What Was the Flydubai Co-Pilot Really Trying to Do?
News Desk
DUBAI/TEL AVIV: A preliminary investigation into an alleged attempt to hijack a Flydubai passenger aircraft travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv has raised a more troubling possibility: that the aircraft’s co-pilot may have intended to steer the plane toward Israel’s main international gateway, Ben Gurion Airport.
According to CNN, Israeli officials and a source familiar with the investigation said early findings indicate that Omani co-pilot Hammam Al-Hammami may have intended to target Ben Gurion Airport. However, the investigation remains at an early stage, and authorities have yet to establish his precise motives or determine whether the alleged plan went beyond the reported attempt to seize control of the aircraft.
Al-Hammami was serving as co-pilot when he allegedly attacked the aircraft’s captain, Sumit Machhar, in an attempt to take control of the flight. The captain, assisted by several passengers, reportedly managed to overpower him and regain control of the aircraft.
The incident has nevertheless left investigators facing a central question: if Ben Gurion Airport was the suspected target, why did the alleged attack on the captain occur while the aircraft was still flying over Saudi Arabian airspace?
That question is likely to remain central as investigators reconstruct the sequence of events and examine the suspect’s intentions, actions and possible preparations.
Israeli fighter jets scrambled
The incident occurred on September 30, when Israeli authorities received a potential hijacking alert involving the passenger aircraft.
Israeli fighter jets were subsequently deployed as a precautionary measure. Officials said the response was part of standard security procedures whenever a possible hijacking threat involving a civilian aircraft is detected.
Israeli TV Channel 12 was reportedly the first to raise the possibility that Ben Gurion Airport could have been the intended target.
The United Arab Emirates has since been sharing information related to the investigation with Israel. UAE authorities are examining not only the alleged motive but also how the suspect was able to reach the cockpit and allegedly attempt to take control of the aircraft despite the stringent aviation-security procedures maintained by both countries.
Security procedures under scrutiny
The incident has also exposed questions about how foreign airline crews are screened before entering Israeli airspace.
The Israeli Tax Authority confirmed that the names of all passengers and crew members were already available to Israeli authorities before the flight departed. Questions concerning the vetting of crew members, however, were referred to Israel’s Ministry of Transport.
Israel’s internal security agency, Shin Bet, declined to comment and directed inquiries to the ministry.
The Ministry of Transport said existing procedures do not include specific security vetting of foreign airline crew members’ names. It said crew details are nevertheless provided to the Israeli Tax Authority, allowing relevant security agencies to access the information when required.
The ministry also said crew members are required to possess visas permitting entry into Israel and that Al-Hammami’s Omani passport should have been visible during check-in.
But there is a significant gap in the existing protocols: authorities acknowledged that procedures do not specifically address the potential “threat posed by a pilot.”
That admission could become an important element of the investigation, particularly if authorities conclude that the suspect’s position inside the cockpit was central to the alleged attempt.
Alleged extremist background
Investigators are currently leaning toward the assessment that Al-Hammami acted alone.
Israeli authorities have reportedly found no evidence so far linking him to a terrorist organisation or indicating that he received external training, financing or operational assistance.
UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi described the incident as a “terrorist act,” saying the co-pilot allegedly attempted to seize control of the aircraft after attacking his colleague.
Reports have also emerged about Al-Hammami’s previous career in aviation. He had reportedly been removed from the pilot-training track at Oman’s national airline and reassigned to administrative duties after concerns were raised about alleged extremist views.
Those reports, if confirmed, could add another layer to questions surrounding how he was subsequently able to serve as a co-pilot on an international passenger flight.
Questions beyond cockpit
The alleged incident has now become more than a question of whether one crew member attempted to hijack an aircraft. It has raised broader questions about aviation security, cockpit access, crew screening and the ability of security agencies to identify potential threats before an aircraft takes off.
At the same time, authorities have yet to establish whether Al-Hammami actually intended to crash or redirect the aircraft toward Ben Gurion Airport, or whether that possibility emerged from preliminary evidence that could change as the investigation progresses.
For now, the unanswered questions remain as significant as the confirmed events:
What motivated the co-pilot? Why was the captain attacked over Saudi airspace?
Was Ben Gurion Airport genuinely the intended target?
And how did a pilot reportedly flagged for extremist views reach the cockpit of an international passenger flight?
Flydubai has declined to comment while the investigation remains ongoing.
