all 64 people aboard the flight, along with 125 on the ground.


title: Khalid al-Mihdhar

text: Al-Mihdhar was born on May 16, 1975 in Mecca, Saudi Arabia to a prominent family that belonged to the Quraysh tribe of Mecca. Little is known about his life before the age of 20, when he and childhood friend Nawaf al-Hazmi went to Bosnia and Herzegovina to fight with the mujahideen in the Bosnian War. After the war, al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi went to Afghanistan where they fought alongside the Taliban against the Northern Alliance, and al-Qaeda would later dub al-Hazmi his "second in command". In 1997, al-Mihdhar told his family that he was leaving to fight in Chechnya, though it is not certain that he actually went to Chechnya. The same year, both men attracted the attention of Saudi Intelligence, who believed they were involved in arms smuggling, and the following year they were eyed as possible collaborators in the 1998 United States embassy bombings in East Africa after it emerged that Mohamed Rashed Daoud Al-Owhali had given the FBI the phone number of al-Mihdhar's father-in-law; 967-1-200578, which turned out to be a key communications hub for al-Qaeda militants, and eventually tipped off the Americans about the upcoming Kuala Lumpur al-Qaeda Summit.


title: Khalid al-Mihdhar

text: In the late 1990s, al-Mihdhar married Hoda al-Hada, who was the sister of a comrade from Yemen, and they had two daughters. Through marriage, al-Mihdhar was related to a number of individuals involved with al-Qaeda in some way. Al-Mihdhar's father-in-law, Ahmad Mohammad Ali al-Hada, helped facilitate al-Qaeda communications in Yemen, and in late 2001, al-Mihdhar's brother-in-law, Ahmed al-Darbi, was captured in Azerbaijan and sent to Guantanamo Bay on charges of supporting a plot to bomb ships in the Strait of Hormuz.


title: Khalid al-Mihdhar

text: In Spring 1999, al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden committed to support the 9/11 attacks plot, which was largely organized by prominent al-Qaeda member Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi were among the first group of participants selected for the operation, along with Tawfiq bin Attash and Abu Bara al Yemeni, al-Qaeda members from Yemen. Al-Mihdhar, who had spent time in al-Qaeda camps in the 1990s, was known and highly regarded by Bin Laden. Al-Mihdhar was so eager to participate in jihad operations in the United States that he had already obtained a one-year B-1/B-2 (tourist/business) multiple-entry visa from the consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on April 7, 1999, one day after obtaining a new passport. Al-Mihdhar listed the Los Angeles Sheraton as his intended destination.


title: Khalid al-Mihdhar

text: Once selected, al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi were sent to the Mes Aynak training camp in Afghanistan. In late 1999, al-Hazmi, bin Attash and al Yemeni went to Karachi, Pakistan to see Mohammed, who instructed them on Western culture and travel; however, al-Mihdhar did not go to Karachi, instead returning to Yemen. He was known as "Sinaan" during the preparations.


title: Khalid al-Mihdhar

text: The CIA was aware of al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi's involvement with al-Qaeda, having been informed by Saudi intelligence during a 1999 meeting in Riyadh. Based on information uncovered by the FBI in the 1998 United States embassy bombings case, the National Security Agency (NSA) began tracking the communications of Hada, al-Mihdhar's father-in-law. In late 1999, the NSA informed the CIA of an upcoming meeting in Malaysia, which Hada mentioned would involve "Khalid", "Nawaf", and "Salem", who was al-Hazmi's younger brother, Salem al-Hazmi.


title: Khalid al-Mihdhar

text: On January 4, 2000, al-Mihdhar left Yemen and flew to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where he spent the night. The CIA broke into his hotel room and photocopied his passport, which gave them his full name, birth information and passport number for the first time, and alerted them that he held an entry visa to the United States. The photocopy was sent to the CIA's Alec Station, which was tracking al-Qaeda.


title: Khalid al-Mihdhar

text: On January 5, 2000, al-Mihdhar traveled to Kuala Lumpur, where he joined al-Hazmi, bin Attash and al-Yemeni, who were all arriving from Pakistan. Hamburg cell member Ramzi bin al-Shibh was also at the summit, and Mohammed possibly attended. The group was in Malaysia to meet with Hambali, the leader of Jemaah Islamiyah, an Asian al-Qaeda affiliate. During the Kuala Lumpur al-Qaeda Summit, many key details of the 9/11 attacks may have been arranged. At the time, the attacks plot had an additional component involving hijacking aircraft in Asia, as well as in the United States. Bin Attash and al-Yemeni were slated for this part of the plot. However, it was later canceled by bin Laden for being too difficult to coordinate with United States operations.


title: Khalid al-Mihdhar

text: In Malaysia, the group stayed with Yazid Sufaat, a local Jemaah Islamiyah member, who provided accommodation at Hambali's request. Both al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi were secretly photographed at the meeting by Malaysian authorities, whom the CIA had asked to provide surveillance. The Malaysians reported that al-Mihdhar spoke at length with bin Attash, and he met with Fahd al-Quso and others who were later involved in the USS "Cole" bombing. After the meeting, al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi traveled to Bangkok, Thailand, on January 8 and left a week later on January 15 for the United States.


title: Khalid al-Mihdhar

text: On January 15, 2000, al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi arrived at Los Angeles International Airport from Bangkok and were admitted as tourists for a period of six months. Immediately after entering the country, al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi met Omar al-Bayoumi in an airport restaurant. Al-Bayoumi claimed he was merely being charitable in assisting the two seemingly out-of-place Muslims with moving to San Diego, where he helped them find an apartment near his own, co-signed their lease, and gave them $1,500 to help pay their rent. Mohammed later claimed that he suggested San Diego as their destination, based on information gleaned from a San Diego phone book that listed language and flight schools. Mohammed also recommended that the two seek assistance from the local Muslim community, since neither spoke English nor had experience with Western culture.


title: Khalid al-Mihdhar

text: While in San Diego, witnesses told the FBI he and al-Hazmi had a close relationship with Anwar Al Awlaki, an imam who served as their spiritual advisor. Authorities say the two regularly attended the Masjid Ar-Ribat al-Islami mosque al-Awlaki led in San Diego, and al-Awlaki had many closed-door meetings with them, which led investigators to believe al-Awlaki knew about the 9/11 attacks in advance.


title: Khalid al-Mihdhar

text: In early February 2000, al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi rented an apartment at the Parkwood Apartments complex in the Clairemont Mesa area of San Diego, and al-Mihdhar purchased a used 1988 Toyota Corolla. Neighbors thought that al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi were odd because months passed without the men getting any furniture, and they slept on mattresses on the floor, yet they carried briefcases, were frequently on their mobile phones, and were occasionally picked up by a limousine. Those who met al-Mihdhar in San Diego described him as "dark and brooding, with a disdain for American culture". Neighbors also said that the pair constantly played flight simulator games.


title: Khalid al-Mihdhar

text: Al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi took flight lessons on May 5, 2000, at the Sorbi Flying Club in San Diego, with al-Mihdhar flying an aircraft for 42 minutes. They took additional lessons on May 10; however, with poor English skills, they did not do well with flight lessons. Al-Mihdhar and Al-Hazmi raised some suspicion when they offered extra money to their flight instructor, Richard Garza, if he would train them to fly jets. Garza refused the offer but did not report them to authorities. After the 9/11 attacks, Garza described the two men as "impatient students" who "wanted to learn to fly jets, specifically Boeings".


title: Khalid al-Mihdhar

text: Al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi moved out of the Parkwood Apartments at the end of May 2000, and al-Mihdhar transferred registration for the Toyota Corolla to al-Hazmi. On June 10, 2000, al-Mihdhar left the United States and returned to Yemen to visit his wife, against the wishes of Mohammed who wanted him to remain in the United States to help al-Hazmi adapt. Mohammed was so angered by this that he decided to remove al-Mihdhar from the 9/11 plot, but he was overruled by bin Laden. Al-Mihdhar remained part of the plot as a muscle hijacker, who would help take over the aircraft. On October 12, 2000, the USS "Cole" was bombed by a small boat loaden with explosives. After the bombing, Yemeni Prime Minister Abdul Karim al-Iryani reported that al-Mihdhar had been one of the key planners of the attack and had been in the country at the time of the attacks. In late 2000, al-Mihdhar was back in Saudi Arabia, staying with a cousin in Mecca.


title: Khalid al-Mihdhar

text: In February 2001, al-Mihdhar returned to Afghanistan for several months, possibly entering across the Iranian border after a flight from Syria. FBI director Robert Mueller later stated his belief that al-Mihdhar served as the coordinator and organizer for the muscle hijackers. He was the last of the muscle hijackers to return to the United States. On June 10, he returned to Saudi Arabia for a month, where he applied to re-enter the United States through the Visa Express program, indicating that he intended to stay at a Marriott hotel in New York City. On his visa application, al-Mihdhar falsely stated that he had never previously traveled to the United States.


title: Khalid al-Mihdhar

text: On July 4, al-Mihdhar returned to the United States, arriving at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport, using a new passport obtained the previous month. A digital copy of one of al-Mihdhar's passports was later recovered during a search of an al-Qaeda safe house in Afghanistan, which held indicators, such as fake or altered passport stamps, that al-Mihdhar was a member of a known terrorist group. At the time when al-Mihdhar was admitted to the United States, immigration inspectors had not been trained to look for such indicators. Upon arriving, al-Mihdhar did not check into the Marriott but instead spent a night at another hotel in the city.


title: Khalid al-Mihdhar

text: Al-Mihdhar bought a fake ID on July 10 from All Services Plus in Passaic County, New Jersey, which was in the business of selling counterfeit documents, including another ID to Flight 11 hijacker Abdulaziz al-Omari. On August 1, al-Mihdhar and fellow Flight 77 hijacker Hani Hanjour drove to Virginia in order to obtain driver's licenses. Once they arrived, they scouted out a 7-Eleven convenience store and a dollar store in Falls Church, and found two Salvadoran immigrants who, for $50 each, were willing to vouch for al-Mihdhar and Hanjour as being Virginian residents. With notarized residency forms, al-Mihdhar and Hanjour were able to obtain driver's licenses at a Virginian motor vehicle office. Flight 77 hijackers Salem al-Hazmi and Majed Moqed, and United Airlines Flight 93 hijacker Ziad Jarrah used the same addresses obtained from the Salvadorans to obtain Virginian driver's licenses.


title: Khalid al-Mihdhar

text: In August 2001, al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi made several visits to the library at William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey, where they used computers to look up travel information and book flights. On August 22, al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi tried to purchase flight tickets from the American Airlines online ticket-merchant, but had technical difficulties and gave up. Al-Mihdhar and Moqed were able to make flight reservations for Flight 77 on August 25, using Moqed's credit card; however, the transaction did not fully go through because the billing address and the shipment address for the tickets did not match.


title: Khalid al-Mihdhar

text: On August 31, al-Mihdhar closed an account at Hudson United Bank in New Jersey, having opened the account when he arrived in July, and was with Hanjour when he made a withdrawal from an ATM in Paterson on September 1. The next day, al-Mihdhar, Moqed and Hanjour traveled to Maryland, where they stayed at budget motels in Laurel. Al-Mihdhar was among the muscle hijackers who worked out at a Gold's Gym in Greenbelt in early September. On September 5, al-Mihdhar and Moqed went to the American Airlines ticket counter at Baltimore-Washington International Airport to pick up their tickets for Flight 77, paying $2,300 in cash.


title: Khalid al-Mihdhar

text: Al-Mihdhar was placed on a CIA watchlist on August 21, 2001, and a note was sent on August 23 to the Department of State and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) suggesting that al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi be added to their watchlists. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was not notified about the two men. On August 23, the CIA informed the FBI that al-Mihdhar had obtained a U.S. visa in Jeddah. The FBI headquarters received a copy of the Visa Express application from the Jeddah embassy on August 24, showing the New York Marriott as al-Mihdhar's destination.


title: Khalid al-Mihdhar

text: On August 28, the FBI New York field office requested that a criminal case be opened to determine whether al-Mihdhar was still in the United States, but the request was refused. The FBI ended up treating al-Mihdhar as an intelligence case, which meant that the FBI's criminal investigators could not work on the case, due to the barrier separating intelligence and criminal case operations. An agent in the New York office sent an e-mail to FBI headquarters saying, "Whatever has happened to this, someday someone will die, and the public will not understand why we were not more effective and throwing every resource we had at certain 'problems.'" The reply from headquarters was, "we [at headquarters] are all frustrated with this issue ... [t]hese are the rules. NSLU does not make them up."


title: Khalid al-Mihdhar

text: The FBI contacted Marriott on August 30, requesting that they check guest records, and on September 5, they reported that no Marriott hotels had any record of al-Mihdhar checking in. The day before the attacks, Robert Fuller of the New York office requested that the Los Angeles FBI office check all local Sheraton Hotels, as well as Lufthansa and United Airlines bookings, because those were the two airlines al-Mihdhar had used to enter the country. Neither the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network nor the FBI's Financial Review Group, which have access to credit card and other private financial records, were notified about al-Mihdhar prior to September 11.


title: Khalid al-Mihdhar

text: Regarding the CIA's refusal to inform the FBI about al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi, author Lawrence Wright suggests the CIA wanted to protect its turf and was concerned about giving sensitive intelligence to FBI Agent John P. O'Neill, who Alec Station chief Michael Scheuer described as duplicitous. Wright also speculates that the CIA may have been protecting intelligence operations overseas, and might have been eying al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi as recruitment targets to obtain intelligence on al-Qaeda, although the CIA was not authorized to operate in the United States and might have been leaving them for Saudi intelligence to recruit.


title: Khalid al-Mihdhar

text: On September 10, 2001, al-Mihdhar and the other hijackers checked into the Marriott Residence Inn in Herndon, Virginia, near Washington Dulles International Airport. Saleh Ibn Abdul Rahman Hussayen, a prominent Saudi Arabian government official, was staying at the same hotel that night, although there is no evidence that they met or knew of each other's presence.


title: Khalid al-Mihdhar

text: At 6:22 a.m. on September 11, 2001, the group checked out of the hotel and headed to Dulles airport. At 7:15 a.m., al-Mihdhar and Moqed checked in at the American Airlines ticket counter and arrived at the passenger security checkpoint at 7:20 a.m. Both men set off the metal detector and were put through secondary screening. Security video footage later released shows that Moqed was wanded, but the screener did not identify what set off the alarm, and both Moqed and al-Mihdhar were able to proceed without further hindrance. Al-Mihdhar was also selected by the Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System (CAPPS), which involved extra screening of his luggage; however, because al-Mihdhar did not check any luggage, this had no effect. By 7:50 a.m., al-Mihdhar and the other hijackers, carrying knives and box cutters, had made it through the airport security checkpoint and boarded Flight 77 to Los Angeles. Al-Mihdhar was seated in seat 12B, next to Moqed.


title: Khalid al-Mihdhar

text: The flight was scheduled to depart from Gate D26 at 8:10 a.m. but was delayed by 10 minutes. The last routine radio communication from the plane to air traffic control occurred at 8:50:51 a.m. At 8:54 a.m., Flight 77 deviated from its assigned flight path and began to turn south, at which point the hijackers set the flight's autopilot setting for Washington, D.C. Passenger Barbara Olson called her husband, United States Solicitor General Ted Olson (whose 61st birthday was on that day), and reported that the plane had been hijacked. At 9:37:45 a.m, Flight 77 crashed into the west facade of the Pentagon, killing all 64 people aboard, along with 125 in the Pentagon. In the recovery process, remains of the five hijackers were identified through a process of elimination, since their DNA did not match any from the victims, and put into the custody of the FBI.


title: Khalid al-Mihdhar

text: After the attacks, the identification of al-Mihdhar was one of the first links suggesting that bin Laden had played a role in their organization, since al-Mihdhar had been seen at the Malaysian conference speaking to bin Laden's associates. The FBI interrogated Quso, who was arrested following the USS "Cole" bombing and in custody in Yemen. Quso was able to identify al-Mihdhar, al-Hazmi and bin Attash in photos provided by the FBI, and he also knew Marwan al-Shehhi, a hijacker aboard United Airlines Flight 175. From Quso, the FBI was able to establish an al-Qaeda link to the attacks.


title: Khalid al-Mihdhar

text: On September 12, 2001, the Toyota Corolla purchased by al-Mihdhar was found in Dulles International Airport's hourly parking lot. Inside the vehicle, authorities found a letter written by Mohamed Atta, a hijacker aboard American Airlines Flight 11; maps of Washington, D.C. and New York City; a cashier's check made out to a Phoenix, Arizona flight school; four drawings of a Boeing 757 cockpit; a box cutter; and a page with notes and phone numbers, which contained evidence that led investigators to San Diego.


title: Khalid al-Mihdhar

text: On September 19, 2001, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) distributed a special alert that listed al-Mihdhar as still alive, and other reports began suggesting that a number of the alleged hijackers were likewise still alive. For instance, on September 23, 2001, the BBC published an article that suggested al-Mihdhar and others named as hijackers were still at large. The German magazine "Der Spiegel" later investigated the BBC's claims of "living" hijackers and reported they were cases of mistaken identities. In 2002, Saudi Arabian officials stated that the names of the hijackers were correct and that 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi Arabian. In 2006, in response to 9/11 conspiracy theories surrounding its original news story, the BBC said that confusion had arisen with the common Arabic names, and that its later reports on the hijackers superseded its original story.


title: Khalid al-Mihdhar

text: In 2005, U.S. Army Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer and Congressman Curt Weldon alleged that the Defense Department data mining project Able Danger identified al-Mihdhar, al-Hazmi, al-Shehri, and Atta as members of a Brooklyn-based al-Qaeda cell in early 2000. Shaffer largely based his allegations on the recollections of Navy Captain Scott Phillpott, who later recanted his recollection, telling investigators that he was "convinced that Atta was not on the chart that we had". Phillpott said that Shaffer was "relying on my recollection 100 percent", and the Defense Department Inspector General's report indicated that Philpott strongly supported the social network analysis techniques used in Able Danger, and might have exaggerated claims of identifying the hijackers.


title: The Georgetown Project

text: The Georgetown Project is an upcoming American horror thriller film written and directed by M. A. Fortin and Joshua John Miller. It stars Russell Crowe, Ryan Simpkins, Chloe Bailey, Sam Worthington, David Hyde Pierce, and Samantha Mathis.


title: The Georgetown Project

text: In October 2019, it was announced Russell Crowe had joined the cast of the film, with M. A. Fortin and Joshua John Miller directing from a screenplay they wrote. Miramax will produce the film. In November 2019, Ryan Simpkins, Chloe Bailey, Sam Worthington, David Hyde Pierce, Tracey Bonner, Samantha Mathis, Adrian Pasdar and Adam Goldberg joined the cast of the film.


title: Gargi (film)

text: Gargi is a 2022 Indian Tamil-language legal drama film written by Hariharan Raju and Gautham Ramachandran, directed by Gautham Ramachandran produced by Blacky, Genie & My Left Foot Productions with Sai Pallavi and Kaali Venkat in the lead roles. The film's music is composed by Govind Vasantha with cinematography handled by Sraiyanti and Premkrishna Akkatu and editing done by Shafique Mohamed Ali. "Gargi" was released on 15 July 2022 and received critical acclaim from critics who praised the cast performances, the script, the direction, and the social message.


title: Gargi (film)

text: Gargi is a school teacher from a struggling family consisting of her dad Brahmanandam who works as a security guard in an apartment building, her mom who sells homemade rice batter and her younger sister Akshara who's in middle school. Their life becomes chaos when dad is accused along with 4 other men of having assaulted a child. Gargi is steadfast in her resolve to prove her dad's innocence, as he's her hero, having protected her as a child from a perverted teacher, encouraging her to stand up to such evil.


title: Gargi (film)

text: At the receiving end of public hatred, they're abandoned even by a family friend who's a successful lawyer. But his assistant, a no-note lawyer, Indrans Kaliaperumal, agrees to represent them as he has no reputation to lose. At the hearing, while questioning the investigating officer, Indrans uncovers that the victim was wrongly medicated with a high dose of barbiturates, thus rendering her testimony (identifying Brahmanandam as the culprit) inadmissible.


title: Gargi (film)

text: Further, he meets the victim's dad, who reveals that it was he who made her identify Brahmanandam (certain of his guilt), as she was catatonic with trauma, unable to function at all. All this puts into question the evidence, this enabling him to obtain conditional bail for Brahmanandam.


title: Gargi (film)

text: When her dad's colleague, who had earlier claimed to have been at home all day on the fateful day, inadvertently reveals that he, in a drunken stupor, had actually been the first to discover the child lying there, and had alerted Brahmanandam, Gargi starts doubting her dad's claims that he'd been drinking at that time. She confirms her suspicions by visiting the child again and showing her a picture of the 5th culprit.


title: Gargi (film)

text: It's revealed, when the child identifies him, that Brahmanandam was indeed the culprit, leading to his arrest and conviction. Gargi takes a moment outside, to quietly come to terms with this horror. As the credits roll, we discover that she and her family have moved on, having reconciled with the victim and her dad.


title: Gargi (film)

text: The post-theatrical rights of the film was sold to SonyLIV, while the satellite rights of the film is sold to Kalaignar TV.


title: Gargi (film)

text: "Gargi" received positive reviews from critics who praised the cast performances, the script, the direction, and the social message.


title: Gargi (film)

text: "The Times of India" rated the film 4 out of 5 stars and wrote, "A superbly shot, hard-hitting drama that unfolds more like a tense thriller, Gautham Ramachandran's Gargi is an essential film in this #MeToo era." "The Indian Express" also rated the film 4 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Sai Pallavi and Kaali Venkat bring their best to a challenging drama about crime, punishment and justice system." Praising Sai Pallavi's performance, "The Hindu" wrote, "This is probably Sai Pallavi's best performance till date... It's a wholesome performance that few actresses have given in recent times." "Cinema Express" rated the film 4.5 out of 5 stars and stated that "Nevertheless, these are minor misgivings in this film about many underdogs. Gargi stands by many such people. It stands by its transwoman judge, who is at the receiving end of sly digs. It stands by its stuttering amateur lawyer, who, when stressed, struggles to make an argument. And above all, it stands by its women. You see this never more than when the film doesn’t end with Gargi seeing her father’s case through to a resolution. It ends with her own transformation." "Behindwoods" gave the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "An inspiring film spearheaded by a superlative Sai Pallavi, Don't Miss."


title: Christopher Dean

text: Christopher Colin Dean, OBE (born 27 July 1958) is a British ice dancer who won a gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics with his skating partner Jayne Torvill. They also won a bronze medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics.


title: Christopher Dean

text: Dean grew up in Calverton, Nottinghamshire. When he was six, his mother left and his father remarried. Dean never talked about this with his father or stepmother, both of whom have died. He has regained contact with his mother.


title: Christopher Dean

text: Dean began to skate at the age of 10 after he received a pair of skates as a Christmas present. His parents were keen ballroom dancers. At school he was captain of the football team and he saw ice skating as a sport that was athletic and graceful. Dean's first ice partner was Sandra Elson. They began skating together when he was 14 and competed as ice dancers for a few years under their instructor Len Sayward. However, despite becoming British Junior Dance champions, the team parted, as Dean and Elson did not get along well. Dean then agreed to try out Jayne Torvill, another skater at the Nottingham rink. The pair were first coached by Janet Sawbridge but in 1978 Betty Callaway became their coach.


title: Christopher Dean

text: Dean left school at age 16 and joined the Nottingham Police Force in 1974. It was challenging for him to undergo police cadet training, as his schedule often clashed with his skating training sessions. Thus Torvill and Dean had to practise during his off-hours. These difficult times brought them closer and gave them a sense of discipline that was to prove vital throughout their career.


title: Christopher Dean

text: By 1980, Torvill and Dean had progressed to not only become British National Dance Champions but were in medal contention in international competitions as well. It was then that Dean made the decision that he could no longer balance his skating and police careers so he resigned from the police force. Torvill left her job soon after, this was made possible with a Nottingham City Council grant of £42,000.


title: Christopher Dean

text: Torvill and Dean's free program at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, performed to the music of Maurice Ravel's "Boléro", became world-famous. They received nine 6.0 marks for artistic impression, (three more for technical merit for a total of twelve 6.0 marks) the highest possible score and the only time ever that an all-perfect score was achieved. It was one of the most popular achievements in the history of British sport, watched by a British television audience of 24 million people. Since the time limit was four minutes and ten seconds and their music was four minutes 28 seconds, they began on their knees and moved their bodies to the music for 18 seconds before starting to skate.


title: Christopher Dean

text: Torvill and Dean turned professional after their 1984 Olympic win. Under then existing Olympic Games rules as professionals they became ineligible to participate in Olympic competition. In 1993 the International Skating Union relaxed the rules for professional skaters, allowing the pair to participate in the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer where they won a bronze medal.


title: Christopher Dean

text: In January 2006, Torvill and Dean began starring in the ITV show "Dancing on Ice". Each year, the show runs from January to March and then goes to arenas across the United Kingdom.


title: Christopher Dean

text: In January 2012, Dean said he was open to working with the National Ice Skating Association to help British competitive skating. Torvill and Dean were ambassadors for the 2012 European Figure Skating Championships in Sheffield, England. In February 2014, they visited Sarajevo for the 30th anniversary of the 1984 Olympics, and recreated their Bolero routine in the same arena where they won the gold.


title: Christopher Dean

text: In 2018, Dean choreographed the free program of Aljona Savchenko and Bruno Massot, who won the gold medal in Pair skating with a world record at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.


title: Christopher Dean

text: On 28 April 1983, Dean was appointed Honorary Freeman of the City of Nottingham. Dean was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1999.


title: Christopher Dean

text: Between 1991 and 1993, Dean was married to French-Canadian World ice dance champion Isabelle Duchesnay whom he met while choreographing for her and her brother Paul Duchesnay in the late 1980s.


title: Christopher Dean

text: On 15 October 1994, Dean married American skater Jill Trenary in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They had two sons, Jack Robert and Sam Colin, and resided in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Dean's agent confirmed in March 2010 that the couple had separated. He and Trenary remain on good terms.


title: Christopher Dean

text: In 2021, Dean took part in an episode of "DNA Journey" to trace his family roots. He also appeared on "The Masked Dancer" as Beagle, where he was the fifth celebrity to be unmasked.


title: Tsai Chin (actress)

text: Tsai Chin (; born 1 September 1933) is a Chinese actress, singer, director, teacher and author best known in America for her role as Auntie Lindo in the film "The Joy Luck Club".


title: Tsai Chin (actress)

text: Her career spans more than six decades and three continents. She starred onstage in London's West End in "The World of Suzie Wong" and on Broadway in "Golden Child". Tsai Chin appeared in two James Bond films, 39 years apart: as a Bond girl in "You Only Live Twice"; and in "Casino Royale". She also appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe television series "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." episode "The Only Light in the Darkness" (2014) as Lian May and in the feature film "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" (2021) as Waipo. Her single, "The Ding Dong Song," recorded for Decca, hit the top of the music charts in Asia. She was the first acting instructor to be invited to teach acting in China after the Cultural Revolution, when China's universities re-opened. In China, she is best known for her portrayal of Grandmother Jia in the 2010 TV drama series "The Dream of Red Mansions".


title: Tsai Chin (actress)

text: Tsai Chin was born on 1 September 1933, in Tianjin (Tientsin), China, where her father was on tour. She is the third daughter of the Peking opera actor and singer Zhou Xinfang (1895—1975) and Lilian Qiu (AKA Lilian Ju; 1905–1968). Chin has a brother, restaurateur Michael Chow.


title: Tsai Chin (actress)

text: She grew up in Shanghai French Concession, where (under her western name, "Irene Chow") she received a multi-lingual education at The Convent of the Sacred Heart, Mctyeire School (中西女中) in Shanghai and King George V School in Hong Kong. During her childhood, Tsai Chin was witness to colonial occupation, Japanese invasion of China, Chinese Civil War and the Communist take-over in 1949.


title: Tsai Chin (actress)

text: At the age of 17, she left Shanghai and was sent to England to study at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where she was the first Chinese student in the art academy. Tsai Chin later became an Associate Member of The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She earned a master's degree at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts.


title: Tsai Chin (actress)

text: Tsai Chin's first significant film role came when she was cast in the film "The Inn of the Sixth Happiness" (1958), in which she played the adopted daughter of Ingrid Bergman's character. Her big break, though, arrived when two Broadway shows came to London at the same time. Initially, Tsai Chin was cast as one of the two leads in the musical "Flower Drum Song". However, she also auditioned for the play "The World of Suzie Wong" for which she was offered the title role. The "Daily Mail" quoted Chin as saying, "I had a terrible decision to make." She opted to star as Suzie Wong at The Prince of Wales Theatre, London (1959–1961), where she saw her name in lights for the first time. The play, generally panned by the critics, was a commercial hit. Chin drew good reviews, with Milton Shulman of the Evening Standard saying, "Tsai Chin is a lovely creature with all the vivacity, simplicity and gusts of unpredictable Eastern temperament." Harold Hobson of the "Sunday Times" said, "Tsai Chin who has cool clear beauty and considerable talent."


title: Tsai Chin (actress)

text: To compensate Tsai Chin for not being able to do the musical "Flower Drum Song", producer, Donald Albery granted her request to sing a song in "The World of Suzie Wong". She chose a lyrical Chinese song, "Second Spring" (第二春), which was translated into English as "The Ding Dong Song", by Lionel Bart. Tsai Chin recorded the song in 1960 for Decca Records in London. The single, arranged and conducted by music director Harry Robinson, became a hit, particularly in Asia.


title: Tsai Chin (actress)

text: Tsai Chin followed this success by recording several more singles and two LPs, later incorporating many of these songs, written specifically for her, into a cabaret act which she performed from 1961 to 1966. As well as touring her cabaret show throughout the United Kingdom, she also performed in London's most exclusive venues, including the Dorchester, the Savoy, the Society, and frequently Quaglino's and Allegro, sharing a bill with David Frost, then at the start of his illustrious career. Her cabaret act was also aired on television in Switzerland and the Netherlands. "Variety" called her a "Savvy entertainer, with most of her material tailor-made for her personality." London's "Evening News" was "impressed…by the way she held her audience, wasn't a murmur not even the clatter of one piece of cutlery."


title: Tsai Chin (actress)

text: Apart from her singing, she played Juicy Lucy in "The Virgin Soldiers" alongside Lynn Redgrave (1969), directed by John Dexter; helped to "assassinate" Sean Connery in "You Only Live Twice" (1967); worked for Michelangelo Antonioni on "Blowup" (1966) and for Fred Zinnemann in "Man's Fate "(1969), when the MGM studio unfortunately collapsed before filming barely started. From 1965 to 1969, she made five films opposite Christopher Lee as Lin Tang, daughter of Fu Manchu, a Chinese archvillain intent on dominating the world. As soon as she was in the position to do so, she fought to make Asian roles more truthful.


title: Tsai Chin (actress)

text: Her stage work at this time included leading roles in "The Gimmick", with Donald Sutherland, at Criterion Theatre, West End (1962); "The Magnolia Tree", at Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh (1966); "Mrs. Frail in Love for Love", by William Congreve, in Watford (1970); and touring the United Kingdom in the title role of "The Two Mrs. Carrolls" (1969), with Paul Massie.


title: Tsai Chin (actress)

text: Tsai Chin made her television debut in the popular British hospital drama, "Emergency Ward 10", ITV, then "Dixon of Dock Green," BBC (1965), "The Man of The World" (1963), "International Detective" (1960) ITV, and "The Troubleshooters "(1967). In 1962, she traveled to New York City for the first time to guest star for a Christmas special "The Defenders". In 1964 she had a recurring role in "TW3", short for "That Was The Week That Was", a popular satirical comedy show which was at the time a new concept in television presented by David Frost and produced by Ned Sherrin. She also co-starred with Roy Kinnear and Lance Percival in "Five Foot Nine Show," and later starred in her own show, "On Your Own" for ITV (1965). She was invited to sing on a myriad of variety shows, talk shows and even game shows during this time. Her popularity was so high at that time that she even had a Chinese leopard in the London Zoo named after her.


title: Tsai Chin (actress)

text: The Cultural Revolution started in 1966. China shut itself off from the rest of the world and artists were purged, which eventually claimed the lives of both her parents; describing the 1960s in 2020 she said "While we in London began swinging and loving, China began swinging but hating. My parents suffered and died."


title: Tsai Chin (actress)

text: She said "Another problem for minority actors is that we don't often work with beautiful dialogue. And there were less chances of working with great directors and actors. That's when you can learn a lot." In 1972, Tsai Chin portrayed Wang Guangmei in "The Subject of Struggle", a docudrama directed by Leslie Woodhead, for Granada. Her performance as Wang, wife of Liu Shaoqi, Chairman Mao's chief rival, and the film about her trial by the Red Guards were unanimously praised. "It's all brilliantly done" "The Sunday Times;" Of Chin's performance: "Played superbly," Clive James of "The Observer"; "The most important program of the night…brilliantly, unforgettably played by Tsai Chin," Tom Hutchinson, "Evening Standard" TV guide; and by critic Elizabeth Crawly, "Evening Standard:" "Tsai Chin leaves "The World of Suzie Wong" a long way behind with this brave, haggard performance." It was a role she could identify with, as her father was undergoing the same brutal treatment in China. Moreover, it was almost the first time Tsai Chin was asked to play a mature and intelligent person with depth and complexity, a far cry from her usual stereotypical roles. For the first time, she was portraying a real person, not a stereotype; in her autobiography she writes: "For the first time, the artist and the woman within me met at last." This film would signify the end of the first phase of Tsai Chin's acting career. In London, Tsai Chin suffered financial ruin in London and had mental health problems, influenced by her parents' deaths. She only felt able to return to China after Mao's death.


title: Tsai Chin (actress)

text: In the mid-1970s, Tsai Chin went to America and became a member of The Cambridge Ensemble, a multi-racial experimental group in what was then known as "the finest theater in Boston." Under the direction of Joann Green, she was given the opportunity to play strong women in western classics, such as Klytemnestra in "The Oresteia" (1977), with Tim McDonough as Agamemnon. Kevin Kelly of "The Boston Globe" said, "Tsai Chin is ice-wonderful." Jon Lehman of "The Patriot Ledger" said, "great performance, a portrayal which shows us why Clytemnestra is one of the great woman characters of all time." In 1977, she played Hester Prynne in "The Scarlet Letter", again with Tim McDonough as Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale. Ken Emerson of "The Boston Phoenix" said: "It takes a prodigiously gifted and subtle actress to follow Hawthorn's stage directions." Arthur Friedman in "The Real Paper" said, "Chin's portrayal is great because it reaches the heart without stooping to sentimental theatrics."


title: Tsai Chin (actress)

text: Tsai Chin began taking courses in Shakespearean studies at Harvard University. This was followed by her full-time enrollment at Tufts University, where she earned a master's degree in drama in 1980. She later received Tufts University Alumni Association for Distinguished Service to Profession in 1994. To supplement her scholarship, she taught acting and made her director's debut in Harold Pinter's "The Lover" (1979). Her Master's project was Ugo Betti's "Crime on Goat Island, "which starred fellow student Oliver Platt, and was her entry to American College Theatre Festival (1980).


title: Tsai Chin (actress)

text: The end of the 1970s coincided with the end of the Cultural Revolution in China. Mao died in 1976, artists and intellectuals were reinstated, and universities closed for ten years reopened. Tsai Chin became the first drama coach invited from abroad by the Minister of Culture to China since the Moscow Arts Theatre's withdrawal in the fifties.


title: Tsai Chin (actress)

text: On 29 March 1980, Tsai Chin met with her father's colleague Cao Yu (曹禺). The meeting took place in New York City, when Arthur Miller had hosted the playwright at Columbia University's School of International Affairs. This meeting resulted in an invitation to her by the Chinese Cultural Department to return to her home country after a quarter of a century's absence to teach class at The Central Academy of Dramatic Art (中央戏剧学院), in Beijing in 1981. Prior to leaving for China, Jill Tweedie wrote an article about her in "The Guardian": "After the age of 40, the little Suzie Wong Sex Kitten has remade herself into a mature, knowledgeable, exciting and excited human being." In 1982, she directed China's premiere production of William Shakespeare's "The Tempest", "drawing inspiration from China's theatre tradition and Western internal acting."


title: Tsai Chin (actress)

text: After working in China, Tsai Chin returned to London, where she spent most of the decade serving as a cultural liaison between China and the United Kingdom, where, among many projects, Chin helped connect the British Arts Council with the theater arts in China and introduced Peking Opera productions. During this time she made many trips to Hong Kong to help transform Hong Kong Repertory Theatre to a fully professional theater company, teaching and introducing the works of Anton Chekhov to Hong Kong students. In Hong Kong, she directed the Asian premiere production of "The Seagull" (1982) and later Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night "(1988), as well as serving as consultant to The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (1993).


title: Tsai Chin (actress)

text: In 1988, her autobiography, "Daughter of Shanghai", commissioned by Carmen Callil of Chatto & Windus, was published in England and became a worldwide best-seller. Polly Toynbee of "The Guardian" said, "The world of Tsai Chin has been a good deal more interesting than "The World of Suzie Wong", the play that made her into a star." Richard West of "The Sunday Telegraph" wrote, "An extraordinary and occasionally tragic life story." Beth Duff in "New York Times Book Review" wrote, "Captivating account…skillfully interwoven the glamour and despair." Jean Fritz in the "Washington Post" and "International Herald Tribune": "The heart of this book lies in her conflict as she tried to feel at home in two cultures…that is her triumph." In 1989, "Daughter of Shanghai" was voted "One of the Ten Best Books of the Year (十本好书)" by Hong Kong TV Cultural Group.


title: Tsai Chin (actress)

text: At the end of the 1980s, Tsai Chin resumed her acting career by returning to London's West End in David Henry Hwang's "M. Butterfly" (1989), starring Anthony Hopkins and Glen Goei, directed for the second time by John Dexter. It was during this production that Amy Tan, author of "The Joy Luck Club", walked into her dressing room at the Shaftesbury Theatre, London.


title: Tsai Chin (actress)

text: In 1990, Tsai Chin played the title role in Henry Ong's one-woman drama, "Madame Mao's Memories "in London, which was particularly ironic due to the fact that Chin's father was personally purged by Madame Mao and Chin's mother died due to the brutality of the Red Guards. The play, directed by Glen Goei and performed at The Latchmere, was the hottest ticket in town. Sheridan Morley in the "Herald Tribune International" said: "She brings to this study of Madame Mao in defeat a tremendous dramatic courage and intensity….It is Tsai Chin's triumph to make us do rather more than just hate her." In her autobiography, she remarked, "I was determined to be a good deal fairer in my representation of her than she ever was of my father."


title: Tsai Chin (actress)

text: Tsai Chin's final United Kingdom acting performance was in "Bodycount" by Les Smith, for Rear Window, Channel 4 (1993).


title: Tsai Chin (actress)

text: In 1993, Tsai Chin took on a role that would energize her acting career and change her life yet again when she played the role of Auntie Lindo in the hugely popular "The Joy Luck Club." When "Joy Luck Club" came out, she received rave notices. "Gene Siskel said of her performance, 'I hope Academy voters don't overlook her because she's not a household name. I am going to repeat her name.'" Those words were repeated in both "Variety "and "Hollywood Reporter" under the title "Memo to the Academy" Janet Maslin of "The New York Times": "Despite its huge cast, the film is virtually stolen by Tsai Chin." But the film received not a single award in any category. The day after the award ceremonies, on the front page of "The New York Times" Arts & Leisure section, Maslin again wrote, "Did Disney back too many actresses?" Chin relocated to Los Angeles at the age of 62.


title: Tsai Chin (actress)

text: After moving to Hollywood, Tsai Chin was immediately given the lead in a one-hour television pilot "Crowfoot "(1994) by "Magnum, P.I." producer Donald P. Bellisario. The series did not get picked up. In 1995, she played Brave Orchid in Maxine Hong Kingston's "The Woman Warrior", directed by Sharon Ott, for which she received the Los Angeles Drama Critic Circle Award.


title: Tsai Chin (actress)

text: Next, Tsai Chin played the role of Eng Sui-Yong in David Henry Hwang's Tony-nominated "Golden Child", directed by James Lapine, which ultimately went to Broadway, Longacre Theatre (1995–1998), and for which she won an Obie Award and was nominated for The Helen Hayes Award. Laurie Winer, "Los Angeles Times", commented on her performance as first wife: "Her descent into opium addiction is quite harrowing." Ben Brantley, "The New York Times": "[Chin] suggests an Asian version of Bette Davis."


title: Tsai Chin (actress)

text: Other performances included roles in three Chay Yew plays: "Half Lives", directed by Tim Dang at East West Players (1996); "Wonderland", at La Jolla Playhouse; and adaptation of Federico García Lorca's "The House of Bernarda Alba", playing Maria Josefa, the mad mother to Chita Rivera's Bernarda, directed by Lisa Peterson at Mark Taper Forum (2002).


title: Tsai Chin (actress)

text: Other work at this time included: the voice of Popo in the daytime Emmy Award-winning "Popo and The Magic Pearl" (1996); an eccentric Madame Wu in the TV drama "The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer" (2003); and Grandmother Wu in "Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior" (2006), starring Brenda Song as Wendy Wu.


title: Tsai Chin (actress)

text: In 2003 and 2004, Tsai Chin performed at the Hollywood Bowl, in China Night, reciting poetry backed by a hundred-piece orchestra, conducted by John Mauceri, the founder of Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. She was a guest in numerous television series, most notably the recurring role as Helen, Sandra Oh's frivolous mother, in "Grey's Anatomy", and recently "Royal Pains".


title: Tsai Chin (actress)

text: Tsai Chin made numerous indie films and many features, notably appearing as Chairman Xu in "Red Corner" (1997), Auntie in "Memoirs of a Geisha" (2005), and Madame Wu in the James Bond thriller "Casino Royale" (2006). In 2008, she was offered a role of the Dowager Jia (贾母) in a lavish adaptation of "Dream of the Red Chamber" (红楼梦), China's most beloved classic novel from the eighteenth century. This was her first time back working as an actress in China and she spent more than one year completing the 50 episodes (2010).


title: Tsai Chin (actress)

text: Back in Los Angeles, Tsai Chin accepted the title role of a woman suffering from Alzheimer's in "Nani", an AFI thesis film directed by Justin Tipping, which won the Student Academy Award and DGA Student Film Award (2012).


title: Tsai Chin (actress)

text: In 2014, she appeared in Marvel's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.", reuniting with her "Joy Luck Club" co-star, Ming Na, to play Melinda May's mother.


title: Tsai Chin (actress)

text: Tsai Chin appeared in two episodes of HBO's "Getting On". Her autobiography, "Daughter of Shanghai", has been published in ten versions.


title: Pilsner Urquell

text: Pilsner Urquell (; ) is a lager beer brewed by the Pilsner Urquell Brewery in Plzeň (German name: Pilsen), Czech Republic. Pilsner Urquell was the world's first pale lager, and its popularity meant it was much copied, and named "pils", "pilsner" or "pilsener". It is hopped with Saaz hops, a noble hop variety which is a key element in its flavour profile, as is the use of soft water. It is available in 330 ml, 355 ml and 500 ml aluminium cans and green or brown bottles.


title: Pilsner Urquell

text: Almost all draught Pilsner Urquell is sold filtered, but small quantities are available unfiltered, in the Czech Republic and, in very limited amounts, in Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, Sweden, Hungary, Slovakia and Austria. In recent years, the unpasteurized "tank" version of the beer has become increasingly available.


title: Pilsner Urquell

text: Pilsner Urquell was the first pale lager, and the name "pilsner" is often used by its copies. It is characterised by its golden colour and clarity, and was immensely successful: nine out of ten beers produced and consumed in the world are pale lagers based on Pilsner Urquell. The German name, which means 'original source', was adopted as a trademark in 1898.


title: Pilsner Urquell

text: By 1839 most beer in Bohemia was dark and top fermented. However bottom-fermented lagers were gaining popularity. The people of Plzeň preferred imported cheaper bottom-fermented beers to local top fermented ales. The burghers of Plzeň invested in a new, state-of-the art brewery, the "Měšťanský pivovar" (Burghers' Brewery), and hired Josef Groll, a Bavarian brewer, to brew a bottom-fermented beer. On 5 October 1842, Groll had a new mash ready and on 11 November 1842, the new beer was first served at the feast of St. Martin markets.


title: Pilsner Urquell

text: The brewery registered "Pilsner Bier B. B." name in 1859. In 1898, they also registered names "Original Pilsner Bier 1842", "Plzeňský pramen", "Prapramen", "Měšťanské Plzeňské", "Plzeňský pravý zdroj" and finally "Pilsner Urquell" and "Plzeňský Prazdroj", which are in use today.


title: Pilsner Urquell

text: Pilsner Urquell is today brewed solely in the Pilsen brewery. It was brewed between 2002 and 2011 in Tychy, Poland and between 2004 and 2017 in Kaluga, Russia.


title: Enlargement of the eurozone

text: The enlargement of the eurozone is an ongoing process within the European Union (EU). All member states of the European Union, except Denmark which negotiated an opt-out from the provisions, are obliged to adopt the euro as their sole currency once they meet the criteria, which include: complying with the debt and deficit criteria outlined by the Stability and Growth Pact, keeping inflation and long-term governmental interest rates below certain reference values, stabilising their currency's exchange rate versus the euro by participating in the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II), and ensuring that their national laws comply with the ECB statute, ESCB statute and of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The obligation for EU member states to adopt the euro was first outlined by article 109.1j of the Maastricht Treaty of 1992, which became binding on all new member states by the terms of their treaties of accession.


title: Enlargement of the eurozone

text: , there are 19 EU member states in the eurozone, of which the first 11 (Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain) introduced the euro on 1 January 1999 when it was electronic only. Greece joined 1 January 2001, one year before the physical euro coins and notes replaced the old national currencies in the eurozone. Subsequently, the following seven countries also joined the eurozone on 1 January in the mentioned year: Slovenia (2007), Cyprus (2008), Malta (2008), Slovakia (2009), Estonia (2011), Latvia (2014) and Lithuania (2015). Croatia will join on 1 January 2023.


title: Enlargement of the eurozone

text: Seven remaining states are on the enlargement agenda: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Sweden. Bulgaria participates in ERM II, as does Croatia which will join the eurozone as the 20th member on 1 January 2023, while the remaining states have not joined ERM II yet. Denmark has opted out and is therefore not obliged to join, though should the country decide to do so it may join the eurozone with little difficulty as Denmark is already part of the ERM II. The United Kingdom also had an opt-out until it left the EU on 31 January 2020, though it never joined the ERM II either.


title: Enlargement of the eurozone

text: All EU members which have joined the bloc since the signing of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 are legally obliged to adopt the euro once they meet the criteria, since the terms of their accession treaties make the provisions on the euro binding on them. In order for a state to formally join the eurozone, enabling them to mint euro coins and get a seat at the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Eurogroup, a country must be a member of the European Union and comply with five convergence criteria, which were initially defined by the Maastricht Treaty in 1992. These criteria include: complying with the debt and deficit criteria outlined by the Stability and Growth Pact, keeping inflation and long-term governmental interest rates below reference values, and stabilising their currency's exchange rate versus the euro. Generally, it is expected that the last point will be demonstrated by two consecutive years of participation in the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II), though according to the Commission "exchange rate stability during a period of non-participation before entering ERM II can be taken into account." The country must also ensure that their national laws are compliant with the ECB statute, ESCB statute and of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.


title: Enlargement of the eurozone

text: Since the convergence criteria require participation in the ERM, and non-eurozone states are responsible for deciding when to join ERM, they can ultimately control when they adopt the euro by staying outside the ERM and thus deliberately failing to meet the convergence criteria until they wish to. In some non-eurozone states without an opt-out, there has been discussion about holding referendums on approving their euro adoption. Of the 16 states which have acceded to EU since 1992, the only state to have staged a euro referendum to date is Sweden, which in 2003 rejected its government's proposal to adopt the euro in 2006.