Omani co-pilot plotted July flydubai attack, delayed it due to crew member friend
Months before attacking his captain, Indian pilot Smit Machchhar, Omani co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami had planned to hijack a flydubai flight to Tel Aviv in July but abandoned the plot because he was friends with a crew member of the airline, Reuters reported.
Al-Hammami, who had joined the Dubai-based airline in February, planned a 9/11-style attack, by crashing the Dubai-Tel Aviv flight FZ1073 at a skyscraper in Tel Aviv or at the Ben Gurion Airport on September 30, a source with knowledge of the UAE investigation told Reuters. Al-Hammami told UAE investigators that he planned the September 30 attack before joining flydubai, said two Israeli officials with knowledge of the probe.
Israeli media reports said al-Hammami had visited Ben Gurion Airport several times in recent months while working for flydubai. During a visit in June, he gathered information and planned the attack.
According to two Israeli officials, al-Hammami told UAE interrogators that he applied for a job at flydubai after searching for airlines that operated flights to Tel Aviv.
The revelations have raised fresh questions about how he was able to join flydubai and operate the Tel Aviv route despite earlier concerns about him, particularly his radical views.OMANI CO-PILOT A 'RED FLAG'?
A Wall Street Journal report said that Omani authorities had scrutinised al-Hammami's online activity and concluded that he showed too much interest in radical ideology to continue flying for Oman Air, where he worked earlier. He was barred from flying, sent through a deradicalisation programme and moved to a desk job.
People familiar with the matter told the newspaper that Oman did not broadly share those concerns with other authorities or airlines. flydubai hired him in February and apparently did not contact Oman to vet his previous employment.
The case has also raised questions over Israeli aviation security.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said citizens of countries with which Israel has no diplomatic relations, including Oman, are not permitted to operate flights to Israel. It remains unclear how al-Hammami came to be assigned to the Tel Aviv route. He has ordered a security review of foreign airlines flying to Israel.WHAT HAPPENED ON FLYDUBAI FLIGHT?
Al-Hammami attacked Machchhar in the cockpit with an emergency crash axe while the aircraft was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv on September 30. During the struggle, the Boeing 737 MAX 8 went into a dramatic descent, losing more than 16,000 feet in just over 30 seconds before recovering.
The aircraft transmitted emergency signals indicating a general emergency and unlawful interference. The flight was carrying 174 people, most of them Israeli passengers.
Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door despite being injured, allowing passengers to overpower al-Hammami. Two off-duty pilots travelling as passengers then took control of the aircraft, which landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Israeli and UAE authorities have described the incident as a βterrorist attackβ.
The Omani co-pilot had planned to wait until the aircraft was over Jordan before attempting to seize control, apparently to avoid raising an alarm and give himself enough time to carry out the attack.
Al-Hammami may face the death penalty in the UAE. Israel's Ynet, citing a senior Emirati source, reported that he is expected to face capital punishment, with Abu Dhabi seeking the harshest possible penalty. No formal sentence has been announced and the investigation remains underway.- Ends(with inputs from Reuters)
