Two Israeli officials with knowledge of the investigation confirmed that the co-pilot of a Flydubai plane, who stabbed its captain in a suspected attempt to shoot down the plane last week, told Emirati investigators that he planned the attack before being employed by the company.
A third source, familiar with the Emirati investigation, confirmed to Reuters news agency that the co-pilot, an Omani citizen, was planning to crash the plane that was heading, on Wednesday, to Ben Gurion Airport, near Tel Aviv. The source added that he led a flight to Tel Aviv, earlier in the year, and intended to hijack the plane and crash it at the time, but decided not to do so.
It is not yet clear why the co-pilot changed his mind on that previous flight, but the source stated that it is believed that he knew someone on the plane.
All sources spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the investigation.
The UAE Attorney General said that the co-pilot on board Flydubai flight No. FZ 1073, which was heading from Dubai to Israel, last Wednesday, attacked the pilot with an emergency ax, and described the incident as a “terrorist operation.”
Two sources said that the co-pilot was an Omani named Humam Al-Hammami. Israeli officials did not mention the name of the co-pilot, but said he was from the Sultanate of Oman. Neither the UAE authorities nor Flydubai publicly revealed the identity of the co-pilot.
The UAE has not announced any official charges against him, and it is not known whether he has appointed a lawyer to defend him. Oman did not comment on the incident.
The two Israeli officials said that the co-pilot told investigators that he applied for a job with Flydubai after searching for airlines that operate flights to Tel Aviv.
An Australian anti-terrorism unit, which includes several agencies, is investigating the co-pilot's links to Australia, as he was previously enrolled at RMIT University in Melbourne, Victoria.
A fourth source said that the co-pilot studied there about 10 years ago.
In turn, RMIT University reported that the co-pilot, affiliated with Flydubai, did not complete his university studies in Australia. Bloomberg News Agency quoted the university as saying, in a statement issued today, Monday, that Humam Al Hamami, the Omani co-pilot, was enrolled to study at the university, but he did not complete the requirements for obtaining a qualification in engineering.
His time in Australia has become the focus of attention, as investigators are currently examining whether his period of residence there contributed to his extremism.
The university stated that it was “aware of media reports that spoke of a former student allegedly involved in the Flydubai flight incident,” adding that it could not reveal further details due to the ongoing investigations.
A disaster was averted on board Flight FZ 1073, after the passengers and crew were able to control the co-pilot. Indian pilot Smit Machhar survived the attack and was hailed as a hero for opening the cockpit door. There were more than 170 passengers and crew members on board, most of them Israelis.
A reserve pilot from Flydubai, who was traveling on the flight, took control of the plane and landed it at Tabuk Airport, northwestern Saudi Arabia, where the authorities detained the co-pilot, and he was later transferred to the Emirates, on Thursday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that pilots who hold the citizenship of countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel, such as Oman, are not allowed to fly flights to Israel. It is not yet clear how the co-pilot was assigned to participate in the flight to Tel Aviv, and Netanyahu has since ordered a review of foreign airlines operating flights to Israel.
