flydubai co-pilot planned to crash plane into skyscraper in 9/11-style attack

flydubai co-pilot Hamam al-Hammani planned to secretly kill Captain Smit Machchhar, shut down the aircraft's engines and crash the plane into a building in Tel Aviv or onto a plane at Ben Gurion Airport, investigators said.

In Short

• Israeli investigators said Hamam al-Hammani acted alone in flydubai hijacking bid
• He planned to kill Smit Machchhar, take control of aircraft and crash into building
• He may face death penalty in UAE; Machchhar recovering in Dubai hospital

flydubai co-pilot Hamam al-Hammani, who attacked Captain Smit Machchhar in the Dubai-Tel Aviv flight cockpit last week, had planned to kill him, hijack the aircraft and carry out a 9/11-style attack by crashing the plane into a skyscraper in Tel Aviv, according to investigators. An initial Israeli investigation also found that the 29-year-old Omani national acted alone in the attack, CBS News reported.

Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported that al-Hammani planned to secretly kill Machchhar, shut down the aircraft’s engines and crash the plane into a building in Tel Aviv on September 30.

al-Hammani, who is under arrest and being questioned in the UAE, told investigators that he intended to continue Flight 1073 normally after disposing of the captain, obtaining landing clearance and then crashing the aircraft into a building or another plane at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, Israeli media reported.

The co-pilot planned to wait until the aircraft was over Jordan before attempting to seize control, apparently to avoid raising the alarm and give himself enough time to carry out the attack. He planned to carry out the attack in July but abandoned it at the last moment because he was friends with a member of the crew, Israeli media reported.

The plot bore similarities to the infamous September 11, 2001, attacks, when 19 al-Qaida-trained hijackers seized control of four US passenger planes, and deliberately crashed three of them into the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Nearly 3,000 people were killed in that massacre.

ABOUT THE FLYDUBAI HIJACKING BID

On September 30, Hammami attacked Machchhar, an Indian pilot, with a crash axe in the cockpit and attempted to take control of the flight. During the struggle, the Boeing 737 MAX 8 witnessed a steep descent from around 36,000 feet to nearly 17,000 feet in about two minutes, causing extreme structural stress and stripping parts of the plane's rudder. There were 174 passengers on board.

The disaster was averted when an injured Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door, allowing the crew members and passengers to breach the flight deck and overpower the co-pilot. Two off-duty pilots who were also onboard later took control of the flight and made a safe landing at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia. The passengers were later flown to Ben Gurion Airport.

According to Israeli media, al-Hammami had visited Ben Gurion Airport several times in recent months while working for flydubai. During a visit in June, he reportedly focussed on gathering information and planning the attack.

al-Hammami may face the death penalty in the UAE for the flydubai hijacking bid. Israel's Ynet, citing a senior Emirati source, reported that the co-pilot is expected to face capital punishment, with Abu Dhabi seeking the harshest possible penalty. No formal sentence has been announced, and the investigation is still underway.

Machchhar has been praised as a hero for his heroics, with several leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump applauding the Indian pilot's bravery. Notably, PM Modi praised Machchhar's courage at an event, saying an Indian had prevented a 9/11 attack-like tragedy.

Machchhar is currently recovering at a Dubai hospital after surgery and is out of danger. He interacted with PM Modi and Netanyahu last week, and spoke at length about the sequence of events with them.

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