DUBAI -- The co-pilot who tried to take over a FlyDubai flight bound for Israel was inspired by the 9/11 attacks and planned to crash the aircraft into Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv to kill as many people as he could, the United Arab Emirates said Friday.
The latest statement from the U.A.E.'s attorney general offered the first detailed official timeline for the travels of Hamam al-Hammami, an Omani national living in Dubai who attacked the captain of Flight 1073 with a crash ax.
While those on board ended up saving the plane, the attack comes as the wider Middle East remains on edge over the Iran war and continuing attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen targeting Saudi Arabia. Investigators continue to probe whether al-Hammami had accomplices or other support.
The near-crash has halted flights between the U.A.E. and Israel, a cornerstone of the two countries reaching a diplomatic recognition deal in 2020. It also has become a key topic as Israel nears an election that sees Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a tight race to remain in power.
Attorney General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said al-Hammami had a "drift toward extremism and terrorism" beginning in 2017 while studying in Australia. Al Shamsi described al-Hammami as being influenced by extremists' writings and online content.
Al-Hammami "drew inspiration from the 11 September 2001 attacks, and the idea of carrying out a similar operation using an aircraft became firmly established in his thinking," Al Shamsi said in a statement carried by the U.A.E.'s state-run WAM news agency.
Al-Hammami worked for Oman Air from 2020 to 2024, Al Shamsi said. The pilot had been barred from flying at Oman Air over concerns that he harbored extremist ideology, The Wall Street Journal has reported.
Al-Hammami joined Royal Air Maroc in early 2025, working there for several months, the U.A.E. said. A Royal Air Maroc statement earlier described al-Hammami as having been turned down for a job at the North African airline after three months of preliminary training. The discrepancy between the two accounts couldn't be immediately reconciled.
Al-Hammami ultimately joined FlyDubai in January.
"He had met the professional and security requirements for employment, including holding a pilot's license, providing a certificate of good conduct and completing the required checks," the U.A.E. attorney general said. "However, none of the procedures revealed any indications of his extremist views or his intention to carry out a terrorist plot."
Before the attack on the Tel Aviv-bound flight, al-Hammami twice flew to Tel Aviv to familiarize himself with the airport and the route, planning to smash the FlyDubai Boeing 737 MAX 8 into its terminals, the U.A.E. said.
Crew and passengers aboard the flight on Sept. 30 ended up restraining al-Hammami after he attacked the plane's captain, who opened the cockpit door allowing them inside. Backup pilots safely landed the plane in Saudi Arabia after it dived at one point near the speed of sound, tearing away part of its rudder.
The U.A.E. said al-Hammami had legal counsel, but didn't identify his lawyer. It said the investigation continued into the attack.