FlyDubai Co-Pilot Intended to Crash Plane into Tel Aviv Airport, UAE Prosecutor Says

The co-pilot of a FlyDubai flight destined for Tel Aviv airport allegedly aimed to hijack the aircraft and crash it into the passenger terminal, according to UAE authorities. The suspect, an Omani national, sought to cause maximum casualties, as confirmed by the top prosecutor in a recent statement. Most of the 174 passengers aboard were from Israel.

The co-pilot, identified as 29-year-old Hamam al-Hammami, drew inspiration from the 9/11 attacks and had practiced the flight route and airport during two prior journeys from Dubai to Tel Aviv. FlyDubai's security and professional assessments did not flag any extremist views or attack plans on the part of Hammami. He admitted to carrying out the attack alone, providing a detailed confession to his lawyer.

The prosecutor's update to the investigation, the most comprehensive since the incident on September 30, revealed that Hammami radicalized at a mosque in Australia during his studies at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in 2017. The attack unfolded when Hammami, wielding a crash axe in the cockpit, assaulted and subdued the captain, Smit Machchhar.

Passengers managed to detain Hammami, steady the aircraft, and guide it to a safe emergency landing at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia, after it plummeted roughly 14,000 to 16,000 feet in under a minute.