Flydubai co-pilot planned suicide attack on Israeli airport, UAE prosecutors say

UAE prosecutors state that Hammam al-Hammami, a flydubai co-pilot, planned a suicide attack targeting the passenger terminal at Ben Gurion airport in Israel. Al-Hammami attacked the plane's pilot with an axe during a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, but the pilot managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers to overpower the assailant. An off-duty relief pilot then landed the aircraft safely in Saudi Arabia. Al-Hammami, in UAE custody, has confessed to the premeditated plot, reportedly influenced by extremist ideology and the 9/11 attacks. Investigations are ongoing to verify his claim of acting alone.

UAE authorities revealed that the co-pilot involved in the September 30 Flydubai incident intended to crash the aircraft at Israel's Ben Gurion airport in a "suicide" mission, inspired by the 9/11 attacks. The 29-year-old suspect admitted to investigators that he acted alone, having prepared psychologically and physically for the attack by viewing extremist material and taking boxing lessons. He had used previous flights to Tel Aviv to familiarize himself with the route and airport. Investigators found that the co-pilot met all professional and security requirements for his position at Flydubai, with no prior indications of his extremist intentions. The incident involved an attack on the captain, leading to the plane's steep descent before passengers and crew intervened, and reserve pilots safely landed the aircraft in Saudi Arabia.

The UAE attorney general stated that an Omani Flydubai co-pilot planned a suicide attack on September 30, intending to seize a Dubai-Tel Aviv flight and crash it into a terminal at Israel's Ben Gurion airport. The co-pilot's fellow pilot reportedly thwarted this plan. The attorney general's statement, released by the state news agency, provided the most detailed account from prosecutors to date and did not implicate Flydubai in any wrongdoing. The article does not specify the co-pilot's motivations or the immediate aftermath of the thwarted attack.