Published Updated

Crime03 October, 20262 min read

UAE Attorney General Says Omani Flydubai Co-Pilot Hamam Al-Hammami Targeted Ben Gurion Airport

This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.

UAE Attorney General says Flydubai co-pilot planned a suicide attack on Ben Gurion Airport. Co-pilot attacked the captain with an emergency axe during flight FZ1073.

Read the story
UAE Attorney General Says Omani Flydubai Co-Pilot Hamam Al-Hammami Targeted Ben Gurion Airport
Image: 조선일보

Foiled suicide plot

UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi said investigations found that Omani co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami began implementing an ideologically extremist plot to target the passenger terminal building at Ben Gurion Airport during flight FZ1073 on September 30. Al Shamsi said the co-pilot acted with the intention of causing the greatest possible number of human casualties, and the plan was thwarted by the injured captain, passengers and reserve pilots.

The aircraft was in Saudi airspace when the co-pilot attacked the captain with a crash axe, and the incident caused the airliner to plunge 16,000 feet (4,900 meters) in 30 seconds before the attacker was overwhelmed. Emirati public prosecutors believed the plan drew inspiration from the 9/11 attack, and the co-pilot used two previous flights to familiarise himself with the flight route and the airport.

Image from - AJN Agencia de Noticias
Image: - AJN Agencia de Noticias
Reporting for this sectionEl Mundo1470 & 100.3 WMBD

Radicalisation in Australia

UAE prosecutors said al-Hammami’s shift towards extremism and terrorism began while he was studying at RMIT University in Melbourne. Dr Hamad Saif al-Shamsi said al-Hammami was influenced by hardline takfiri ideology through reading extremist literature and online content glorifying terrorist organisations and suicide attacks.

Investigations showed signs of his path toward extremism emerged in 2017 during his studies in Melbourne, Australia, where he frequented a mosque affiliated with the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT). The defendant admitted that "My Centre" was run by a Lebanese man named "Abu Hamza" and that this center enjoyed support from a foundation linked to the Muslim Brotherhood.

Image from - AJN Agencia de Noticias
Image: - AJN Agencia de Noticias
Reporting for this sectionThe GuardianAl-Ain Al-Akhbariya

Security vetting questioned

UAE prosecutors said they examined Flydubai’s recruiting procedures and found the suspect had met all professional and security requirements, including holding a pilot’s licence and providing a certificate of good conduct. Investigators found none of the procedures revealed any indications of his extremist views or his intention to carry out a terrorist plot, while the case raised fresh questions on aviation screening.

Al Shamsi concluded the suspect had 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. RMIT University confirmed al-Hammami had studied at its Melbourne campus, but "did not successfully complete an engineering qualification".

Reporting for this sectionIndia TodayThe Guardian