Copilot planned attack before joining airline: Israel

The Flydubai copilot who stabbed his captain in a suspected attempt to crash the plane has told United Arab Emirates (UAE) interrogators he planned the attack before he was hired by the Dubai state-owned airline, two Israeli officials with knowledge of the probe said.

A third source briefed on the UAE probe said the copilot, an Omani national, had planned to crash last Wednesday’s flight into Ben-Gurion airport near Tel Aviv. He had also operated a flight to Tel Aviv earlier this year and intended to hijack and crash the plane then, but opted not to, the source added.

It was not immediately clear why the copilot changed his mind on that previous flight, although the copilot is thought to have known someone onboard, the source said.

Participants hold photos depicting Indian pilot Smit Machchhar, who was attacked by another pilot onboard the Flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv, during a Tri-Color National Flag walkathon in Bangalore, India, on Sunday.

Photo: EPA

All of the sources spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the investigation. UAE and Israeli authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did Flydubai.

The copilot of Flydubai flight FZ1073, which had been bound for Israel from Dubai, attacked the pilot with an emergency crash axe, the UAE prosecutor general has said, calling the incident a “terrorist attack.”

Two sources have said the copilot is an Omani national named Hamam al-Hammami. Israeli officials have not named the copilot, but have said he is from Oman. UAE authorities and Flydubai have not publicly disclosed the copilot’s identity.

Reuters has not been able to independently reach al-Hammami, who is in UAE custody, for comment. The UAE has not announced any formal charges against him and it is not known if he has appointed legal counsel.

Oman has not commented on the incident.

The two Israeli officials said the copilot told interrogators that he had applied for a job at Dubai state-owned Flydubai after searching for airlines that fly to Tel Aviv.

The third source said Israel was being continuously updated about the investigation from the UAE.

Disaster on board flight FZ1073 was averted after passengers and crew subdued the copilot. The pilot, Indian national Smit Machchhar, survived the attack and has been hailed as a hero for managing to open the cockpit door. The plane was carrying more than 170 passengers and crew, most of them Israeli.

A reserve Flydubai pilot traveling on the flight took control of the aircraft and landed it at a regional airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia, where the copilot was detained by Saudi authorities and later transferred to the UAE on Thursday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said pilots who are citizens of countries that Israel does not have diplomatic relations with, including Oman, are not permitted to operate flights to Israel.

It is not clear how the copilot came to be assigned to the Tel Aviv flight, and Netanyahu has since ordered a security review of foreign airlines flying to Israel.

New Zealand Assistant Police Commissioner Michael Johnson yesterday said that the copilot had spent time in the country and that police were looking into the period. He did not say when the copilot allegedly visited the country or name him.

A multi-agency Australian counterterrorism unit is also investigating links to Australia of the copilot, who was once enrolled at RMIT University in Melbourne, Victoria. A fourth source said the copilot had studied there about a decade ago.

Netanyahu has said the copilot had undergone radical Islamist indoctrination and was clearly suicidal, although he has not said when or where that indoctrination allegedly occurred. The copilot completed three months of theoretical training at Royal Air Maroc last year, but his application to work there was later rejected, the Moroccan airline said.