Rayed Mohammed Abdullah Ali was taking flying lessons when he was arrested on May 30 (1) as a result of a tip off (7,8)

Mr Ali initially settled in Auckland (1). On April 12, Ali visited Ardmore Flying School and attempted to enrol in a flying course - which according to Craig Hunter may have been the beginning of the end of Ali's time in New Zealand. The school would not let Ali fly as he did not want to follow rules established to protect overseas students… (7) Ironically Ali has a suspended flying license from Mecca dating back to 2001 (6)

Ali moved to the town of Palmerston North in May, where he took lessons at the Manawatu Aero Club, reported the Weekend Herald newspaper. (1)

Captain Ravindra Singh, the chief flying officer at the Palmerston North flying club, told the newspaper Mr Ali was "quite intelligent and a moderate person... I'm 99% sure he was genuine." (1)

He wanted to pass the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam so he could return home to train for his commercial pilot's licence. (2)

When he returned to Palmerston North, he told Captain Singh he had missed an application deadline and been unable to sit the IELTS exam in Auckland. (2) He had previously been studying English in the US as well. (4)

According to the Herald on Sunday New Zealand intelligence was joined by their United States counterparts. It is believed a decision was made to allow Mr Ali to stay for months - apparently prompted by United States intelligence desires to monitor and follow Ali. The paper has been told that his presence became too much for New Zealand officials. His connection to a 9/11 hijacker and the time he was spending at the controls of a plane were behind the decision to deport Mr Ali, possibly against US wishes. (7)

He was deported to Saudi Arabia even though he had a passport from Yemen. The other time section 72 was used was for the 1991 deportation of Soviet spy Anvar Kadyrov (2)

The reason for deportation however almost contradicts the section 72 requirements to deport, namely:

Section 72 provides that where the Immigration Minister certifies that the continued presence in New Zealand of a person constitutes a threat to national security, the Governor-General may, by order in council, order that person's deportation (7).

Rayed Ali has vanished
Rayed Ali, the Saudi student deported from New Zealand on national security grounds, has disappeared after reaching Saudi Arabia

New Zealand authorities will not say who Rayed Mohammed Abdullah Ali was handed to on arrival in Saudi Arabia but his family have told the Herald they had not heard from him (3)

His 27-year-old brother, Abdul Mohammed, who lives in the United States, says the family are anxious to know Rayed's whereabouts. He learned of his brother's deportation on the internet, after Herald inquiries last week prompted the Government to admit it expelled Ali on May 30 (3)

Abdul Mohammed said the family knew nothing of Rayed's circumstances. "Someone said he was taken to the Yemeni embassy or consulate in Saudi Arabia but they denied it." (3)

Rayed Ali in the US
Rayed Abdullah told Williams he had earlier been to Florida and knew an individual named Bandar al Hazmi from high school. Rayed Abdullah said he had decided to move to Florida to become a commercial pilot after speaking with Bandar al Hazmi. While the FBI found there was no "familiar" connection between Bandar al Hazmi and the 911 hijackers Nawaf al Hazmi and Salem al Hazmi, Rayed Abdullah said he had met Hani Hanjour (who is alledged to have piloted the airliner into the Pentagon) upon arriving in Florida - presumably through Bandar al Hazmi who claimed to have met Hanjour in Florida while they were both studying at the same English-language institute. (4)

A search of FAA records indicates that Abdullah/Ali still has a Private license on file under the name Rayed Mohammed Abdullah. The last medical noted was in May, 2001, and it lists a 2001-era mailing address - in Mecca. But the existence of the record doesn't indicate that there's a valid license. The record is marked in red with the legend, "FOR INFORMATION ON THIS AIRMAN'S CERTIFICATE YOU MUST CONTACT THE AIRMEN CERTIFICATION BRANCH...." That label most commonly is seen in the case of a suspended or revoked license, or in cases where an airman is under criminal investigation. The Airmen Certification Branch is closed for the weekend. (6)

The FBI was not convinced that testimony given by Rayed Abdullah was correct, rather believing that Rayed Abdullah, Bandar al Hazmi and Hani Hanjour all knew each other prior to arriving in the United States: "This account (Rayed Abdullah's testimony) is not credible, because Abdullah arrived in the United States on November 15, 1997, the day before Hanjour arrived," Agent Williams wrote, "The three of them did attend language school together but not until after all three had arrived in the United States. (5)

In early 1998, Rayed Abdullah returned to Arizona and began flight training at Arizona Aviation and obtained a private pilot’s license in December 1998. Abdullah then worked as a computer programmer in Arizona before resuming flight training during the mid-year of 2001. (5)

Rayed Abdullah's high school friend, Bandar al Hazmi, continued his training at Arizona Aviation with "intermittent trips home to Saudi Arabia, before departing the United States for the last time in January 2000," the 911 Commission Report stated. (5)

Sources:
1. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/506669...
2. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cf...
3. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cf...
4. http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S001...
5. http://media.apn.co.nz/webcontent/document...
6. http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?Content...
7. http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0606/S001...
8. New Zealand Herald, June 13 2006