Australian authorities are investigating the suspect’s links to the country. CNN’s review of deleted social media accounts linked to Hamam al-Hammami found cockpit footage focusing on El Al and Arkia aircraft, alongside images of former al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri and a suicide bomber who killed seven CIA personnel in 2009. Two posts appeared about nine hours after the incident; who published them or whether they were scheduled remains unclear.
Captain Smit Machchhar told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the co-pilot asked to pray before repeatedly striking him in the back of the head. Machchhar said he opened the cockpit door, but the attacker shut it again; he later reached the internal handle and reopened it, allowing passengers and crew to intervene. UAE prosecutors said the co-pilot used the cockpit’s emergency crash axe in an attempted terrorist attack. Additional pilots aboard landed the Sept. 30 Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Flydubai’s Tel Aviv service remains suspended until further notice.