The Omani co-pilot of a Flydubai flight to Tel Aviv told investigators that he intended to crash the aircraft into Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport in an attack modelled on the September 11 strikes.
Hamam al-Hammami, who is under arrest, said he planned to kill the Indian captain, Smit Machchhar, continue the flight as normal to obtain landing clearances without raising suspicion, and then deliberately crash the plane into a building or aircraft at the airport. He told investigators he chose to attack over Jordan as the plane approached Israel so that there would be little time for others to intervene.
If the airport plan failed, he said he would have crashed the aircraft into a skyscraper in Tel Aviv or a US military base in Jordan. The plan was stopped when Machchhar, despite being seriously injured, fought back, sent distress signals and opened the cockpit door. Crew members and passengers then restrained the co-pilot, and two off-duty pilots landed the plane safely in Saudi Arabia.
Machchhar, who is receiving treatment in Abu Dhabi, told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that al-Hammami asked to pray shortly before striking him with a crash axe. The captain initially thought the aircraft had been hit before realising the blows were coming from his co-pilot.
Investigators were told that al-Hammami had first intended to carry out the attack in July but delayed it because he was friends with a crew member. He had flown the route to Ben Gurion Airport several times since joining the airline and used a June trip to gather information for the plan. He said he chose Flydubai specifically because it operated flights to Tel Aviv and had prepared the attack before being hired.
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After the assault, reports indicate the co-pilot switched off the engines and pushed the controls forward, causing the aircraft to drop about 16,000 feet in under a minute. Oman had previously barred him from flying because of concerns about his extremist views. Questions remain about how a citizen of a country without diplomatic relations with Israel was cleared to operate a flight carrying Israeli passengers, and about the effectiveness of security and vetting procedures by the airline and relevant authorities.
Al-Hammami, 29, has an Omani father and Syrian mother. He lived in Syria during the civil war and had posted online messages supporting al-Qaeda. The investigation into the incident and related security issues is continuing.
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