Flydubai’s first officer was inspired by 9/11… Plane crash attempt in Israel

(Istanbul = Yonhap News) Correspondent Kim Dong-ho = The United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities announced on the 9th (local time) that the first officer who attacked the pilot with a weapon on a FlyDubai airliner bound for Israel intended to crash the aircraft into Israel's international airport.

According to WAM news agency, UAE Prosecutor General Hamad Saif Al-Shamsi announced, "The investigation revealed that this terrorist operation was intended to cause a large number of casualties by piloting an aircraft and causing a suicide bombing targeting the passenger terminal of Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv."

President Al-Shamsi said that the Omani suspect developed extremist and terrorist tendencies while studying in Australia until 2017, and was influenced by the 'Takfiri' ideology while encountering content glorifying suicide attacks. Takfiri refers to a Sunni Islamic extremist organization that was excommunicated from the traditional denomination.

“He was inspired by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and decided to carry out similar operations using airplanes,” Al-Shamsi said, adding that the suspect confessed that this intention led him to pursue a career in aviation.

Al-Shamsi explained that the suspect visited Tel Aviv, Israel, twice to reconnoitre the flight route and airport in preparation for the actual plane crash, and put this into concrete action, including hitting the captain's head with an emergency ax in the cockpit of a plane heading from the UAE to Israel on September 30. At the time, the plane experienced danger during flight, such as a sudden descent, but the first officer was overpowered and the aircraft made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

Director Alsham added that the suspect confessed in detail the motive and execution of the crime in the presence of his lawyer, and acknowledged that he committed the crime alone without an accomplice.

On the 5th, Reuters, Bloomberg News, Australia's ABC Broadcasting, and the British daily Financial Times (FT) reported that a suspect known as Hamam Al-Hammami (29), an Omani national, visited radical mosques and extremist websites while staying in Australia between 2015 and 2017.

About 9 hours after the incident, posts related to Al-Qaeda were posted on his social media accounts, including Instagram and LinkedIn, including photos of former Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, the successor to Osama bin Laden, and Al-Qaeda-linked suicide bomber Humam Khalil Abu Mural al-Balawi.

Four planes hijacked by the Islamic terrorist group Al Qaeda on September 11, 2001, 25 years ago, crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York, the Pentagon, and the Pentagon, and crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing approximately 3,000 people.