Flydubai Co-Pilot Planned Israel Flight Attack Months in Advance
The co-pilot who attacked his captain on a Flydubai flight bound for Israel last week told interrogators in the United Arab Emirates that he planned the attack prior to joining the airline, according to two Israeli officials. The suspect, identified by two sources as Omani national Hamam al-Hammami, allegedly intended to crash Wednesday’s flight into Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, a third source briefed on the UAE probe said.
Flight FZ1073 departed Dubai last Wednesday with more than 170 passengers and crew on board, most of them Israeli. Approximately two hours and twenty minutes after takeoff, while flying over Saudi airspace, the 29-year-old co-pilot left his seat to pray before returning to launch a surprise attack on the captain using an emergency crash axe kept in the cockpit. The UAE prosecutor general has officially classified the incident as a terrorist attack.
Disaster was averted when the injured pilot, Indian national Smit Machchhar, fought back and managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew members to storm the flight deck and subdue the attacker. A reserve Flydubai pilot traveling on the aircraft took control and landed the plane safely at a regional airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia. Saudi authorities detained the co-pilot before transferring him to UAE custody on Thursday.
Investigation into Prior Planning and International Background
Investigators in at least six countries are examining al-Hammami’s background to establish his exact motives and determine whether he acted alone. Regional and Israeli officials believe the co-pilot originally planned to execute the hijacking in July but postponed it, possibly because a friend was among the crew.
The suspect reportedly searched specifically for commercial carriers operating routes to Israel before applying for a position at state-owned Flydubai. He was previously employed by Oman Air from 2018 to June 2025, leaving that carrier after being moved to a desk job over concerns regarding extremist views. Flydubai conducted standard background checks for criminal records during the hiring process, but did not screen for indicators of radicalization.
Authorities outside the Middle East are also probing the suspect’s past movements. Meanwhile, an Australian multi-agency counter-terrorism unit is investigating potential links to Australia, where the co-pilot studied at RMIT University in Melbourne approximately a decade ago.
Netanyahu orders review of foreign airline vetting
The incident has triggered intense political scrutiny in Israel regarding aviation security and the vetting of foreign flight crews. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that pilots who are citizens of nations lacking diplomatic ties with Israel, such as Oman, are prohibited from operating flights into the country. Netanyahu has ordered a review of foreign airlines flying to Israel, claiming al-Hammami underwent radical Islamist indoctrination.
Israel’s Ministry of Transport stated that its standard vetting procedures do not include checking the names of flight crew members. The ministry noted that while flight crews require travel visas and Omani passports should trigger checks at check-in, existing protocols simply did not address the threat from a pilot.
Opposition politicians in Israel quickly seized on the security gaps to criticize the government. Yair Golan, head of the Democrats party, wrote on X that the event exposed a total system collapse in national transportation oversight.
Captain Smit Machchhar defended the aircraft
Who is the pilot who defended the aircraft?
The flight captain was Smit Machchhar, an Indian national. He sustained head injuries during the initial assault with the crash axe but successfully fought back, opened the cockpit door, and enabled passengers to overpower the attacker.
What happened to the co-pilot following the landing?
After the plane landed at a regional airfield in northwestern Saudi Arabia, local authorities detained al-Hammami. He was subsequently transferred to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, where he remains in custody.
Were there any explosives or firearms involved in the hijacking attempt?
The attacker utilized an emergency crash axe stored inside the cockpit to attack the captain before crew members and passengers restrained him.
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