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Flydubai Co-Pilot Planned Terror Attack on Tel Aviv Skyscraper
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Firstpost•05-10-2026, 18:03
Flydubai Co-Pilot Planned Terror Attack on Tel Aviv Skyscraper
- •Reports reveal that UAE-born Omani co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami intended to kill Indian Captain Smit Machchhar and crash a Flydubai plane into a Tel Aviv skyscraper.
- •The co-pilot planned to wait until the flight was over Jordan to seize control and fly unnoticed to Israel to avoid raising early security alerts.
- •Captain Machchhar foiled the attack by opening the cockpit doors despite being stabbed, allowing passengers to tackle and immobilize the co-pilot.
- •Oman confirmed that the co-pilot had shown an interest in extremist websites and was previously barred from its aviation sector.
- •Hammami reportedly spent months gathering intelligence on Ben Gurion Airport and is now expected to face the death penalty in the United Arab Emirates.
Key Questions Answered
According to reports citing Israeli intelligence, UAE-born Omani co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami intended to kill Indian Captain Smit Machchhar and crash Flydubai Flight 1073 into a Tel Aviv skyscraper or Ben Gurion Airport in a terror attack.
The hijacking attempt was thwarted when Captain Smit Machchhar managed to swiftly open the cockpit doors despite being stabbed, allowing a group of Israelis to tackle and immobilize the co-pilot while an off-duty pilot took over controls.
Oman stated that the suspect, Hamam al-Hammami, had shown an early interest in extremist websites and had previously been barred from working in their aviation sector, having spent much of his life abroad in the UAE and Syria.
