Dubai, October 10 – The United Arab Emirates attorney general said on Friday that an Omani flydubai co-pilot had planned a suicide attack on a Dubai-Tel Aviv flight, intending to seize the aircraft and crash it into a terminal at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport. Attorney General Hamad Saif al Shamsi said the plot targeted the September 30 service and was stopped by the captain. His statement, carried through the state news agency WAM, offered the most detailed public account yet from prosecutors and did not appear to implicate flydubai in any wrongdoing. The airline was not immediately available for comment.
Investigators said the flydubai co-pilot attacked the captain with a crash axe while the airliner was in Saudi airspace. A crash axe is normally kept in the cockpit for emergency use. The struggle sent the aircraft plunging 16,000 feet, or about 4,900 meters, in 30 seconds. The attacker was then overwhelmed, and two other pilots who were on board landed the jet safely in Saudi Arabia, according to the account released on Friday.
A criminal investigation opened on October 1 concluded that the planned suicide attack was inspired by the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. Prosecutors said the suspect had used two earlier Tel Aviv flights to familiarise himself with the route and Ben Gurion Airport. The statement was the first public confirmation that investigators linked the Dubai-Tel Aviv plot to the September 11 model. Al Shamsi said the suspect told investigators he had prepared psychologically and physically by viewing material promoting terrorism and by taking boxing lessons.
The attorney general said the 29-year-old had worked for airlines in several countries, including Oman Air, before joining flydubai in January 2026. A review of recruiting and security checks found that he met professional requirements, including a pilot’s licence and a certificate of good conduct, and that none of the procedures revealed extremist views or an intention to carry out a terrorist plot. UAE officials have not named the suspect. A person with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters that he had been identified as Hammam al-Hammami, an Omani national.