Flydubai Co-Pilot Planned to Crash Jet into Tel Aviv Airport or Tower Block, Investigators Say

The co-pilot at the centre of an alleged hijacking attempt aboard a flydubai passenger jet intended to crash the aircraft into Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport or a tower block in the Israeli city, according to reports emerging from US and Israeli officials.

The suspect, identified in multiple reports as Hamam al-Hammami, is accused of carrying out a "terrorist act" on flight FZ1073, which was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv last Wednesday. The United Arab Emirates' attorney-general confirmed that the co-pilot attacked and wounded the captain with the emergency crash axe stored in the cockpit before being subdued by passengers.

Details of the alleged plot continued to surface over the weekend as the co-pilot remained in Emirati custody for questioning, with Israeli representatives being kept updated on the progress of the investigation. The case has triggered urgent questions about aviation security, radicalisation screening and how a man described as a "lone wolf" extremist was able to gain access to the flight deck of a commercial airliner carrying more than 180 passengers.

According to Israeli media, which cited sources familiar with the probe, the co-pilot told investigators that after attacking Captain Smit Machchhar, he planned to continue flying the aircraft as though nothing had happened. He allegedly intended to enter Israeli airspace and request landing clearances from Ben Gurion airport in the normal manner, before diverting the Boeing 737 MAX into the airport itself or a tower block in central Tel Aviv.

The reported plan was explicitly compared by those sources to the al-Qaeda attacks of 11 September 2001 in the United States, in which hijackers flew commercial aircraft into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The sources added that the co-pilot was most likely acting alone, rather than on behalf of a radical organisation or a foreign government.

The co-pilot reportedly also told investigators that he had considered hijacking and crashing an earlier flight to Tel Aviv, but abandoned the idea after realising he knew somebody on board. Neither Emirati nor Israeli authorities have issued immediate comment on those specific claims.

UAE Attorney-General Hamad al-Shamsi said on Saturday that his country's investigation would establish the full circumstances of the incident, the motives behind it and any links connected to it, with results to be announced once the inquiry concludes. His statement signalled that the UAE is treating the case with the utmost seriousness, though it left open the question of whether the attacker had any accomplices or external direction.

The human cost of the episode has also come into sharper focus. The captain was wounded in the attack, and it was a second crew member travelling on the plane who was able to take control and land the aircraft safely in Saudi Arabia, according to the account provided by Emirati officials. A separate flydubai plane later flew the stranded passengers from Saudi Arabia to Israel.

Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said the co-pilot had undergone "Islamist radical indoctrination" and credited the captain, passengers and the second crew member with preventing what he called "a 9/11 disaster". Video circulated from the aftermath showed the tearful pilot recounting the moments of the attack, underlining the shock felt by those on board.

Beyond the immediate facts of the alleged plot, the case has exposed what observers describe as major security lapses. Regional officials 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 UAE-based flydubai after undergoing standard security checks that did not examine his background for possible signs of radicalisation.

That sequence of events raises uncomfortable questions about how airlines vet personnel, particularly when an employee has already been flagged by another carrier. The apparent failure to share or act on concerns across national operators has prompted calls for a review of recruitment and monitoring practices in the region's fast-growing aviation sector.

Israeli aviation regulations add another layer of complication. Under those rules, 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 puts the focus on how clearance was granted for him to fly a plane filled with Israeli passengers to Tel Aviv.

Responsibility for vetting has become a matter of dispute between Israeli agencies. Regional officials told the Associated Press on Sunday that Emirati authorities had shared a list of passengers and crew with Israel ahead of flight FZ1073's departure. Israel's Shin Bet domestic security agency responded that the transport ministry was responsible for vetting such lists supplied by foreign airlines.

Transport Minister Miri Regev rejected that account, insisting her ministry had not been given passenger and crew lists and that security oversight for flights operated by foreign airlines fell to the Shin Bet and the Mossad foreign intelligence agency. The public exchange of blame has intensified scrutiny of how Israel screens incoming flights at a time of heightened regional tension. Netanyahu has instructed the head of the National Security Council to review "all security aspects regarding foreign civil aviation to Israel".

The investigation has also widened geographically. Australian authorities are examining the co-pilot's links to the country, with sources telling local media that he studied there between 2015 and 2017. That period could prove significant to investigators trying to trace the timeline of his radicalisation and any contacts he may have made abroad.

Taken together, the developments paint a picture of an attack that came alarmingly close to succeeding, stopped only by the actions of those on board. They also highlight the difficulty of detecting "lone wolf" extremism, where an individual with no clear organisational ties can exploit gaps in screening, recruitment and international information-sharing.

As the UAE continues its questioning of the suspect and Israel reviews its aviation security arrangements, the case is likely to fuel debate over how foreign carriers, national regulators and intelligence agencies coordinate to protect civil aviation. For now, the reported target, the alleged method and the narrow escape have left governments across the region confronting uncomfortable questions about what might have been.