Hammam al-Hammami: Flydubai co-pilot attacked pilot with axe in attempted 'terrorist attack'

The co-pilot of Israel bound flydubai flight attempted to carry out a “terrorist attack” with an axe during the flight, the United Arab Emirates prosecutor general said on Saturday.

The co-pilot was identified as Hammam al-Hammami, an Omani national, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

A second source briefed on the investigation confirmed the co-pilot’s name. UAE authorities did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation of his identity.

Disaster was averted on Wednesday after passengers and crew subdued the co-pilot, who had attacked the captain in what Israeli officials said was an apparent attempt to crash the plane carrying more than 170 passengers and crew.

While Emirati authorities and the airline have not publicly identified the co-pilot, Israeli officials have previously said he is an Omani national. Oman has not commented on the incident.

“Investigations into the incident involving flydubai flight FZ1073 found that the co-pilot had attempted to carry out a terrorist attack,” Prosecutor General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said in a statement carried by the UAE's state news agency.

• Oman banned Flydubai co-pilot over radical views, U.S. media reports

The co-pilot attacked the pilot inside the cockpit with a crash axe and attempted to take control of the aircraft, the prosecutor general said.

A crash axe is typically kept in the cockpit for use during emergencies such as crashes.

The investigation into the flight FZ1073, including the suspect's motives, is ongoing, and the findings will be released once the “necessary procedures” have been completed, the prosecutor general said.

The UAE is leading the investigation as the airline is owned by Dubai's government.

Most passengers on flight were Israeli

The prosecutor general's comments were the first by Emirati investigators to describe the incident as an attempted terrorist attack.

Following the release of the prosecutor general's statement, Anwar Gargash, a senior adviser to the UAE president, said on X that the Gulf country had zero tolerance for terrorism and would show no leniency toward extremist rhetoric.

Flydubai said the circumstances surrounding the incident were still under investigation and that it was not in a position to comment further, a spokesperson said on Saturday.

In his first public comments on the incident, flydubai Chief Executive Ghaith al Ghaith on Friday said that the flight diverted after a “safety incident” inside the cockpit.

Most of the passengers on board were Israeli nationals.

A reserve flydubai pilot travelling on the flight took control of the aircraft and landed it at Tabuk airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia, where the co-pilot was detained by Saudi authorities.

An Israeli government official told Reuters on Friday that Israeli investigators would take part alongside Emirati authorities in the UAE-led investigation, seeking to determine what happened and examine the suspect's motives and background.

• Netanyahu says Israel may participate in flydubai attack investigation
• Passengers restrain co-pilot accused of trying to crash flydubai flight, Netanyahu says

Israel does not have official diplomatic relations with Oman, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said pilots from such countries were not permitted ​to operate flights to Israel. It was ​not clear how the co-pilot came ⁠to be assigned to the flight to Tel Aviv.

The aircraft dropped about 16,625 feet in just more than 30 seconds while flying over Saudi Arabia on its journey from the UAE to Israel, according to flight-tracking data from Flightradar24. 

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flydubai UAE Dubai Saudi Arabia Israel Middle East Aviation