Co-pilot planned flydubai attack before joining airline, two Israeli officials say
The co-pilot of flydubai flight FZ1073, which had been bound for Israel from Dubai, attacked the pilot with an emergency crash axe, the United Arab Emirates prosecutor general has said, calling the incident a "terrorist attack".
Highlights:
- Co-pilot told interrogators he sought flydubai job after searching for airlines flying to Tel Aviv
- Source says co-pilot also intended to hijack and crash earlier Tel Aviv flight this year
- Reserve flydubai pilot lands plane in Saudi Arabia after passengers and crew subdue co-pilot
The flydubai co-pilot who stabbed his captain in a suspected attempt to crash the plane has told UAE interrogators he planned the attack before he was hired by the Dubai state-owned airline, according to two Israeli officials with knowledge of the probe.
A third source briefed on the UAE probe said the co-pilot, an Omani national, had planned to crash last Wednesday's flight into Ben-Gurion airport near Tel Aviv. He had also operated a flight to Tel Aviv earlier this year and intended to hijack and crash the plane then, but opted not to, the source added.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
It was not immediately clear why the co-pilot changed his mind on that previous flight, although the co-pilot is thought to have known someone onboard, the source said.
All of the sources spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the investigation. UAE and Israeli authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did flydubai.
The co-pilot of flydubai flight FZ1073, which had been bound for Israel from Dubai, attacked the pilot with an emergency crash axe, the United Arab Emirates prosecutor general has said, calling the incident a "terrorist attack".
Two sources have said the co-pilot is an Omani national named Hamam al-Hammami. Israeli officials have not named the co-pilot but have said he is from Oman. UAE authorities and flydubai have not publicly disclosed the co-pilot's identity.
Reuters has not been able to independently reach al-Hammami, who is in UAE custody, for comment. The UAE has not announced any formal charges against him and it is not known if he has appointed legal counsel. Oman has not commented on the incident.
Indian pilot hailed as hero for helping to foil plot
The two Israeli officials said the co-pilot told interrogators that he had applied for a job at Dubai state-owned flydubai after searching for airlines that fly to Tel Aviv.
The third source said Israel was being continuously updated about the investigation from the UAE.
Disaster on board flight FZ1073 was averted after passengers and crew subdued the co-pilot. The pilot, Indian national Smit Machchhar, survived the attack and has been hailed as a hero for managing to open the cockpit door. The plane was carrying more than 170 passengers and crew, most of them Israeli.
A reserve flydubai pilot travelling on the flight took control of the aircraft and landed it at a regional airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia, where the co-pilot was detained by Saudi authorities and later transferred to the UAE on Thursday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said pilots who are citizens of countries that Israel does not have diplomatic relations with, including Oman, are not permitted to operate flights to Israel. It is not clear how the co-pilot came to be assigned to the Tel Aviv flight, and Netanyahu has since ordered a security review of foreign airlines flying to Israel.
Suspect spent time in New Zealand as well as Australia
New Zealand Assistant Police Commissioner Michael Johnson said on Monday that the co-pilot had spent time in the country and that NZ police were looking into the period. He did not say when the co-pilot allegedly visited the country or name him.
A multi-agency Australian counterterrorism unit is also investigating links to Australia of the co-pilot, who was once enrolled at RMIT University in Melbourne, Victoria. A fourth source said the co-pilot had studied there around a decade ago.
Netanyahu has said the co-pilot had undergone radical Islamist indoctrination and was clearly suicidal, although he has not said when or where that indoctrination allegedly occurred. The co-pilot completed three months of theoretical training at Royal Air Maroc in 2025 but his application to work there was later rejected, according to the Moroccan airline.
