The FlyDubai co-pilot behind the hijacking attempt wanted to crash the jet into Ben Gurion Airport and previously flew the sensitive Israel route, according to multiple sources close to the investigation, amid increasingly difficult questions about the circumstances of the narrowly avoided tragedy.
The co-pilot of the Israel-bound FlyDubai FZ1073 flight planned to crash the aircraft into Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion Airport, according to multiple US and Israeli media reports quoting sources close to the multinational investigation.
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The same reports say the Omani national named by multiple sources as Hamam Al-Hammami was most likely acting alone.
After attacking captain Smit Machchhar, Al-Hammami planned to fly the plane toward Ben Gurion Airport using normal approach and landing procedures, then crash it at the last moment, with more than 180 passengers on board.
According to Israeli media quoting sources with knowledge of the investigation, the co-pilot had prepared the attack for several months and previously flew to Israel to gather information.
Other reports claim that he planned to crash another flight to Tel Aviv earlier this year, but then changed his mind.
Israeli Channel 12 also reported that Israel asked the UAE to expand its questioning to include the flight crew, as even more questions emerge about the harrowing minutes between the co-pilot stabbing the captain and the passengers rushing into the cockpit, subduing the attacker and stabilising the plane.
In the first comments by Emirati investigators on Saturday, UAE Prosecutor General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi said the co-pilot of FlyDubai flight FZ1073 “attempted to carry out a terrorist attack” when he attacked the flight captain with an axe and tried to take control of the aircraft.
The UAE is leading the investigation, and security agencies from four regional countries, including Israel, are working to establish the co-pilot’s motives, aided by the US and other Western governments.