Flydubai co-pilot plotted ‘suicide’ attack on Israel, UAE says

Attorney General says suspect admitted he acted alone after preparing ‌‌psychologically ‌‌and physically for the attack.

Emirati investigators said they examined Flydubai's recruiting procedures and found the suspect had met all professional and security requirements [File: Ammar Awad/Reuters]

Authorities in the United Arab Emirates say the co-pilot who tried to seize control of a Flydubai aircraft on September 30 was on a “suicide” mission to crash the plane at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv.

Emirati public prosecutors believe the plan “drew inspiration from the 9/11 attack”, Attorney General Hamad ⁠⁠Saif al-Shamsi said in a statement carried by state news agency WAM on Friday, referring to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

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WAM reported al-Shamsi’s comments as well as updates on what Emirati investigators had discovered about the alleged plot after launching an inquiry into the incident on October 1.

They found that the ⁠⁠29-year-old suspect had used two previous flights to Tel Aviv to “familiarise himself with the flight route and the ⁠⁠airport”, WAM reported.

The attorney general said the suspect had worked for several airlines in ‌‌different countries, including Oman Air and Royal Air Maroc, before ‌‌joining ‌‌Flydubai in January.

Investigators examined Flydubai’s recruiting procedures and found the suspect had met all professional and security requirements, including holding a pilot’s licence and providing a certificate of good conduct.

“However, none of the procedures revealed any ⁠⁠indications of his extremist views or his intention to carry out a terrorist plot,” the statement said.

Al-Shamsi’s statement did not appear to implicate Flydubai in any wrongdoing, and contained the most detailed account yet from prosecutors about what they believe to have happened.

UAE officials ‌‌have not identified the suspect, who is accused of attacking his co-pilot, the captain of the Dubai-Tel Aviv flight that was carrying 174 people on board. But people with direct knowledge of the matter have identified him as Hamam al-Hammami, an Omani national, both the Reuters and Associated Press news agencies reported.

Al-Shamsi said the suspect had told investigators he had prepared ‌‌psychologically ‌‌and physically for the attack by viewing material promoting “terrorism” and taking boxing lessons.

The findings indicated that “signs of his drift towards extremism and terrorism first emerged in 2017, while he was studying in Australia”, the statement said.

It added that the suspect “admitted that he had acted alone, without the involvement of others”, and that he “provided a detailed confession outlining his motives and the stages of planning and execution” in the presence of his lawyer.

What happened on the Flydubai flight?

At 7:05am (03:05 GMT) on September 30, Flight FZ1073 departed Dubai for Tel Aviv, climbing to 34,000ft (more than 10,300 metres), according to Flightradar24. A little more than two hours later, it suddenly began a steep descent.

Flight-tracking data showed the plane plunging more than 17,000 feet in about two minutes, before climbing and descending again.

A fight had begun in the cockpit between the two pilots after the co-pilot stabbed the Indian captain of the plane, Smit Machchhar.

Machchhar later described finding himself seriously wounded on the cockpit floor as the aircraft descended.

Passengers and crew members reportedly entered the cabin and overpowered the co-pilot. The aircraft eventually levelled out at about 15,000 feet. Its transponder was subsequently switched to code 7500, signalling unlawful interference.

Two reserve pilots who were on board took control of the jet and landed it in Tabuk, northwestern Saudi Arabia. The plane landed safely at 9:45am local time (06:45 GMT).

Saudi authorities said both pilots were taken to hospital and were later transferred to Abu Dhabi after being medically cleared.

司法部长称，嫌疑人承认自己在心理和生理上为袭击做好了准备，然后单独行动。

阿联酋调查人员表示，他们审查了迪拜航空的招聘程序，发现嫌疑人符合所有专业和安全要求。[图片：Ammar Awad/路透社]

阿联酋当局表示，9 月 30 日试图夺取 Flydubai 飞机控制权的副驾驶执行的是“自杀式”任务，目的是将飞机撞向以色列特拉维夫的本古里安机场。

阿联酋总检察长哈马德·赛义夫·沙姆西周五在一份由阿联酋通讯社WAM发布的声明中表示，阿联酋公共检察官认为该计划“受到了9/11袭击的启发”，他指的是2001年9月11日美国遭受的袭击。

列表 1/3：关于 Flydubai 袭击事件，人们提出了哪五个问题？

列表 2/3 Flydubai：当飞机从 17,000 英尺高空骤降时会发生什么？

警方正在调查迪拜航空副驾驶与澳大利亚的关系（共3条，此为第3条）。

阿联酋通讯社 (WAM) 报道了沙姆西的评论，以及阿联酋调查人员在 10 月 1 日对该事件展开调查后发现的有关所谓阴谋的最新情况。

据 WAM 报道，他们发现这名 29 岁的嫌疑人曾两次飞往特拉维夫，“以便熟悉航线和机场”。

总检察长表示，该嫌疑人曾在不同国家的几家航空公司工作过，包括阿曼航空和摩洛哥皇家航空，之后于 1 月份加入迪拜航空。

调查人员检查了迪拜航空的招聘程序，发现嫌疑人符合所有专业和安全要求，包括持有飞行员执照和提供良好行为证明。

声明称：“然而，所有程序均未发现任何迹象表明他持有极端主义观点或意图实施恐怖袭击。”

沙姆西的声明似乎并未牵涉到迪拜航空的任何不当行为，并且包含了检察官迄今为止对他们认为发生的事情的最详细的描述。

阿联酋官员尚未公布嫌疑人身份，他被控袭击了载有174人的迪拜飞往特拉维夫航班的副驾驶兼机长。但据路透社和美联社报道，知情人士透露，嫌疑人是阿曼公民哈马姆·哈马米。

沙姆西表示，嫌疑人告诉调查人员，他通过观看宣传“恐怖主义”的材料和参加拳击课程，在心理和生理上为袭击做好了准备。

声明称，调查结果表明，“他走向极端主义和恐怖主义的迹象最早出现在 2017 年，当时他还在澳大利亚学习”。

声明还补充说，嫌疑人“承认自己是单独作案，没有其他人参与”，并且在律师在场的情况下“提供了详细的供述，概述了他的作案动机以及计划和实施的各个阶段”。

Flydubai航班上发生了什么事？

根据 Flightradar24 的数据，9 月 30 日上午 7 点 05 分（格林尼治标准时间 03:05），FZ1073 航班从迪拜起飞前往特拉维夫，爬升至 34,000 英尺（超过 10,300 米）。两个多小时后，飞机突然开始陡峭下降。

飞行跟踪数据显示，飞机在两分钟内骤降超过 17000 英尺，然后又爬升并下降。

副驾驶刺伤了飞机上的印度籍机长斯米特·马赫查尔后，两名飞行员在驾驶舱内发生了争执。

马赫查尔后来描述说，飞机下降时，他发现自己身负重伤倒在驾驶舱地板上。

据报道，乘客和机组人员进入客舱并制服了副驾驶。飞机最终在约15000英尺的高度平稳飞行。随后，其应答器切换至7500代码，表明遭到非法干扰。

机上两名备用飞行员接管了飞机，并将其降落在沙特阿拉伯西北部的塔布克。飞机于当地时间上午9点45分（格林尼治标准时间06:45）安全着陆。

沙特当局表示，两名飞行员均被送往医院，经医疗检查合格后被转移到阿布扎比。