WASHINGTON, March 13: Saying US President George W. Bush was “very displeased,” the White House on Wednesday launched an investigation into why the Florida flight school where two of the Sept 11 hijackers allegedly received training, received notices this week that their student visas had been approved.

“He (Bush) wants to know how and why this happened, and he wants it fixed,” White House spokesman Scott McClellan said, adding that Bush has asked Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge to work with Attorney General John Ashcroft to “get to the bottom of this” as quickly as possible.

The US Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) said on Tuesday that Mohamed Atta and Marwan Al-Shehhi were notified last summer of the change in their visa status from visitor to student but the “secondary notification” to the school did not go out until after the paperwork had been done manually.

Both Atta and Al-Shehhi trained at Huffman Aviation International in Venice, Florida, and are believed to have piloted the two planes that destroyed the World Trade Center in New York on Sept. 11.

Atta’s application to change his non-immigrant status was approved on July 17 last year and Al-Shehhi’s was approved on Aug 9, the INS said.

“Notices to students are automatically generated upon approval. Secondary notification to the school occurs later, after data is manually entered at an INS contract facility,” an INS statement said.

Sen. Edward Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat, called the INS notification sent to the flight school “an embarrassing mistake” that clearly showed the agency had serious problems that needed immediate attention. Kennedy is the chief Senate sponsor of legislation designed to update technology at the INS and close loopholes in the U.S. immigration system.

McClellan called the INS actions “unacceptable,” and said the White House has been working with the agency since Sept. 11 to get student visa and other immigration records computerized.”

Office of Homeland Security spokesman Gordon Johndroe said Ridge hoped to speed up the process of setting up databases that would help the INS screen applicants.—Reuters