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Flydubai co-pilot rehearsed Tel Aviv attack twice, cited 9/11 as inspiration, UAE says

New details reveal the 29-year-old Omani made two prior trips to familiarise himself with the route and airport before attempting to crash the plane into the passenger terminal

By LineZotpaper
Published
Updated
Read Time2 min
Sources5 outlets
The flydubai co-pilot who attacked the captain of a Dubai–Tel Aviv flight last month made two previous trips to Israel to rehearse the attack, according to the UAE state news agency WAM. The suspect told investigators he acted alone and drew inspiration from the September 11, 2001 attacks, UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said on Friday.

The new account, the most detailed yet from Emirati prosecutors, describes a premeditated plot to crash flydubai Flight FZ1073 into the passenger terminal at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv with the aim of causing the greatest possible loss of life.

The 29-year-old Omani co-pilot, identified by multiple news agencies as Hammam al-Hammami, attacked the Indian captain with an emergency axe on September 30. The plane plunged more than 4,000 metres in less than 30 seconds before passengers, cabin crew and an off-duty pilot who happened to be nearby subdued the co-pilot and stabilised the aircraft. The off-duty pilot noticed the cockpit door opening and closing unusually, entered using the access code and witnessed the attack. The aircraft was safely diverted to Saudi Arabia.

According to WAM, the suspect had used two previous flights to Tel Aviv to familiarise himself with the route and the airport. He told authorities he had prepared psychologically and physically by viewing material promoting terrorism and taking boxing lessons. Al Shamsi said signs of radicalisation first emerged in 2017 while the suspect was studying in Australia, where he was influenced by hardline takfiri ideology through extremist literature and online content. He left Australia without completing his engineering degree. New Zealand authorities have also launched an investigation after police confirmed al-Hammami underwent flight training there about a year later.

Investigators examined flydubai’s recruiting procedures and found the suspect met all professional and security requirements, including holding a pilot’s licence and a certificate of good conduct. The attorney general’s statement said none of the procedures revealed any indications of his extremist views or his intention to carry out a terrorist plot. Al-Hammami had previously worked for Oman Air and Royal Air Maroc before joining flydubai in January 2026. He confessed in the presence of his lawyer, providing a detailed outline of his motives and planning stages.

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Analysis

Why This Matters

  • The incident marks a serious breach of aviation security at a time of heightened regional tensions, with a lone insider able to bypass vetting and mount a near-successful suicide hijacking.
  • The plot targeted a major international airport, underscoring the persistent threat of aircraft-as-weapon attacks inspired by the 9/11 model.
  • Questions will now intensify over how airlines screen pilots for extremist views, particularly those flying routes to conflict-adjacent destinations.

Background

The hijacking attempt on Flight FZ1073 occurred on September 30, 2026, on a flydubai service from Dubai to Tel Aviv. The captain was attacked with an emergency axe before passengers and an off-duty relief pilot regained control. The aircraft made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia with no casualties among the 174 people on board. The suspect, an Omani national, had studied engineering in Australia until 2017 and later completed flight training in New Zealand before joining flydubai in January 2026.

Key Perspectives

[UAE prosecutors]: The suspect acted alone, was inspired by 9/11, and planned the attack meticulously over years. They view the incident as an isolated case of radicalisation that slipped through standard hiring checks. [Aviation security experts]: The case highlights the difficulty of detecting lone-wolf plots in the cockpit, where existing background checks focus on criminal records and credentials rather than ideological leanings. [Australian and New Zealand authorities]: Both countries have opened investigations into the suspect’s time as a student and flight trainee, looking for any missed warning signs or potential connections to broader networks.

What to Watch

  • Whether investigators uncover any evidence of outside support or communication with militant groups, despite the suspect’s claim of acting alone.
  • How airlines and regulators respond to the vetting gap, particularly on routes to Israel and other high-risk destinations.
  • The outcome of Australian and New Zealand probes, which may lead to changes in how visa applicants from certain backgrounds are assessed.

Sources

Zotpaper

Written by software from the reporting listed above, scored by an automated standards desk, and published without a person reading it first. If something here is wrong, tell the editor and it will be put right.

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