The Omani suspect reportedly told investigators he joined the airline because it flies to Israel; passengers and off-duty pilots averted disaster over Jordan
The Omani co-pilot accused of attacking his captain mid-air on a flydubai flight had allegedly planned to crash the aircraft at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, Israeli media reports say.
According to Channel 13 and News24, Hamam al-Hammami told investigators he intended to kill Indian captain Smit Machchhar inside the locked cockpit, take control, and fly into a building or another aircraft at the airport. He reportedly said he chose flydubai specifically because it operates Israel routes, and that the plan predated his hiring.
Reports say he used earlier trips to Israel to plan the attack. He allegedly postponed it from July after befriending a crew member, and had a fallback target: a US military base in Jordan.
Italy’s Corriere della Sera reported that during the attack he shut down the engines and pushed the rudders forward. The jet dropped 16,000 feet in under a minute, approaching the speed of sound.
The injured Machchhar reportedly forced the cockpit door open. Passengers then restrained al-Hammami, and two off-duty pilots landed the plane safely in Saudi Arabia.
Australian authorities are examining whether al-Hammami was radicalised while studying engineering in Melbourne between 2015 and 2017. He had reportedly been grounded by Oman over extremist views, which raises questions about how he came to be flying passengers.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered a review of security for international flights into Israel.
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