The Omani co-pilot who attacked the captain of a flydubai flight last week intended to crash the aircraft into Tel Aviv’s international airport, the United Arab Emirates’ top prosecutor said on Friday.
The suspect, now in custody in the UAE, drew inspiration from al-Qaeda’s September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States and acted “with the aim of causing the greatest possible loss of life,” according to the prosecutor’s findings released through state media. The incident forced an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on September 30.
Most passengers on the Tel Aviv-bound flight were Israeli. They later described a sudden drop in altitude and a struggle for control of the aircraft. The passengers were flown home on another flydubai jet hours afterward.
The co-pilot, identified in media reports as Hamam al-Hammami, used an emergency axe to attack the Indian captain, Smit Machchhar, who fought back and tried to raise the alarm. A second pilot, scheduled for the return leg and seated on board, noticed the cockpit door opening and closing repeatedly in an unusual way. He entered the cockpit with help from a cabin crew member and several passengers. Together they freed the injured captain and restrained the suspect. The return-flight captain and his co-pilot then landed the plane safely at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia.
Prosecutors said the co-pilot had begun radicalising while studying in Australia through extremist literature and online material that glorified terrorist groups and suicide attacks. The September 30 flight was his third to Tel Aviv; he used the earlier trips to prepare the attack.
The UAE prosecutor’s findings stated that the co-pilot had met all professional and security requirements for employment, including a pilot’s licence, a certificate of good conduct and the necessary background checks. “However, none of the procedures revealed any indications of his extremist views or his intention to carry out a terrorist plot.”
Media reports after the incident said he had previously flown for Oman Air and Royal Air Maroc but had been barred from flying in Oman because of concerns about his views.
Israel and the UAE established close ties after normalising relations under the 2020 Abraham Accords. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had earlier noted that the co-pilot appeared to have circumvented rules that normally prevent pilots from countries that do not recognise Israel from operating flights to the country. Netanyahu praised the captain and passengers for preventing a catastrophe and ordered a full review of security arrangements for foreign civil aviation to Israel.
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