Flydubai Pilot Planned Attack on Israel Flight Before Joining Airline

Investigators are exploring the possibility that the second pilot of a Flydubai flight to Israel, who attacked the captain last week, had planned the incident before joining the airline. According to Israeli officials familiar with the investigation in the UAE, the pilot, identified by sources as Omani citizen Hamam al-Hamami, specifically sought out an airline that flew to Tel Aviv and applied for a job with Flydubai with the intention of carrying out an attack. The investigation is also examining his previous flight to Israel earlier this year, during which he allegedly also planned to seize the aircraft and crash it, though he ultimately did not proceed with the plan for reasons that remain unclear.

The attack occurred on a flight from Dubai to Israel last Wednesday. The UAE's Attorney General stated that the second pilot assaulted the captain with an emergency axe, and UAE authorities have labeled the event a "terrorist attack." Passengers and crew members managed to subdue the pilot before he could execute his plan. The captain, an Indian national named Smith Macchhar, survived the assault. A reserve pilot on board landed the aircraft in northwestern Saudi Arabia, where the assailant was detained and later handed over to UAE authorities. No official charges have yet been filed against al-Hamami in the UAE.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented that pilots from countries without diplomatic ties to Israel, such as Oman, should not be permitted to fly to the country. The circumstances under which al-Hamami was assigned to the Tel Aviv flight remain unknown. Following the incident, Netanyahu ordered a review of foreign airlines operating flights into Israel. Australia's counter-terrorism unit is also conducting a separate investigation into potential links between the second pilot and Australia, as he reportedly studied at RMIT University in Melbourne about a decade ago. Other reported intentions included shutting down the plane's engines and crashing it into high-rise buildings in Tel Aviv, or killing the captain and reaching Tel Aviv before Israeli fighter jets could intercept the aircraft.