Stories
Omani Co-Pilot Confesses Plan to Crash flydubai Plane into Tel Aviv Skyscraper
F
Firstpost•05-10-2026, 09:02
Omani Co-Pilot Confesses Plan to Crash flydubai Plane into Tel Aviv Skyscraper
- •Hammam al-Hammami, the Omani co-pilot, confessed to investigators his intent to deliberately crash the flydubai flight with 182 people onboard into a Tel Aviv skyscraper.
- •The co-pilot researched flights to Tel Aviv and joined flydubai in February, planning the operation even before being hired, with the dream of crashing into Ben-Gurion Airport.
- •Al-Hammami initially planned to crash the plane within Israel but deferred due to a close crew member, later intending to kill Captain Smit Machchhar and crash into a city building or the airport.
- •The co-pilot was previously fired from Oman Air in 2024 over radical views and was not selected by Royal Air Maroc; his social media revealed strong anti-women views.
- •Australia is probing al-Hammami's links to the country, where he studied at a university in Melbourne and reportedly visited radical mosques and extremist websites.
Key Questions Answered
During interrogation, Omani co-pilot Hammam al-Hammami confessed that he deliberately planned to crash the flydubai plane into Tel Aviv, with his original dream being Ben-Gurion Airport or a Tel Aviv skyscraper.
Passengers and crew intervened to stop the co-pilot after he attacked Indian Captain Smit Machchhar with an axe and disconnected the autopilot, preventing the intentional crash.
Australia launched a probe after it was revealed that al-Hammami spent about two years as a student in the country, during which time he visited radical mosques and extremist websites.
