The co-pilot who attacked the captain of a flydubai jet last week had planned to crash the plane into Tel Aviv’s international airport, the United Arab Emirates’ top prosecutor said on Friday.
In the aftermath of the incident, people on board — the majority of whom were Israeli — described a sudden plunge in altitude and a fight for control of the aircraft, which was forced to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. The passengers were repatriated on a second flydubai flight hours later.
The unnamed Omani co-pilot, now in custody in the UAE, had drawn inspiration from Al-Qaeda’s September 11, 2001 suicide attacks on the United States, and carried out his attempt “with the aim of causing the greatest possible loss of life”, according to the Emirati prosecutor’s findings published by state media.
The prosecutor found that the co-pilot had first begun to be radicalised while studying in Australia “through reading extremist literature and following online content glorifying terrorist organisations and suicide attacks”.
He said last week’s flight had been the co-pilot’s third to Tel Aviv, and that he had used the two earlier trips to plan the attack.
During the flight, the suspect used an emergency axe to attack the plane’s Indian captain, Smit Machchhar, who fought back and tried to call for help.
Another pilot assigned to the return flight who was also on board “noticed the cockpit door opening and closing repeatedly in an unusual manner”, according to the findings.
After gaining entry, he “intervened with the assistance of a cabin crew member and several passengers, and together they rescued the injured captain and restrained the suspect”.
The return flight captain and his co-pilot then landed the plane at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia.
– No sign of intentions –
Israel and the UAE have become close partners since normalising ties under the US-brokered Abraham Accords in 2020, and Israel carries out stringent security checks on those travelling to the country.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously said that the co-pilot — identified in reports as Hamam al-Hammami — must have got around restrictions preventing individuals from nations that do not recognise Israel operating flights to the country.
The UAE prosecutor’s “findings showed that he had met the professional and security requirements for employment, including holding a pilot’s licence, providing a certificate of good conduct and completing the required checks”.
“However, none of the procedures revealed any indications of his extremist views or his intention to carry out a terrorist plot.”
The co-pilot had previously worked for Oman Air and Royal Air Maroc, but media outlets reported after the incident that he had been barred from flying in Oman over concerns about his extremist views.
After the incident, Netanyahu had hailed the passengers and the plane’s captain for their bravery in averting what would have otherwise been a catastrophe.
He later ordered a “thorough review of all security aspects of foreign civil aviation to Israel” in response to the incident.
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