Asia · updated 15m ago · 2 min read
UAE Prosecutor General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi Says Hamam Al Hammami Tried Terrorist Attack On Flydubai
UAE AG orders specialized investigation team into Flydubai FZ1073 incident. Co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami attacked captain with an axe attempting to seize control.
Whether Iran involvement is confirmed.
7 of 9 outlets skipped it: flyDubai suspended Israel-bound flights at authorities' request.
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DW and ABC foreground terrorism details while the BBC stresses it is too early to say if Iran was involved.
Axe Attack on FZ1073
The United Arab Emirates prosecutor general Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said a Flydubai co-pilot attempted to carry out a terrorist act during a flight earlier this week, assaulting the pilot inside the cockpit using a crash axe and trying to seize control of the aircraft’s controls. The flight, which carried 174 passengers, was on its way from Dubai to Israel’s Tel Aviv on Wednesday when the co-pilot wounded Indian pilot Smit Machchhar after Machchhar opened the cockpit to seek help.
Al Jazeera reported that the aircraft briefly plunged about 17,000 feet before it was brought back under control by a second paid of new pilots after passengers and crew subdued the attacker. Senior intelligence and law enforcement officials identified the suspected attacker as 29-year-old Hamam Al Hammami, and the co-pilot was previously suspended from flying by Oman Air after being identified as a security risk.
Oman Barred Him
Oman’s move to bar the co-pilot from flying was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, and AP said the co-pilot was barred by his native Oman over concerns he had adopted extremist views. AP reported that the co-pilot was subsequently hired by the United Arab Emirates-based airline, and it said the first repatriation flight operated by Israeli carrier Arkia arrived at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport from Dubai at 22:00 GMT on Friday.
BBC said the UAE attorney general told state media that investigations were ongoing to determine the full circumstances and motives of the incident, and it described the flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv carrying more than 170 people that plunged 17,000ft before passengers managed to overpower the attacker. BBBC also quoted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying the attacker called out to the crew "Kill me, kill me!" after he was subdued on the flight.B
Repatriations and Ongoing Probe
Flydubai halted all flights on its Israel route after the incident, and Al Jazeera said Israel’s El Al cancelled its scheduled flights, stranding some Israelis in the UAE. Al Jazeera reported that at 22:00 GMT on Friday, the first repatriation flight, operated by Israeli carrier Arkia, arrived at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport from Dubai.
UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi stressed that investigations are still ongoing to establish all the circumstances and motives surrounding the incident, as well as any related links, and it said technical examinations and the analysis of physical and digital evidence are also being completed. AP said the United Arab Emirates has canceled all flights to Israel, complicating travel for hundreds of passengers who fly between the countries on a typical day, while it described a regional investigation underway and said Israeli investigators are involved in the probe but the Emiratis are in the lead.