The United Arab Emirates revealed Friday that the co-pilot behind the September 30 attempted hijacking of an Israel-bound passenger jet had spent years preparing to carry out a September 11-inspired suicide attack on Ben Gurion Airport, intending to crash the aircraft into a passenger terminal and kill as many people as possible.
UAE Attorney-General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi announced that investigators had uncovered a premeditated terrorist plot to seize control of Flydubai Flight FZ1073, which was traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv, and use the aircraft to carry out a mass-casualty attack on Israel’s main international airport.
The findings provide the most detailed official account yet of the attempted hijacking, which was thwarted after the aircraft’s captain, passengers, and other pilots aboard the flight fought to regain control as the plane plunged toward the ground over Saudi Arabia.
In a statement carried by the UAE’s state-run WAM news agency, Al Shamsi said the 29-year-old Omani co-pilot, identified in previous reporting as Hamam al-Hammami, intended to “seize control of the aircraft” and use it to carry out a “suicide attack targeting the passenger terminal at Ben Gurion Airport,” with the aim of causing “the greatest possible loss of life.”
Investigators traced the beginnings of Hammami’s radicalization to 2017, when he was studying in Melbourne, Australia, and became increasingly immersed in extremist literature and online material glorifying terrorist organizations and suicide attacks.
During that period, he was influenced by takfiri ideology, a radical interpretation of Islam used by jihadist groups to declare other Muslims apostates, and gradually embraced beliefs advocating violence and terrorism, according to the investigation.
He also “drew inspiration from the 11 September 2001 attacks,” the attorney general said, as the prospect of carrying out a similar operation using a commercial aircraft became firmly established in his thinking.
“According to his confession, this was linked to his decision to pursue a career in aviation,” the statement added.
The revelation suggests Hammami’s decision to become a pilot was not merely a professional pursuit but part of a years-long ambition to carry out a mass-casualty terrorist attack.
The investigation also examined his activities in Australia, where Hammami admitted regularly attending a mosque affiliated with the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and becoming acquainted with individuals associated with a religious center known as My Centre.
According to his account to investigators, the center was managed by a Lebanese man known as Abu Hamza and received support from an association linked to the Muslim Brotherhood.
A separate investigation by Ynet identified Abu Hamza as Melbourne preacher Samir Mohtadi and examined inflammatory anti-Israel statements attributed to him, including references to Zionists as “bloodsuckers” and “scavengers.”
However, investigators have not established that Mohtadi or My Centre participated in the hijacking plot or played a direct role in Hammami’s radicalization. The statements highlighted by the outlet were made in 2025, years after Hammami studied in Australia.
Hammami subsequently pursued aviation training in Britain, attending L3 Airline Academy between 2018 and 2019. He also completed a three-year distance-learning aviation degree at Buckinghamshire New University in 2023.
He began working for Oman Air in 2020 before undergoing three months of pre-employment training with Morocco’s Royal Air Maroc in 2025 and joining Flydubai in January 2026.
Although the UAE investigation described Hammami as having worked for the Moroccan carrier, Royal Air Maroc said he was not ultimately hired.
His earlier employment has drawn scrutiny following reports that warning signs of radicalization surfaced years before the attempted hijacking.
CNN previously reported, citing a source familiar with the matter, that Oman Air removed Hammami from flight training after concerns emerged about his radical views and reassigned him to an administrative position. The New York Times separately reported that Omani authorities had scrutinized him over his embrace of radical Islamist ideology.
Hammami’s online activity also raised concerns, with social media posts attributed to him expressing extremist sympathies and misogynistic views, including remarks appearing to endorse violence against women. An online profile bearing his name also displayed imagery associated with Al-Qaeda.
As Breitbart News previously reported, two posts appeared on a LinkedIn account matching Hammami’s identity hours after the attempted hijacking, including images of Ayman al-Zawahiri, the former Al-Qaeda leader killed in a U.S. counterterrorism operation in 2022. It remained unclear who published the material or whether the posts had been scheduled before the attack.
Despite those reported warning signs, Emirati investigators determined that Hammami had met Flydubai’s professional and security requirements, including holding a pilot’s license, providing a certificate of good conduct, and completing the necessary screening procedures.
None of those checks revealed “any indications of his extremist views or his intention to carry out a terrorist plot,” Al Shamsi said.
It remains unclear whether concerns raised during Hammami’s earlier employment were ever communicated to Flydubai or security authorities in the UAE or Israel.
His move to Flydubai was allegedly deliberate. According to Israeli media reporting on his interrogation, Hammami specifically sought an airline operating flights to Tel Aviv as part of his preparations to attack Israel.
“I looked into which airline flies to Tel Aviv. That’s why I chose flydubai,” he reportedly told investigators. “I planned it even before I was accepted.”
Investigators also found that Hammami had used two previous flights to Tel Aviv to “familiarise himself with the flight route and the airport” before attempting to carry out the attack on his third flight to Israel on September 30.
The reconnaissance flights were part of a broader preparation effort that included increasing his exposure to extremist propaganda and undergoing private boxing lessons, which prosecutors said were intended to prepare him psychologically and physically for the operation.
Israeli media also reported that Hammami had considered carrying out an attack in July but abandoned the plan after developing a friendly relationship with a crew member.
His alleged preparations culminated aboard Flight FZ1073, which was carrying more than 170 passengers, most of them Israelis, from Dubai to Tel Aviv.
While the Boeing 737 was flying over Saudi Arabia, Hammami attacked Indian captain Smit Machchhar with an emergency crash axe inside the cockpit in an attempt to seize control of the aircraft.
Despite suffering severe head injuries, Machchhar resisted the assault and attempted to summon help.
A second Flydubai captain, who was aboard the aircraft to operate its return flight from Tel Aviv, became suspicious after noticing the cockpit door repeatedly opening and closing. He approached the cockpit and used its access code to gain entry, where he encountered the attack.
With assistance from a cabin crew member and several passengers, the backup captain intervened, helped rescue the wounded pilot, and restrained Hammami.
Among those who fought to stop the attack was Israeli passenger Yaniv Hayun, who previously recounted placing the assailant in a chokehold, pulling him from the cockpit, and returning to help pull back the aircraft’s controls as it descended.
The return-flight captain and his co-pilot ultimately regained control of the aircraft and diverted it to Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia, narrowly averting a catastrophe that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had likened to a potential September 11-style attack.
The UAE attorney general said a forensic examination established that Machchhar’s injuries were concentrated on his head, were potentially fatal, and were consistent with blows from an emergency axe. Those findings also aligned with testimony from the captain, other crew members, witnesses, and the suspect.
Hammami subsequently provided investigators with a detailed confession in the presence of his lawyer, outlining his motives, preparations, and actions during the attempted hijacking.
He claimed to have planned and executed the operation alone, although prosecutors emphasized that the investigation remains open as authorities examine the possible involvement of accomplices or other connections.
The UAE Public Prosecution is continuing to review recordings, technical reports, witness testimony, and other evidence, with additional findings expected as the investigation progresses.
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jklein@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.