New details about the flydubai flight — blood runs cold
The investigation has revealed that the flydubai co-pilot who attacked the captain of a flight to Israel had planned the assault before joining the airline. He intended to crash the plane into Ben Gurion Airport. Passengers and crew stopped him. Prime Minister Netanyahu ordered a review of foreign airlines' operations.
The investigation into the attack by a co-pilot on the captain of a flydubai flight from Dubai to Israel has uncovered new details. According to Israeli officials, the co-pilot, Omani citizen Hamam al-Hamami, had planned the attack before joining the airline. He specifically sought an airline that flies to Tel Aviv and applied to flydubai. The investigation is also examining his previous flight to Israel, during which he also planned to hijack the plane but did not carry out the plan, allegedly due to an acquaintance among the passengers. The attack occurred last Wednesday: the co-pilot attacked the commander with an emergency axe. Passengers and crew members stopped him. The captain, Indian citizen Smith Machhar, survived. A reserve pilot landed the plane in Saudi Arabia. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that pilots from countries without diplomatic relations with Israel should not fly to the country and ordered a review of foreign airlines' operations. The Australian counter-terrorism unit is also investigating, checking al-Hamami's ties to Australia, where he studied about ten years ago.