But my point isn't. If Hanjour was
that bad, then he would have been incapable of excelling in any aspect of piloting - let alone the advanced maneuvers.
Note the key word "generally." Many experts believe the 77-maneuver was also very difficult as well.
Except that his trainers thought his skills were so poort that they questioned the authenticity of his licence - hence strongly implying that he didn't know the basics.
"After the attacks, for example, aviation experts concluded that the final maneuvers of American Airlines Flight 77 -- a tight turn followed by a steep, accurate descent into the Pentagon --
was the work of "a great talent . . . virtually a textbook turn and landing," the law enforcement official said. Hanjour, in fact, had piled up hundreds of hours of pilot training, but months before the attacks had failed to earn a rating to fly a Boeing 737 (the hijacked plane was a 757).
His instructors became so alarmed by his crude skills and limited English they notified the FAA to determine whether his pilot's license was real. "
http://s3.amazonaws.com/911timeline/2002/wpost091002b.html