Omani co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami, accused of attempting to crash a flydubai flight last week, has reportedly told UAE interrogators that he wanted to act in “revenge for Gaza” and die as a “martyr”, according to Israeli media reports.
Israel’s Shin Bet security agency has sent interrogators to the United Arab Emirates to participate in the questioning of al-Hammami, who is accused of attempting to carry out a terrorist attack aboard a Dubai-Tel Aviv flight, The Times of Israel reported, citing Israeli officials familiar with the investigation.
Motive behind flydubai incident
According to two Israeli officials cited by the report, al-Hammami told UAE investigators that he had planned to crash the aircraft into Ben Gurion Airport even before he was hired by Dubai-owned flydubai.
Channel 12, citing two Israeli officials, reported that al-Hammami said he was acting “in revenge for Gaza” and wanted to “die as a martyr”.
A source briefed on the UAE investigation reportedly said al-Hammami had previously operated a flight to Tel Aviv earlier this year and had considered hijacking and crashing that aircraft but ultimately abandoned the plan.
The Israeli broadcaster further reported that a Mossad official told Israeli Cabinet ministers on Sunday that al-Hammami had made brief visits in recent years to several countries hostile to Israel.
The two Israeli officials said al-Hammami told interrogators that he applied to work for flydubai after searching for airlines operating flights to Tel Aviv.
A third source said Israel was being kept continuously informed by the UAE about the investigation. The UAE prosecutor general has described the incident as a “terrorist attack”.
How the attack was foiled
The September 30 attack was thwarted after passengers and crew overpowered al-Hammami following his attack on Indian captain Smit Machchhar with an emergency crash axe while the aircraft was flying over Jordan.
According to a timeline reported by Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, al-Hammami had requested a prayer break shortly before attacking Machchhar.
Despite being injured, Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door and alert an off-duty pilot travelling in the passenger cabin. Passengers then rushed into the cockpit and helped subdue al-Hammami.
After his initial attempt was disrupted, al-Hammami allegedly tried to crash the aircraft into the desert by forcing it into a steep descent and attempting to damage the controls.
Two off-duty pilots travelling as passengers then took control of the aircraft and issued an emergency alert before diverting the flight to Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia. The aircraft landed safely at 10.57 am.
The flydubai flight was carrying more than 170 passengers and crew, most of them Israeli, when the incident occurred.
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