Omani Pilot Flew to Tel Aviv Before Attack Attempt, Investigation Reveals

An Omani co-pilot, Hammam al-Hammami, who allegedly attempted an attack on a flydubai flight, had previously flown the Dubai-Tel Aviv route multiple times. Israeli authorities are currently investigating whether these flights occurred just days before the incident. According to Channel 12, flydubai provided Israel with a crew manifest before flight FZ1073, which included al-Hammami. However, the screening did not flag him as a security risk. Reports indicate that Israel was unaware al-Hammami had been fully grounded by his former employer, Oman Air, due to concerns about his radicalization. The investigation is also scrutinizing the vetting process for foreign pilots. While Israel's Ministry of Transport is legally responsible for overseeing these checks, it reportedly does not actively conduct them. Neither the Shin Bet nor the Mossad are vetting the biographies of pilots from foreign airlines flying to Israel. Security sources described the situation with foreign crews at Ben Gurion Airport as a "lawless zone," identifying the incident as a "colossal error in the security system." The attack was thwarted by the actions of the aircraft's captain and several passengers, saving the 180 people on board. Sources suggest the suspect may have planned the attack for an extended period, but Israeli agencies had no prior intelligence on him. The investigation is ongoing in the UAE, with Israeli investigators studying materials provided by Emirati and Saudi authorities, as they have not yet gained direct access to al-Hammami. Earlier reports indicated that the Mossad and Shin Bet received advance information about the flydubai flight crew but did not conduct a review of the provided list.