Flydubai co-pilot attacked pilot with axe, attempted ‘terrorist’ attack, UAE says

DUBAI/JERUSALEM – The co-pilot of flydubai Flight FZ1073 attempted to carry out a terrorist attack during the flight, the United Arab Emirates Attorney-General said on Oct 3, according to the state news agency WAM.

The co-pilot was identified as Hammam al-Hammami, an Omani national, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. A second source briefed on the investigation confirmed the co-pilot’s name. The UAE authorities did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation of his identity.

While the Emirati authorities have not publicly identified the co-pilot, Israeli officials have previously said he is an Omani national. Oman has not commented on the incident.

“Investigations into the incident involving flydubai Flight FZ1073 found that the co-pilot had attempted to carry out a terrorist attack,” WAM quoted UAE Attorney-General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi as saying.

The co-pilot attacked the pilot inside the cockpit with a crash axe and attempted to take control of the aircraft, he said.

A crash axe is typically kept in the cockpit for use during emergencies.

Investigations are ongoing to determine the circumstances of the incident, the motives and any related connections, as well as to examine physical and digital evidence, Al Shamsi added. The UAE is leading the investigation. The airline is owned by Dubai’s government.

Al Shamsi’s comments were the first by the Emirati authorities to describe the incident as an attempted terrorist attack.

Disaster was averted on Sept 30 after passengers and crew subdued the co-pilot, who had attacked the captain in what Israeli officials said was an apparent attempt to crash the plane carrying more than 170 passengers and crew.

A reserve flydubai pilot travelling on the flight took control of the aircraft and landed it at Tabuk airport in north-western Saudi Arabia, where the co-pilot was detained by the Saudi authorities. The captain and co-pilot left Saudi Arabia for Abu Dhabi on the morning of Oct 1 after receiving medical clearance, the Saudi Interior Ministry said.

Flydubai said the circumstances surrounding the incident were still under investigation and that it was not in a position to comment further, a spokesperson said.

A source briefed on the investigation told Reuters on Oct 2 that Israeli officials were expected to question the co-pilot in the UAE. The source declined to say which Israeli agency or authority would take part.

An Israeli government official told Reuters earlier that Israeli investigators would take part alongside the Emirati authorities in the UAE-led investigation, which would examine what happened as well as the suspect’s motives and background.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Oct 2 that Israel was looking into whether the co-pilot had acted under anyone’s direction, warning that anyone involved would pay a “heavy price”.

Netanyahu said on Oct 1 that the co-pilot had undergone radical Islamist indoctrination and appeared suicidal, though he said a motive had not yet been established. Most of the passengers on board were Israeli nationals.

The aircraft dropped about 16,625 feet in just over 30 seconds while flying over Saudi Arabia on its journey from the UAE to Israel, according to flight-tracking data from Flightradar24. The route is popular among Israeli travellers. REUTERS