Italy’s Corriere della Sera reported that al-Hammami planned to kill the captain with the cockpit axe and continue along the Dubai to Tel Aviv route before crashing into a skyscraper in the Israeli city, leaving little time for fighter jets to intercept. Israeli investigators’ preliminary assessment remains that he likely acted alone, CBS News reported, with other possibilities still under investigation and no established link to Iran.
UAE prosecutors said the co-pilot attacked Indian Captain Smit Machchhar with the aircraft’s emergency crash axe and tried to seize control in an attempted terrorist operation. Passengers and crew subdued him, and additional pilots aboard landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. The Wall Street Journal reported that Oman had previously barred him from flying over concerns about radical ideological views. Royal Air Maroc denied employing him as a pilot, saying he completed three months of theoretical training in 2025 but was not selected for employment. Flydubai’s Tel Aviv service remains suspended until further notice.