Flydubai Co-Pilot Inspired by 9/11 Attempted to Crash Plane into Israel

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities stated on the 9th (local time) that the co-pilot who attacked the captain with a weapon on a Flydubai passenger plane bound for Israel intended to crash the aircraft into an international airport in Israel.

According to WAM, UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif Al-Shamsi announced, "The investigation revealed that this terrorist operation aimed to pilot the aircraft to carry out a suicide bombing targeting the passenger terminal of Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, causing massive casualties."

Al-Shamsi stated that the suspect, an Omani national, developed extremist and terrorist tendencies while studying in Australia until 2017, and became influenced by "Takfiri" ideology after being exposed to content glorifying suicide attacks.

Takfiri refers to Sunni extremist groups excommunicated from traditional religious orders.

Al-Shamsi said, "He was inspired by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and solidified the idea of carrying out a similar operation using an airplane," adding that the suspect confessed he pursued a career in aviation precisely because of this intention.

Al-Shamsi explained that the suspect visited Tel Aviv, Israel twice to reconnoiter flight paths and the airport for the actual plane crash attack, and put this into concrete action on September 30 by striking the captain's head with an emergency axe inside the cockpit of a flight heading from the UAE to Israel.

At the time, the flight experienced dangers such as a sudden dive during operation, but after the co-pilot was subdued, the aircraft made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

Al-Shamsi added that the suspect confessed in detail to the motive and execution process of the crime in the presence of legal counsel, and admitted to acting alone without accomplices.

On the 5th, Reuters, Bloomberg, Australia's ABC, and the UK's Financial Times (FT) reported that the suspect, identified as Omani national Hammam Al-Hammami (29), visited radical mosques and extremist websites while staying in Australia from 2015 to 2017.

About nine hours after the incident, posts related to al-Qaeda—such as photos of former al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, the successor to Osama bin Laden, and al-Qaeda-linked suicide bomber Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi—were uploaded to his social media accounts, including Instagram and LinkedIn.

Twenty-five years ago on September 11, 2001, four planes hijacked by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York, the PENTAGON building of the U.S. Department of Defense, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing about 3,000 people.

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