The Omani co-pilot who attempted to crash flydubai Flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Sept. 30 initially planned to fly the plane into the passenger terminal at Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport, aiming to kill as many people as possible, Emirati Attorney-General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi was cited as saying on Friday by the country’s state news agency.
The 29-year-old suspect, Hamam al-Hammami, is currently detained in the United Arab Emirates, which is leading the investigation into the terrorist attack, with the expected participation of Israeli authorities, according to Reuters.
The co-pilot is saying that he acted without the involvement of others, but investigations are still underway to verify this claim, the attorney-general said.
In addition, findings show that the suspect had used two previous flights to Tel Aviv to familiarize himself with the flight route and the airport as part of his preparations for the terrorist plot to be carried out on Sept. 30.
Investigators have found that the co-pilot began his path toward jihadism in 2017 while he was studying in Australia, UAE’s top prosecutor continued.
He regularly attended a mosque affiliated with the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) that allegedly received support from an association linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, according to Al Shamsi.
During that period, the suspect read “extremist literature” and followed online content glorifying Islamist elements and suicide attacks, Al Shamsi relayed, per Emirates News Agency (WAM).
In particular, he was influenced by Takfiri ideology, a sectarian doctrine within Salafi-jihadism centered on the practice of takfir—the act of declaring a fellow Muslim to be an apostate or infidel.
The suspect also drew inspiration from the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, which were the underlying decision for his choice of career in aviation, he confessed, according to WAM.
His history showed employment as a pilot by Oman Air from 2020 to 2024, by Royal Air Maroc in early 2025 for several months, and flydubai from January and onward, the attorney-general said.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog sent a letter to Capt. Smit Machchhar expressing “deep gratitude” for his role in averting a catastrophe after he was severely wounded in the terrorist attack aboard the Sept. 30 flydubai flight, the President’s Office in Jerusalem said on Saturday night.
“Your ability to find the strength to rise above the pain, to combat the immediate threat to your life, and to operate sound judgment demonstrates the strength of your character and the great valor you possess,” Herzog wrote.
Machchhar received the letter while recovering in the hospital.
On Oct. 2, he recounted the dramatic moments midair, speaking for the first time in public in the wake of the attack.
“I had so many injuries, but I told myself that I had to get up and act,” Machchhar said. “At that moment, I pushed myself to open the cockpit door. I fought for my life. I understood that if I did not show courage, 170 passengers would lose their lives.”
The Boeing 737 MAX aircraft was carrying 182 people—174 passengers and eight crew members—when the co-pilot grabbed the emergency crash ax inside the cockpit to attack Machchhar while over Saudi airspace.
According to the Emirati attorney-general, a pilot assigned to the return flight sat near the cockpit when the attack began. The repeated opening and closing of the cockpit door raised his suspicions. He used the access code to enter the cockpit and witnessed what was happening inside.
Together with a cabin crew member and several passengers, the return pilot restrained the assailant and rescued the injured pilot, according to Al Shamsi.
Passengers to pursue compensation
Meanwhile in Israel, passengers who were aboard the flydubai Flight FZ1073 are preparing to file massive lawsuits against the airline, the State of Israel, and other parties, financial outlet Calcalist reported on Sunday morning.
The passengers have appointed a committee to handle dealings with the authorities, with lawsuits expected to amount to hundreds of millions of dollars, the report said.
Some 100 of the flight’s 174 passengers have submitted powers of attorney authorizing the committee to represent them, with others yet to decide whether to join the effort or pursue compensation independently, according to Calcalist.
Zvika Mans, CEO of Bank Leumi’s underwriting company, Barak Leumi, an investment-banking operation, who was on the flight, has been appointed head of the committee.
The initiative began in a WhatsApp group formed by the passengers while the flight was arriving at Ben-Gurion Airport, the report added.
