Flydubai Co-Pilot Planned 9/11-Style Attack at Ben Gurion, Reports Say

The Omani co-pilot accused of attacking the captain of a flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv allegedly planned to crash the aircraft into a building or another plane at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport in an attack modelled on the September 11, 2001, hijackings, Israeli media reports said.

Hamam Al-Hammami, who is under arrest, reportedly told investigators in the UAE that he intended to kill Indian Captain Smit Machchhar while the flight was approaching Israel, then continue operating the aircraft normally until it received landing clearance.

According to reports citing investigators, Al-Hammami planned to initiate the attack over Jordan and believed waiting until the final stage of the flight would leave authorities with little time to respond. If he could not crash the aircraft at Ben Gurion, he allegedly planned to target a skyscraper in Tel Aviv or a US military facility in Jordan.

The reported plan was disrupted when Machchhar, despite suffering serious injuries, resisted the attack, raised an alarm and managed to open the cockpit door. Crew members and passengers then intervened, while two off-duty pilots travelling on the flight helped regain control of the aircraft.

The plane was subsequently landed safely in Saudi Arabia.

Machchhar, who is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Abu Dhabi, recently recounted the incident in a conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He said Al-Hammami had asked to pray shortly before attacking him with a crash axe.

Machchhar said the first blow to his head initially made him think the aircraft had suffered an impact.

“The blows kept coming. I realised that it’s not the aircraft; it’s the other guy who was in the cockpit with me,” he recalled.

Israeli media reports have also cited investigators as saying that Al-Hammami may have been planning the attack for some time. Channel 12 reportedly said he initially intended to act in July but postponed the plan because he was friends with a member of the crew.

Other reports claimed that he had flown to Ben Gurion several times after joining flydubai and had used a June visit to Israel to gather information. Channel 13 reported that he had allegedly developed the plan even before joining the airline.

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

Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera separately reported that after attacking Machchhar, Al-Hammami switched off the aircraft’s engines and pushed the rudders forward, causing the plane to lose about 16,000 feet in less than a minute.

The incident has also triggered questions over aviation security and how Al-Hammami was cleared to operate a flight to Israel.

Officials have said Oman had previously barred him from flying over concerns related to alleged extremist views. Reports have also linked him to online messages expressing support for al-Qaeda.

Al-Hammami, 29, is an Omani citizen with an Omani father and Syrian mother and had lived in Syria during its civil war.

Questions have additionally been raised over the sharing and vetting of passenger and crew information. Regional officials told the Associated Press that Emirati authorities had shared relevant information, including nationalities, but Israel had not raised concerns about any passenger or crew member before the flight.

Israel’s Shin Bet said passenger-list vetting falls under the Transportation Ministry’s responsibility. Transportation Minister Miri Regev said her ministry had not received a passenger list or any warning concerning the flight, while stressing that flight security is handled by the relevant security agencies.

Dvir Rubenstein, head of aviation security at Israel’s Transportation Ministry, told Army Radio that the ministry relies on security checks carried out by local security authorities and does not have the capacity to independently vet every passenger on every incoming flight.

The investigation remains ongoing, with authorities examining both the alleged attack plan and the security procedures that allowed Al-Hammami to serve as co-pilot on the flight.