Flydubai co-pilot’s chilling 9/11-style plan: Kill captain, fly normally – then crash at Ben Gurion

Dubai Crown Prince Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum meets Indian captain Smit Machchhar after he was stabbed by a colleague aboard a plane.

New Delhi – The Omani co-pilot accused of attacking the captain of a Tel Aviv-bound flydubai flight allegedly chose the airline because it operated flights to Israel and planned to crash an aircraft into Ben Gurion Airport, according to Israeli media reports citing details from his interrogation.

Hamam al-Hammami, who is in custody in the United Arab Emirates, allegedly intended to kill Indian captain Smit Machchhar, continue Flight FZ1073 normally, and obtain landing clearance before deliberately crashing the aircraft into a building or another plane at the airport.

The plan, according to the reports, was designed to delay detection until the aircraft was close enough to its target that authorities would have little time to intervene.

Israeli media reported that al-Hammami planned to seize control while the flight was over Jordan as it approached Israeli airspace. If he could not reach Ben Gurion Airport, he allegedly considered targeting a skyscraper in Tel Aviv or a US military installation in Jordan.

Fresh details reported by Israeli outlets suggest the alleged plot may have predated al-Hammami’s employment with flydubai.

A report cited by The Jerusalem Post said al-Hammami had researched airlines flying to Tel Aviv before applying to flydubai.

“I looked into which airline flies to Tel Aviv. That’s why I chose flydubai. I planned it even before I was accepted,” he reportedly told investigators.

The Jerusalem Post separately reported, citing an Israeli source familiar with the interrogation, that al-Hammami said he had researched airlines operating Tel Aviv routes and chose flydubai as a result.

Reports also said he had flown to Ben Gurion Airport several times after joining the Dubai-based carrier and used a June visit to gather information for the alleged attack.

He reportedly intended to carry out the plan in July but abandoned it at the last moment because one of the crew members on that flight was a friend.

The alleged plot unravelled on Sept 30 after al-Hammami attacked Machchhar inside the cockpit with an emergency crash axe.

Machchhar later said the co-pilot had asked to pray shortly before the assault.

“The blows kept coming. I realised that it’s not the aircraft; it’s the other guy who was in the cockpit with me,” Machchhar said while recounting the attack.

Despite suffering serious injuries, Machchhar managed to unlock the cockpit door, allowing crew members and others aboard the flight to intervene and restrain the co-pilot.

Two off-duty flydubai pilots travelling as passengers later took control of the aircraft and landed it safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Reuters reported that the aircraft had lost more than 16,000 feet of altitude in about 30 seconds during the incident.

Machchhar is recovering after the attack and has spoken to both Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the incident.

The case has also triggered questions over how al-Hammami was cleared to fly to Israel.

Officials familiar with the case have said he had earlier been removed from flying duties in Oman over concerns about extremist material or views. The Associated Press and other international outlets have reported that authorities are now examining how those concerns were handled before he later joined flydubai.

Israeli authorities have, meanwhile, ordered a review of security arrangements for foreign civil aviation after the incident.

Investigators in the UAE and other countries continue to examine whether al-Hammami acted alone and whether he had links to any extremist organisation. Reuters reported that no evidence of Iranian involvement had emerged, while the wider motive and possible external links remained under investigation. THE STATESMAN/ASIA NEWS NETWORK