Report: Fly Dubai co-pilot confessed he intended to crash plane in Israel

Fly Dubai co-pilot Hammam al-Hammami told investigators he intended to crash the aircraft in Israel, according to ABC, while reports reveal he was previously barred from Oman Air flights due to extremism concerns, and the Attorney General in the UAE confirms he began carrying out a terrorist act.

According to CNN and ABC, the suspect is Hammam al-Hammami, a 29-year-old Omani citizen born in the United Arab Emirates to an Omani father and Syrian mother. Sources briefed on investigative details told ABC that al-Hammami is cooperating with investigators and told them he intended to crash the aircraft in Israel.

The Attorney General of the United Arab Emirates, Dr. Hamad Saif al-Shammari, confirmed that the investigation into Fly Dubai flight FZ1073 revealed that the co-pilot began carrying out a terrorist act. According to him, the co-pilot attacked the aircraft captain inside the cockpit with an emergency axe and attempted to take control of the aircraft, and the investigation is continuing.

According to senior intelligence and law enforcement officials who spoke with ABC, already in 2024, during his training for the co-pilot position at Oman Air, extremist materials were found in his possession, and he was suspended from flights and reassigned to an administrative position. According to his LinkedIn profile, since deleted, he worked for Oman Air until February 2025 and subsequently for Royal Air Maroc, and an Israeli official told CNN that he worked for Fly Dubai for only eight months.

Nine hours after the incident, two posts appeared on his LinkedIn profile, and it is unclear who posted them. The first included a video showing El Al aircraft, and at the end featured images of former al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri and suicide bomber Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi. An Israeli official told CNN that the Shin Bet, Mossad, the IDF and the Transportation Ministry are examining how al-Hammami was assigned to the flight crew.