Flydubai Co-Pilot Allegedly Planned to Crash Jet into Tel Aviv Airport or City Tower, Reports Say

The co-pilot at the centre of an alleged hijacking attempt aboard a flydubai passenger jet intended to fly the aircraft into Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport or a high-rise building in the Israeli city, according to reports emerging from US and Israeli officials. The suspect, identified in multiple reports as Hamam al-Hammami, is said to have described himself during questioning as a "lone wolf" extremist, suggesting he was not acting on instructions from any organised group or foreign state.

The allegations relate to flight FZ1073, which was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv last Wednesday when the co-pilot is accused of launching an assault on the captain inside the cockpit. According to the United Arab Emirates' attorney-general, the co-pilot attempted to carry out a "terrorist act" during the journey. He reportedly struck and wounded the captain using the emergency crash axe stored in the cockpit before being subdued by passengers on board.

With the captain incapacitated, a second crew member who happened to be travelling on the flight took control of the aircraft and diverted it to Saudi Arabia, where it landed safely. The Boeing 737 MAX was carrying more than 180 passengers at the time of the incident, underscoring the potential scale of the casualties had the alleged plan succeeded. A separate flydubai plane later transported the stranded passengers from Saudi Arabia to Israel.

Details of the suspected motive have begun to crystallise over the weekend, as the co-pilot continued to be questioned by authorities in the UAE and Israeli representatives received updates on the investigation. Israeli media, citing sources familiar with the probe, reported that the co-pilot told investigators he had intended to keep flying the plane as normal after attacking the captain, entering Israeli airspace and requesting landing clearance from Ben Gurion airport before crashing the aircraft.

Those same sources indicated that his objective was to strike either the airport itself or a tower block in central Tel Aviv, in a manner reminiscent of al-Qaeda's coordinated attacks in the United States on 11 September 2001. The reports further suggest that investigators believe he most likely acted alone, rather than as an operative of a radical organisation or on behalf of a foreign government.

The co-pilot also reportedly admitted that he had considered hijacking and crashing an earlier flight to Tel Aviv, but abandoned that plan after realising he knew someone on board. There was no immediate response from either Emirati or Israeli authorities regarding these specific claims. UAE Attorney-General Hamad al-Shamsi stated on Saturday that his country's investigation would establish the full circumstances, motives and any links connected to the incident, with results to be announced once the inquiry concludes.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has characterised the co-pilot as having undergone "Islamist radical indoctrination," and praised the captain, passengers and the second crew member for preventing what he described as "a 9/11 disaster." His comments reflect the gravity with which Israeli officials are treating the episode, which has raised profound questions about aviation security in a region already marked by persistent geopolitical tensions.

Attention is increasingly focusing on how the attacker was recruited by flydubai and granted clearance to operate a flight carrying Israeli passengers into Tel Aviv. Regional officials have said the co-pilot had been barred from flying by Oman's national carrier, Oman Air, and moved into an administrative role because of concerns about his extremist views. He was subsequently hired by the UAE-based airline flydubai after undergoing standard security checks that did not examine his background for potential signs of radicalisation.

Additional regulatory questions have been raised by the fact that Israeli aviation rules stipulate that pilots who are citizens of countries without formal diplomatic relations with Israel, such as Oman, are not permitted to operate flights into the country. The co-pilot's Omani nationality therefore appears to place him outside the framework Israel has established for screening flight crews entering its airspace.

A further layer of complexity concerns the sharing of passenger and crew information. Regional officials told the Associated Press on Sunday that Emirati authorities had provided Israel with a list of passengers and crew ahead of flight FZ1073's departure. Israel's Shin Bet domestic security agency said the transport ministry was responsible for vetting such lists submitted by foreign airlines. However, Transport Minister Miri Regev countered that her ministry had not been given passenger and crew lists, and that security oversight for flights operated by foreign carriers fell within the remit of the Shin Bet and the Mossad foreign intelligence agency.

In response to the unfolding situation, Netanyahu has instructed the head of the National Security Council to review "all security aspects regarding foreign civil aviation to Israel." The directive signals that Israel may reassess the arrangements governing how foreign airlines are cleared to operate routes into the country, particularly in light of the apparent gaps in information-sharing highlighted by the incident.

The investigation has also taken on an international dimension, with Australian authorities examining the co-pilot's links to their country. Sources have told local media that he studied in Australia between 2015 and 2017, a period that investigators will likely scrutinise for any indications of radicalisation or contacts with extremist networks. The outcome of that inquiry could add further detail to the emerging portrait of a suspect who, according to the reports so far, operated without the backing of any established militant organisation.

Taken together, the allegations have prompted difficult questions for flydubai, Emirati security agencies and Israeli authorities alike, touching on recruitment vetting, background checks, international aviation regulations and the sharing of intelligence between states. As the UAE continues its interrogation of the suspect and Israel presses for a broader security review, the incident is likely to fuel debate over how foreign carriers and their crews are screened on routes into Israel, and whether existing safeguards are sufficient to detect so-called lone-wolf threats before they reach the cockpit.