Flydubai Co-Pilot Inspired by 9/11 for Planned Attack on Israel Airport, Officials Say
The Omani national intended to cause maximum casualties by crashing the plane into the terminal.
The co-pilot of a FlyDubai flight to Tel Aviv last month planned to seize control of the aircraft and crash it into the passenger terminal at Israel's main international airport, authorities in the United Arab Emirates stated Friday. The suspect, an Omani national, acted "with the intention of causing the greatest possible number of human casualties," according to a statement from the UAE's top prosecutor, carried by the state news agency WAM.
Officials said the co-pilot, identified by The Associated Press as 29-year-old Hamam al-Hammami, drew inspiration from the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. He reportedly used two previous flights from Dubai to Tel Aviv to familiarize himself with the flight route and the airport.
Most of the 174 passengers on board the flight were from Israel. The statement indicated that FlyDubai's security and professional checks had not flagged al-Hammami as harboring extremist views or planning an attack.
Al-Hammami has confessed to acting alone, providing details of his motives, planning, and execution in the presence of his lawyer. Authorities suggested his radicalization may have occurred at a mosque in Australia in 2017 while he was attending the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.
The investigation was taken over by the UAE shortly after the incident on September 30. FlyDubai is a government-owned airline.