The co-pilot of Dubai Airline flight FZ1073 attempted to hijack the plane and crashed. After the incident subsided, the focus of the investigation turned to his qualification review

On September 30, flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv had an emergency situation in which the co-pilot tried to hijack the plane and caused the plane to crash. Fortunately, the incident ended safely. The co-pilot suspected of attacking the captain and trying to crash the passenger plane was 29-year-old Omani man Hamam Al Hammami. During his past tenure at Oman Air, he was reportedly deemed a security risk for possessing extremism-related information and was suspended from flying service.

According to comprehensive foreign media reports, sources pointed out that Hammami served as a co-pilot trainee of Oman Air in 2024. At that time, he was found to possess extremism-related information and was suspended from flying, but he was still allowed to be transferred to an administrative position in the airline. Investigators are currently tracing how he was able to join Dubai Air as a co-pilot and how he obtained the qualification to fly flights to Israel. Hammami was transferred from Saudi Arabia to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday. People familiar with the matter said that he is currently cooperating with the investigation and has told investigators that he intended to crash the passenger plane in Israel. However, the relevant motives and whether other persons were involved are still to be clarified by official investigation.

Dubai Airways, Oman Air and the Oman Embassy in the United States did not immediately respond to media inquiries. Dubai Airlines issued a statement on Friday stating that at the request of the competent authorities, it has suspended all flights to Tel Aviv until further notice; relevant units are conducting a complete investigation and the company will fully cooperate. When this incident occurred, Hammami was suspected of attacking captain Smit Machchhar in the cockpit and making the plane dive rapidly. The captain immediately resisted, and many passengers rushed forward to subdue and control the co-pilot who was suspected of attacking.

Yaniv Hayoun, an Israeli plumber, said he pulled on the controls of the plane to try to stabilize the plane until another pilot who was a passenger took over the controls. The flight finally landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Another passenger, doctor Shota Musaev, who rushed to the front of the cabin to assist, told ABC News that the co-pilot suspected of the attack was covered in blood and restrained on the floor outside the cockpit. He revealed to him that he was from Oman. Musayev also claimed that the other party once asked him to "kill me."

Israeli officials are also expected to take part in Hammami's interrogation, the sources said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed on Friday that the suspect had been influenced by "radical Islamic ideas" and said Israel was investigating whether there was any instigation. However, there is currently no public evidence to prove that the suspect was commanded by others, and the relevant claims are still to be confirmed by the results of the investigation. In addition, the online profile suspected to belong to Hammami shows that he studied aviation management at a British university and studied engineering-related courses at an Australian university. Sources from Buckinghamshire New University in the United Kingdom confirmed that Hammami completed a three-year distance course in 2023 and obtained a degree in aviation management, but emphasized that he did not receive any pilot training at the school.

The current focus of the investigation is not only the motive for the attack, but also why Hammami was able to regain his flight position and enter the cockpit of Dubai Air after he had been identified as having safety concerns in the past. Dubai Air has suspended its Tel Aviv route, and the responsibility for the aftermath of the incident and the airline's personnel safety review mechanism will also become the focus of the investigation.