Key takeaways:
- The UAE attorney-general said the co-pilot intended to carry out a suicide attack and told investigators he acted alone.
- Flight FZ1073 carried 174 people; reserve pilots landed it safely in Tabuk after the captain was attacked.
- Investigators said the suspect met Flydubai’s hiring requirements, while regional officials cited by the BBC said Oman Air had previously removed him from flying duties.
A Flydubai co-pilot who attacked the captain during a flight to Tel Aviv intended to crash the plane at the city’s airport in a suicide attack, the United Arab Emirates’ attorney-general said. Passengers and crew overpowered the man, and two reserve pilots landed the aircraft safely in Saudi Arabia.
Attorney-General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi said investigators believe the alleged plot drew inspiration from the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. The 29-year-old suspect told investigators he acted alone, though they are continuing to verify that account, according to a statement carried Friday by the UAE’s state news agency WAM.
UAE officials have not named the suspect. People with direct knowledge of the matter identified him to Reuters and The Associated Press as Hamam al-Hammami, an Omani national, Al Jazeera reported.
Flight FZ1073 left Dubai for Tel Aviv on September 30 with 174 people aboard, according to Al Jazeera. More than two hours into the flight, the co-pilot attacked Indian captain Smit Machchhar in the cockpit. The BBC reported that he used an emergency crash axe and that Machchhar managed to unlock the cockpit door while under attack, allowing passengers to enter and help overpower him.
Flight-tracking data showed the plane falling more than 17,000 feet in about two minutes before climbing and descending again, Al Jazeera reported. Two reserve pilots took control and landed in Tabuk, northwestern Saudi Arabia. Saudi authorities said both pilots were hospitalized and later transferred to Abu Dhabi after being medically cleared, according to Al Jazeera.
Shamsi said investigators found that the suspect had taken two previous flights to Tel Aviv to familiarize himself with the route and airport. He told investigators he prepared for the attack by repeatedly viewing material promoting terrorism and taking boxing lessons, WAM reported.
“The findings indicated that signs of his drift towards extremism and terrorism first emerged in 2017, while he was studying in Australia,” Shamsi said. Investigators said he had read extremist literature and followed online content glorifying terrorist groups and suicide attacks. Al Jazeera reported that he gave a detailed confession about his motives and planning in the presence of his lawyer.
Melbourne’s RMIT University confirmed that the suspect studied there but left before completing an engineering qualification, the BBC reported. Australian authorities have said they are investigating his links to the country.
The suspect worked for several airlines, including Oman Air and Royal Air Maroc, before joining Flydubai in January, according to Al Jazeera’s account of Shamsi’s statement. Investigators said he met Flydubai’s professional and security requirements, including holding a pilot’s licence and providing a certificate of good conduct. “However, none of the procedures revealed any indications of his extremist views or his intention to carry out a terrorist plot,” the statement said.
The BBC reported that regional officials gave a different account of his earlier employment, saying Oman Air had barred him from flying and moved him to an administrative role over concerns about extremist views. The officials said Flydubai’s checks did not examine his background for signs of radicalization.
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