Flydubai Co-pilot Admits Intention to Crash Plane Toward Israel

The co-pilot who attacked the captain with a weapon aboard a Flydubai passenger plane bound for Israel has reportedly confessed to intending to deliberately crash the aircraft, U.S. broadcaster ABC News reported on October 2 (local time), citing multiple sources briefed on the investigation.

According to the report, the co-pilot, identified as 29-year-old Omani national Hamam Al-Hammami, has been extradited to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and is undergoing questioning by local authorities.

Under international aviation law, jurisdiction over crimes committed aboard aircraft is primarily granted to the country of aircraft registration. Accordingly, Al-Hammami was extradited on October 1 to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, where Flydubai is registered.

Al-Hammami is reportedly cooperating with UAE authorities and has stated that he intended to crash the passenger plane in Israel.

UAE investigative authorities have classified the incident as an attempted act of terrorism and are investigating the specific circumstances, motives, and whether there were any accomplices.

Citing the UAE state-run WAM news agency, Reuters reported that UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif Al-Shamsi has classified the incident as an attempted terrorist attack.

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu classified the incident as a terrorist act by a religious extremist, claiming, "He tried to crash the plane with passengers on board."

An Israeli government official told Reuters that an Israeli investigative team is also participating in the UAE-led probe.

Meanwhile, it was revealed that Al-Hammami had previously been banned from flying in Oman due to concerns over his radical ideological tendencies.

Following the ban, he continued to work in an administrative role at Oman Air before moving to the UAE airline Flydubai. ABC News reported that how he was assigned as a co-pilot on the security-sensitive UAE-Israel route remains under investigation.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.