UAE Calls Flydubai Cockpit Attack an Attempted Terror Plot After Co-Pilot Struck Captain With Axe
By Eman Abouhassira, Maha El Dahan and Alexander Cornwell
DUBAI/TEL AVIV, Oct 3 (Reuters) - The co-pilot of a flydubai flight bound for Israel attacked the captain with a crash axe and tried to seize control of the aircraft in what Emirati prosecutors on Saturday called an attempted terrorist attack, authorities said.
The incident aboard flight FZ1073 was thwarted on Wednesday after passengers and crew subdued the co-pilot, according to officials. Israeli officials have said the apparent aim was to crash the plane, which was carrying more than 170 passengers and crew.
A source with direct knowledge of the matter identified the co-pilot as Hammam al-Hammami, an Omani national. A second source briefed on the investigation confirmed the name. UAE authorities did not immediately respond to a request to confirm his identity. While Emirati authorities and the airline have not publicly named the co-pilot, Israeli officials have said he is an Omani national. Oman has not commented on the incident.
UAE Prosecutor General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said in a statement carried by state news agency WAM that investigations found the co-pilot had attempted to carry out a terrorist attack. The co-pilot used a crash axe to attack the pilot inside the cockpit and tried to take control of the aircraft, Al Shamsi said. A crash axe is normally kept in the cockpit for emergencies. His remarks were the first by Emirati investigators to describe the incident as an attempted terrorist attack.
The investigation, including into the suspect's motives, is continuing, and findings will be released once necessary procedures are completed, the prosecutor general said. The UAE is leading the probe. Flydubai is owned by the government of Dubai.
Flydubai said the circumstances remained under investigation and declined to comment further. In his first public remarks on the incident, Chief Executive Ghaith al Ghaith said on Friday that the flight had diverted after a safety incident inside the cockpit.
Most passengers on board were Israeli nationals. A reserve flydubai pilot traveling on the flight took control of the aircraft and landed it at Tabuk airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia, where Saudi authorities detained the co-pilot. He was transferred from Saudi Arabia to Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
A source briefed on the investigation told Reuters on Friday that Israeli officials were expected to question the co-pilot in the UAE. An Israeli government official said Israeli investigators would take part alongside Emirati authorities in the UAE-led investigation, seeking to determine what happened and examine the suspect's motives and background.
The case has drawn attention to a route that has become popular among Israeli travelers. Israel does not have official diplomatic relations with Oman, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said pilots from countries without such ties were not permitted to operate flights to Israel. It was not clear how the co-pilot came to be assigned to the Tel Aviv-bound flight.
Netanyahu said on Friday that Israel was looking into whether the co-pilot had acted under anyone's direction and warned that anyone involved would pay a heavy price. A day earlier, he said the co-pilot had undergone radical Islamist indoctrination and was clearly suicidal, while adding that a motive had not yet been established.
Flight-tracking data from Flightradar24 showed the aircraft dropped about 16,625 feet in just over 30 seconds while flying over Saudi Arabia on its journey from the UAE to Israel.
The alleged attack is likely to sharpen scrutiny of cockpit security and crew vetting for carriers operating between the Gulf and Israel, a market that has expanded since the 2020 Abraham Accords normalized UAE-Israel relations. Following the prosecutor general's statement, Anwar Gargash, a senior adviser to the UAE president, said on X that the Gulf state had zero tolerance for terrorism and would show no leniency toward extremist rhetoric.