The United Arab Emirates’ public prosecution has revealed that a Flydubai co-pilot planned to deliberately crash a passenger aircraft into Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport in a premeditated suicide attack. The 29-year-old Omani co-pilot, inspired by the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, allegedly intended to cause mass casualties at the Israeli airport.
Attorney General Hamad Al Shamsi announced on Friday that the investigation into the September 30 incident involving flight FZ1073, en route from Dubai to Tel Aviv, uncovered the suspect’s confession of planning an attack similar to the 9/11 hijackings. The suspect reportedly pursued a career in aviation with this objective in mind. Authorities continue to probe the circumstances of the event and whether others were involved.
the findings, the co-pilot attacked the captain with an emergency axe and attempted to seize control of the plane. The aircraft was diverted to Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia, where it landed safely after passengers and crew intervened to restrain the suspect.
Investigators traced the suspect’s radicalisation back to 2017 during his studies in Melbourne, Australia. During this period, he was exposed to extremist literature and online content glorifying terrorist groups and suicide attacks. He also attended a mosque affiliated with the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, where he allegedly connected with individuals linked to a centre managed by a Lebanese man known as “Abu Hamza,” who reportedly had ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
The suspect’s employment history includes working for Oman Air from 2020 to 2024, a brief stint with Royal Air Maroc in 2025, and joining Flydubai in January 2026. Investigators discovered that he had operated two previous flights to Tel Aviv, which he allegedly used to scout the route and airport ahead of the attempted attack.
Earlier reports indicated that the suspect had planned the attack before joining Flydubai. He had selected an airline flying to Tel Aviv as part of his plan to crash a plane into Ben Gurion Airport. He had also considered hijacking and crashing an earlier flight to Tel Aviv but abandoned that plan, possibly due to knowing someone on board, though the reasons remain unclear.
On September 30, the co-pilot’s attack on the captain, Indian national Smit Machchhar, inside the cockpit with an emergency crash axe led to a struggle that endangered the flight. Despite being seriously injured, Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to intervene. A pilot travelling as a passenger also helped gain access to the cockpit. The suspect was restrained, and the plane safely diverted to Tabuk, where passengers continued their journey to Israel on a replacement aircraft.
The UAE prosecution is examining recordings, technical reports, and other evidence to fully understand the incident and determine if the suspect acted alone or had accomplices. The suspect remains in UAE custody, with formal charges yet to be publicly announced. The investigation is ongoing to clarify all aspects of the case.
