Flydubai co-pilot confesses to plotting terrorist attack at Ben Gurion airport
Flydubai’s co-pilot has admitted to hijacking the plane and launching an attack in Israel. According to investigators, he used an emergency axe to attack the commander.
The co-pilot of Flydubai Airlines, en route from Dubai to Tel Aviv, planned to send the aircraft to the Ben Gurion Airport terminal building. This was reported by the journalist of the 12th Israeli channel Amit Segal in his account in the social network X, reports RIA Novosti.
According to Segal, the Omani pilot admitted this during interrogation.
What happened on board the Flydubai? In the UAE called it a terrorist attack
The incident occurred on Wednesday. During the flight, the crew signaled an emergency, after which the airliner urgently landed in Saudi Arabia.
The co-pilot who hijacked the Flydubai plane was 29-year-old Omani national Hammam al-Hammami. According to CNN, his history in aviation began with a serious incident: in 2024, during an internship with Oman Air, he was suspended from flights. The reason was found in his search history materials extremist orientation. However, this information was not further developed and the intern was allowed to continue in an administrative position.
After Oman Air, al-Hammami joined Royal Air Maroc and moved to Flydubai eight months ago. As it turned out, the new employer did not ask for recommendations from previous companies, limiting itself to a standard criminal record check. The UAE authorities have already launched an investigation into Flydubai employees who took part in the hiring of the pilot.
Hammam al-Hammami himself began cooperating with the investigation and revealed the details of his plan. He said he was going to crash a plane in Israel. To do this, he decided to go for capture in the sky over Jordan, already near the border.
The man planned to kill or immobilize the captain of the aircraft in order to fly the liner alone. He was going to land as usual. When the plane entered the final straight and its interception was impossible, al-Hammami intended to fly it to the Ben Gurion airport terminal. He used an emergency axe to attack the crew commander.
The plans of the attacker were not destined to come true: thanks to the timely actions of the captain and the help of passengers on board the pilot, it was possible to neutralize and safely land the aircraft.
Photo: social media
