Flydubai co-pilot planned suicide attack on Israeli airport, UAE prosecutors say

A commercial co-pilot who attempted to hijack a flight headed from Dubai to Tel Aviv intended to crash the aircraft into the terminal building at Israel's main international airport, United Arab Emirates authorities announced on Friday.

The suspect, identified as 29-year-old Omani national Hammam al-Hammami, was serving as first officer aboard a flydubai passenger jet last week when he struck the captain with an emergency axe. Despite sustaining severe wounds, the Indian pilot managed to unlock the armored cockpit entry. Travelers swiftly intervened to subdue al-Hammami, and an off-duty relief pilot traveling among roughly 180 passengers took control of the jet, landing it safely in Saudi Arabia. Most of the travelers on the flight were Israeli citizens.

According to UAE Attorney General Dr. Hamad Saif al-Shamsi, al-Hammami confessed in custody to plotting a suicide strike aimed at the passenger facilities at Ben Gurion airport to inflict mass casualties. The attorney general stated that the suspect was influenced by hardline extremist material and internet propaganda celebrating terrorism, developing a fixation on replicating the tactics of the September 11, 2001, strikes. That motive reportedly prompted him to pursue professional aviation training.

Al-Shamsi said al-Hammami stated during formal questioning that he operated entirely on his own, with no organizational backing from networks such as al-Qaida or Islamic State. While Emirati officials currently believe he acted as a lone operative, investigations remain ongoing to confirm whether any third parties were involved. State media reported that al-Hammami had previously flown the Dubai-Tel Aviv route twice to study the navigation path and the layout of the Israeli hub.

The incident has triggered security inquiries across multiple countries regarding how the pilot cleared employment screening and background checks. Al-Hammami had studied engineering in Australia for roughly two years until 2017 before departing without a degree, prompting Australian intelligence and police to review his time in the country. New Zealand law enforcement also initiated a probe after establishing that he completed flight instruction there roughly a year after exiting Australia.

Records show al-Hammami finished a distance-learning aviation management program through Buckinghamshire New University in 2023. His commercial flight career included stints with Oman Air, Royal Air Maroc in early 2025, and finally state-owned carrier flydubai, where he started working in January 2026.

Following the mid-air confrontation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly commended the injured captain and the passengers for their decisive intervention in preventing a catastrophe. Al-Hammami remains detained in the United Arab Emirates while prosecutors conclude their investigation.