Dubai/Tel Aviv – The Flydubai Flight FZ1073 co-pilot, bound for Israel, attempted to carry out a ‘terrorist attack’ with an axe during the flight, the Attorney-General of the United Arab Emirates said on Saturday.
The co-pilot was identified as Hammam al-Hammami, an Omani citizen, a source with direct knowledge of the case told Reuters. A second source familiar with the investigation confirmed the co-pilot’s name. UAE authorities did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation of his identity.
The disaster was averted on Wednesday (the 30th) after passengers and crew overpowered the co-pilot, who had attacked the captain in what Israeli authorities described as an apparent attempt to bring the aircraft, which was carrying more than 170 passengers and crew, down.
Although UAE authorities and the airline had not publicly identified the co-pilot, Israeli authorities had previously stated that he is an Oman citizen. Oman did not comment on the incident.
“The investigations into the incident involving Flydubai Flight FZ1073 have revealed that the co-pilot had attempted to carry out a terrorist attack,” said Attorney-General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi in a statement released by the UAE state news agency.
The co-pilot attacked the pilot inside the cockpit with an emergency axe and attempted to take control of the aircraft, the attorney-general said.
An emergency axe is normally kept in the cockpit for use in emergencies, such as accidents.
The investigation into Flight FZ1073, including the suspect’s motives, remains ongoing, and conclusions will be released once the ‘necessary procedures’ are completed, the attorney-general said. The United Arab Emirates is leading the investigation. The airline is owned by the government of Dubai.
The attorney-general’s comments were the first by UAE investigators to describe the incident as a terrorist attack attempt. After the attorney-general’s statement was released, Anwar Gargash, a senior adviser to the president of the United Arab Emirates, said on X that the Gulf country has zero tolerance for terrorism and would not show leniency toward extremist rhetoric.
Flydubai said that the circumstances of the incident were still under investigation and that it was not able to comment further, a spokesman said on Saturday.
The majority of passengers on board were Israeli nationals.
A Flydubai reserve pilot who was traveling on the flight took control of the aircraft and landed it at Tabuk Airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia, where the co-pilot was detained by Saudi authorities.
The co-pilot was transferred from Saudi Arabia to Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
