UAE prosecutor says Flydubai cockpit attack was attempted terror attack
In short
A second pilot attacked the captain of a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv on 30 September, and the aircraft declared an emergency and landed at Tabuk in Saudi Arabia. The UAE attorney general called it an attempted terrorist attack and said the captain was wounded with an emergency axe. The suspect, identified by ABC News and CNN as 29-year-old Omani citizen Hammam Al Hammami, is cooperating with the investigation and has said he intended to crash the plane in Israel.
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UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi said a second pilot on a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv wounded the captain with an emergency axe kept in the cockpit and tried to take control of the aircraft, calling the 30 September incident an attempted terrorist attack, according to the state news agency WAM. He did not give the pilot's motive, Meduza reported. [ 2 ]
ABC News and CNN identified the suspect as Hammam Al Hammami, a 29-year-old Omani citizen, Kommersant and Meduza reported. He is cooperating with the UAE investigation and has said he intended to crash the aircraft in Israel, according to the two outlets. [ 1 , 2 ]
The aircraft declared an emergency and landed at Tabuk in Saudi Arabia. Several passengers subdued the attacker and levelled the aircraft, and the cockpit door was not locked, allowing two reserve-crew pilots travelling among the passengers to enter and take the controls, according to reports on the incident cited by Kommersant. [ 1 ]
Before Flydubai, the suspect worked as a second-pilot trainee at Oman Air in 2024, where he was removed from flight practice after “extremist materials” were found but allowed to continue in an administrative role, ABC News and CNN reported. CBS News sources said he was barred from flying at Oman Air for visiting radical websites, resigned after being moved to office work, and that Flydubai later hired him without checking his records in Oman. [ 1 , 2 ]
He then worked at Royal Air Maroc from June 2025 to January 2026 and joined Flydubai about eight months before the incident, according to LinkedIn data reported by CNN, with a source confirming to the network that the profile belonged to the suspect; CNN also reported that an Israeli official said he had spent eight months at Flydubai. Meduza reported it is still unclear why he was allowed to fly and how he came to be second pilot on a flight to Israel. [ 1 , 2 ]
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the incident an attempted attack in the style of the 11 September 2001 attacks, Kommersant reported. CBS News sources said the suspect was an Omani citizen who was not born in Oman and lived most of his life abroad, and possibly held dual citizenship, which could explain how he was permitted to fly to Israel. [ 1 , 2 ]
On 4 October, RIA Novosti carried a CNN report that the suspect may have acted alone. [ 3 ]
Why it matters
The case turns on aviation security screening: the suspect was removed from flight duties at Oman Air in 2024 over “extremist materials” and was later hired by Flydubai, and the documents say it is not clear how he was cleared to fly. It involves the UAE, Omani, Moroccan, Israeli and Saudi authorities, and CNN reported the suspect may have acted alone.
Key facts
- A second pilot attacked the captain aboard a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv on 30 September; the aircraft declared an emergency and landed at Tabuk in Saudi Arabia. [ 1 , 2 ]
- UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi said the second pilot wounded the captain with an emergency axe kept in the cockpit and tried to take control of the aircraft, and described the incident as an attempted terrorist attack; he did not give the pilot's motive. [ 2 ]
- ABC News and CNN identified the suspect as Hammam Al Hammami, a 29-year-old Omani citizen. [ 1 , 2 ]
- He is cooperating with the UAE investigation and has said he intended to crash the aircraft in Israel. [ 1 , 2 ]
- In 2024 he worked as a second-pilot trainee at Oman Air and was removed from flight practice after “extremist materials” were found, but was allowed to continue in an administrative role. [ 1 , 2 ]
- He later worked at Royal Air Maroc and joined Flydubai about eight months before the incident. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Passengers, including two reserve-crew pilots, entered the unlocked cockpit, subdued the attacker and levelled the aircraft, according to reports on the incident cited by Kommersant. [ 1 ]
- CNN reported the suspect may have acted alone. [ 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- A Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv made an emergency landing at Tabuk in Saudi Arabia on 30 September after a second pilot attacked the captain. [ 1 , 2 ]
- ABC News and CNN identified the suspect as Hammam Al Hammami, a 29-year-old Omani citizen. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The suspect was removed from flight duties at Oman Air in 2024 after “extremist materials” were found, and was allowed to stay in an administrative role. [ 1 , 2 ]
- He worked at Royal Air Maroc and then joined Flydubai about eight months before the incident, and is cooperating with the UAE investigation. [ 1 , 2 ]
Still unclear
- The suspect's motive The UAE attorney general did not give a motive, and the documents do not state one; the suspect's stated intention to crash the plane in Israel is reported without an explanation of his reasons.
- Why he was allowed to fly, and how he came to be second pilot on a flight to Israel Meduza reports this is not yet clear; the documents describe his removal from flight duties at Oman Air but do not show how he was cleared by later employers.
- Whether he acted alone Raised only in one document, a CNN report carried by RIA Novosti; the other documents describe a single attacker without addressing possible accomplices.
- That the cockpit door was unlocked, allowing two reserve-crew pilots among the passengers to enter and take control Stated in one document only, attributed to reports on the incident.
- That Flydubai hired him without checking his records in Oman, and that he may have held dual citizenship The first comes from CBS News sources in a single document; the second is presented in the same document as a possibility that could explain how he was allowed to fly to Israel.
- UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi described the incident as an attempted terrorist attack and said the second pilot wounded the captain with an emergency axe and tried to take control of the aircraft. Reported by a single source so far
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- A Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv is attacked in the air and lands in an emergency at Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. The documents give the date but no time of day. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Kommersant reports the suspect's identity and employment history, citing ABC News and CNN. [ 1 ]
- Meduza reports the UAE attorney general's statement that the incident was an attempted terrorist attack and that the captain was wounded with an emergency axe. [ 2 ]
- RIA Novosti carries a CNN report that the suspect may have acted alone. [ 3 ]