The co-pilot who attacked the captain of a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv last week in an alleged attempt to crash the plane has told investigators that he planned the attack before being hired by the airline “Flydubai“, two Israeli officials familiar with the investigation told Reuters, BTA reported.
A third source said the detained pilot, an Omani citizen, had intended to crash the plane into “Ben Gurion“ airport near Tel Aviv. He had also taken part in a flight to Tel Aviv earlier this year, when he also intended to hijack and crash the plane, but ultimately backed out, the source added.
It is not yet clear what prompted him to back down on the previous flight, the source told Reuters.
Reuters noted that authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel, as well as the airline “Flydubai“ did not respond to its request for comment.
The co-pilot of flight FZ1073 attacked the captain of the plane with a crash axe, the UAE's attorney general said, calling the incident a “terrorist attack“.
According to two sources, the co-pilot is an Omani citizen named Hammam al-Hamami. Israeli authorities have not yet released the name of the co-pilot, but have confirmed that he is from Oman.
The UAE authorities and the airline “Flydubai“ have not publicly disclosed information about the identity of the co-pilot.
Reuters was unable to contact Al Hammami, who is in custody. The UAE has not announced any formal charges against the detained pilot and it is not known whether he has been assigned a lawyer.
Omani authorities have not commented on the incident.
According to the two Israeli sources, the co-pilot told Reuters during interrogation that he had applied for a job at the state-owned airline “Flydubai“ and that he wanted to take a job with an airline that flies to Tel Aviv.
The third source said that Israel is receiving constant updates on the investigation from the UAE.
The tragedy on board flight FZ1073 was prevented thanks to the actions of passengers and crew members who managed to neutralize the co-pilot. The captain of the flight - Indian citizen Smith Machar, survived the attack and was declared a hero because he managed to open the cockpit door. There were more than 170 passengers and crew members on board the plane, most of them Israelis.
The plane was taken over by a backup pilot of “Flydubai“, who was on board. The plane eventually landed at Tabuk airport in northern Saudi Arabia, where the co-pilot was detained by Saudi authorities and later transferred to the UAE.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that pilots who are not citizens of countries that have diplomatic relations with Israel are prohibited from flying to the country. In light of this, it is unclear how the co-pilot was allowed to take part in the flight to Tel Aviv. Netanyahu has already ordered a review of foreign airlines flying to Israel.
Australia's counter-terrorism unit has begun investigating the co-pilot's ties to Australia, as it was found that he had studied at a university in Melbourne years ago. A fourth source said the Omani pilot had studied there about a decade ago.