Omani co-pilot planned to crash flydubai jet into Tel Aviv skyscraper, tried to shut off both engines: Report

Omani co-pilot of the Tel Aviv-bound flydubai flight who allegedly attacked Indian pilot Smit Machchhar and attempted to crash the jet may have tried shutting down engines of the Boeing 737 after his plan to crash the aircraft into a building in Tel Aviv failed, Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera reported.

The co-pilot allegedly struck Captain Machchhar with an emergency axe inside the cockpit as he made an attempt to crash the jet which had 174 passengers and six crew members onboard. (REUTERS)The report narrated the minute-by-minute account of the chaos that ensued on the flight on September 30 right from the beginning when the pilots clear the security check and passengers start boarding the flight. The report added that there was nothing suspicious about the behaviour of the co-pilot who has been identified as 29-year-old Hammam al-Hammami, born to an Omani father and Syrian mother.

al-Hammami tried to kill Captain Machchhar with an axe and crash the plane by first by taking control of the yoke and then attempting to shut down both engines, the report added. However, the hero pilot managed to thwart a major aviation mishap as he helped the rest of the crew secure the aircraft and bring the situation under control.

al-Hammami had devised a plan to first kill the captain and then take control of the flight, steering it to Tel Aviv where he would crash into into city's skyscrapers, the report added citing Israeli intelligence. He had planned to act so quickly that fighter jets would have no time to scramble and intercept the aircraft, nor would authorities have time to initiate negotiations, the report added.

al-Hammami, whose past and radical views are under scanner now, allegedly struck Machchhar with an emergency axe inside the cockpit as he made an attempt to crash the jet which had 174 passengers and six crew members onboard. However, gravely injured Indian pilot managed to provide access to the crew and some passengers inside the cockpit who overpowered the co-pilot and stabilised the plane that plunged nearly 16,000 feet in 30 seconds.

The plane made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia's Tabuk from where the passengers were flown to Tel Aviv. al-Hammami was take by Saudi authorities for questioning and was later taken to the UAE where he is currently held.

Sana started her career in 2018 with News18 and later moved to BoomLive. In the meantime, she thought it was a good idea to share what she learnt, hence took up part-time teaching of journalism course at Jamia Millia Islamia, which she says, she thoroughly enjoyed-not sure if the feeling was mutual. For a year, she also tried her hands at communication roles, only to realise she was more comfortable with news. So, joined HT in September 2025. Not much of a talker, always up for chai and sarcasm. And pun always intended. Her tag line is 'I will figure out, but I need to panic first'Read More