Co-pilot who went on an axe-wielding rampage in the cockpit: “Tried to crash airliner in imitation of 9/11 attacks”

[Financial News] On Sept. 30 (local time), an Omani co-pilot who attacked the captain with an axe and attempted to hijack a Flydubai airliner in the cockpit was found to have planned to crash the plane at an international airport in Israel, imitating the September 11, 2001, attacks.
On the 9th (local time), according to CNN and other foreign media, Hamad Saif Al Shamsi, the UAE attorney general, said in a statement that co-pilot Hamam Al Hammami, 29, had confessed to the motive and plan behind the crime.
Al Shamsi announced, “The investigation found that this incident was a premeditated plot to pilot an aircraft and carry out a suicide bombing targeting the passenger terminal at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, with the aim of causing the greatest possible loss of life.”
According to investigators, Al Hammami began gravitating toward extremism and terrorism while studying in Australia, sometime between 2015 and 2017. He became influenced by “Takfiri,” a Sunni Islamic extremist ideology, while immersing himself in online content that incited terrorism and glorified suicide attacks. Nine hours after the incident, photos of al-Qaeda-linked terrorists were also posted on his social media.
Al Shamsi explained that Al Hammami “had become firmly convinced that he would carry out a similar attack using an aircraft, inspired by the 9/11 attacks, and that this was why he chose to become a pilot.” He was found to have prepared physically and psychologically for the crime by intensively watching terrorist propaganda and undergoing boxing training.
It was confirmed that he had previously flown to Ben Gurion Airport twice to familiarize himself with the route and the airport. Authorities said he had worked for Oman Air and other companies since 2020 before joining Flydubai this January, and that no extremist leanings were apparent during the hiring process.
Earlier, on Sept. 30, while operating Flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv, Al Hammami attacked the Indian captain with an emergency hand axe kept in the cockpit, sending the aircraft into a steep descent. However, the captain fought back, and crew members and passengers who realized there was an emergency subdued him, thwarting the attack. The airliner made a safe emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, and all 182 passengers survived.
During questioning attended by his lawyer, Al Hammami maintained that he had acted alone, but UAE investigators are continuing their inquiries, including into the possibility of third-party involvement.


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