Egyptian Goes on Trial for Lying to Agents

An Egyptian man who arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport with a fake pilot’s uniform and license and a forged flight-school certificate a week after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks went on trial in federal court on charges of lying to authorities.

Prosecutors have acknowledged they have no evidence that Wael Abdel Rahman Kishk, 21, was part of a potential “second wave” of attacks but said he acted suspiciously.

Kishk lied to federal agents by claiming he was in the country to attend business school when he really intended to take flying lessons, prosecutor Dwight Holton said in opening statements.

Defense attorney Michael Schneider said Kishk, who held a legitimate U.S. visa, meant no harm. He described the pilot’s document as “the crudest kind of fake”--the work of a young man who wanted to impress a girlfriend.