UAE Confirms Pilot Planned Suicide Attack on Ben Gurion Airport

The United Arab Emirates has released the findings of its official investigation into an attempted terror attack on a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Israel. According to the UAE Attorney General, the co-pilot, an Omani national, planned to hijack the aircraft and crash it into the terminal building at Ben Gurion Airport in a suicide attack inspired by the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. The investigation revealed that the co-pilot did not act spontaneously but was executing a pre-planned terror plot. He had gathered intelligence on the flight path and Ben Gurion Airport during two previous flights to Israel.

Signs of radicalization first appeared in the suspect in 2017 while he was studying in Melbourne, Australia. He frequented a mosque affiliated with a center supported by the Muslim Brotherhood, managed by a Lebanese citizen known as Abu Hamza. The suspect later drew inspiration from the 9/11 attacks, seeking to carry out a similar attack using the Flydubai plane with the Ben Gurion Airport terminal as the target.

The investigation also found that the suspect prepared himself physically and mentally for the attack, including undergoing wrestling training with a personal coach to prepare for hijacking the plane. Despite his prolonged radicalization and preparations, the co-pilot successfully passed all hiring screenings at Flydubai, meeting all professional and security requirements, including holding a pilot's license and passing background checks. His extremist views and intentions were not detected during these preliminary checks.

During the flight, the co-pilot surprised the captain in the cockpit and attacked him with the emergency axe. The captain of the return flight, who happened to be near the cockpit, noticed the unusual opening and closing of the cockpit door. Suspicious, he approached the door and attempted to enter using the secret code. With the help of a flight attendant and Israeli passengers, the injured captain was rescued, and the co-pilot was subdued, thwarting his plan to crash the plane into the airport.

The Omani co-pilot claims he acted alone, but UAE security authorities are continuing a broad investigation to determine if he had connections to terror organizations or received assistance from others in planning the attack. The published findings detail the planned target, the suspect's extensive preparations, and the events in the cockpit that led to his apprehension before he could execute his plan.