Gaza Genocide · updated 24m ago · 2 min read
UAE Prosecutor General Says FlyDubai Co-Pilot Hamam Al-Hammami Attempted Terrorist Act With Crash Axe
UAE prosecutor general says the co-pilot attacked the captain with a crash axe and tried to seize control. Flight FZ1073 diverted to Tabuk after cockpit clash; passengers helped subdue attacker, landed safely, successfully.
Why and how passengers took control.
8 of 9 outlets skipped it: al Hammami previously suspended for extremist materials.
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ABC News
“I pulled up the yoke (steering control of the plane), I straightened the plane out a bit”Read the original ↗
One outlet spotlights a TV-informed passenger pilot correction; another stresses anonymous passenger restraint.
Axe attack on flight
The United Arab Emirates prosecutor general Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said investigations found that a FlyDubai co-pilot “attempted to carry out a terrorist act” during a flight, assaulting the pilot inside the cockpit with a crash axe and trying to take control of the aircraft’s controls. The UAE-led investigation described the incident as an attempted terrorist attack on Wednesday, when the co-pilot attacked the Indian captain Smit Machchhar, and the flight later made an emergency landing at Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia.
The co-pilot was identified as Hamam al-Hammami, an Omani national, and Reuters sources told CNA that the co-pilot was identified as Hammam al-Hammami and that the investigation is ongoing with findings to be released once “necessary procedures” are completed. The incident unfolded on a flight bound for Israel, and the UAE said the co-pilot’s actions nearly crashed the flight with 182 people on board before passengers and others subdued him, according to AP’s account of the UAE investigation details.
Radicalization claims and doubts
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the co-pilot underwent “Islamist radicalization,” and Netanyahu warned that “whoever sent him will pay a very heavy price.” The UAE adviser Anwar Gargash described the attack as a “dangerous terrorist act,” and FlyDubai said the circumstances were still under investigation and it was not in a position to comment further.
The Associated Press reported that a Gulf and a Western diplomat said the co-pilot had undergone standard security checks before being hired, but the checks appeared to focus on whether he had been convicted and did not go deeper into examining his background for signs of radicalization. The AP also reported that a regional official and a person familiar with the matter said the co-pilot had been barred from flying by Oman over concerns he had adopted extremist views, and the official said he was moved to an administrative job at Oman Air.
Investigation, suspensions, and fallout
FlyDubai halted all flights on its Israel route after the incident, and Al Jazeera reported that Israel’s El Al cancelled scheduled flights, stranding some Israelis in the UAE. Al Jazeera 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, after FlyDubai temporarily suspended flights to Israel.
The BBC reported that the UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said investigations are still ongoing to reveal all circumstances, motives, and connections, and the final results would be announced once necessary procedures are completed. The investigation also drew in multiple governments, and Reuters sources cited by CNA said Israeli investigators were expected to question the co-pilot in the UAE as the UAE-led probe seeks to determine what happened and examine the suspect’s motives and background.