Flydubai suspect used 'crash axe' to attack, was a failed university student targeting Israeli airport: reports - National Post

The suspect of an attempted hijacking on a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv has been identified as Omani national Hamam al-Hammami. Photo by LinkedInArticle contentMore details are emerging about a Flydubai co-pilot accused of stabbing the plane’s captain mid-flight in an attempted hijacking while the aircraft was en route to Israel. Here’s what we know.

The suspect, identified as Omani national Hamam al-Hammami, 29, by media outlets such as CNN and Reuters, was targeting Ben Gurion Airport, just southeast of Tel Aviv, according to the Times of Israel.

The publication also published a photo believed to be al-Hammami, taken from a now-deleted LinkedIn page.

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Al-Hammami’s intention was to kill the plane’s captain, get cleared for landing as usual, “then crash into a building or jet at the airport,” said the publication. He reportedly waited until the plane was flying over Jordanian airspace so he could pull off his plan undetected.

Instead, Capt. Smit Machchhar was seriously injured in the Sept. 30 attack on board flight FZ 1073, departing from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. He managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to rescue him, redirect the aircraft and save its 174 passengers from plummeting to their deaths.

Captain Smit Machchhar, the pilot of Flydubai Flight 1073, was praised for his “extraordinary bravery.” Photo by Handout/Israel Foreign MinistryArticle contentFlydubai suspect used a ‘crash axe’ to stab co-pilot: reports

Al-Hammami reportedly used a “crash axe” that was already on the plane to stab Machchhar, said UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi over the weekend, according to NBC News and the Wall Street Journal. Crash axes are commonly kept in the cockpit in case of emergencies, including a crash or fire.

Before being struck, Machchhar said Al-Hammami asked to pray, the Times of Israel reported. Around five minutes later, Machchhar was hit on the back of the head and the “blows kept coming, one after the other.”

“That’s when I realized that it’s not the aircraft, it’s the other guy who was in the cockpit with me,” said Machchhar.