Flydubai Co-Pilot Planned to Crash Boeing 737 Into Tel Aviv Airport

A flydubai co-pilot attempted to seize control of flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv last Wednesday and planned to crash the Boeing 737 MAX into Ben Gurion airport or a central Tel Aviv tower block. The Omani national — identified in multiple reports as Hamam al-Hammami — attacked the captain inside the cockpit before passengers overpowered him. A second crew member on board was then able to land the aircraft in Saudi Arabia. The UAE attorney-general has confirmed the incident as an attempted terrorist act.

Israeli media cited sources with knowledge of the investigation as saying al-Hammami told interrogators he intended to fly the aircraft normally into Israeli airspace, obtain landing clearances from Ben Gurion airport and then crash the plane — carrying more than 180 passengers — in the manner of the September 11 2001 al-Qaeda attacks in the United States. He attacked Captain Smit Machchhar with the emergency crash axe stored in the cockpit. Al-Hammami also reportedly told investigators he had previously considered crashing an earlier Tel Aviv-bound flight but abandoned that plan because an acquaintance was on board. Australia has separately announced it is investigating the co-pilot's links to that country.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the co-pilot underwent "Islamist radical indoctrination" and that the captain, passengers and second crew had prevented "a 9/11 disaster." Sources cited in the reports describe al-Hammami as a probable "lone wolf" extremist acting without direction from a radical organisation or foreign government. The UAE attorney-general has not publicly released further details on the state of the ongoing questioning. No other group has claimed involvement in the incident.

Al-Hammami remains in UAE custody and is continuing to be questioned with Israeli representatives receiving updates on the investigation. A second flydubai aircraft flew the stranded passengers from Saudi Arabia onward to Israel following the emergency landing. The September 11 2001 attacks killed nearly 3,000 people and were carried out by al-Qaeda operatives who deliberately flew hijacked commercial aircraft into buildings. Security reviews of cockpit access protocols and crew screening procedures are expected to follow the incident.