JERUSALEM, Israel – New details are emerging about the attempted hijacking of a FlyDubai flight bound for Israel. Investigators say the Omani co-pilot planned to use the plane as a weapon against Israel.
The co-pilot, Hamam al-Hammami, told officials he intended to kill the captain, secure normal landing clearance, then crash the plane into Ben Gurion Airport or another building.
The 29-year-old Omani is now being interrogated in the United Arab Emirates. He had previously been banned from flying by Oman’s national airline over concerns that he had been radicalized. He was found to have extremist material in 2024. Despite that, he was later hired by FlyDubai.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Captain Smit Machchhar, who foiled the attempted hijacking.
“You are a true hero of the brave peoples of India and Israel, and you’re a hero of the entire world,” the prime minister told the pilot.
Machchhar recalled, “While he (the co-pilot) was praying, out of respect, I was just looking at the front and not the back. There was a big blow to the back of my head. The blows kept coming, one after the other. I was lying down on the cockpit floor, and I felt the aircraft and the whooshing sound, and people screaming.
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He continued, “I had one last fight left in me…that if I don’t do it, I’m going to die. And that’s when I pushed against everything. I gave everything I had, and just went for the door and opened the door.”
Israel is ordering a security review of foreign flights into the nation after learning that the names of the crew and passengers had been sent to them before the flight. Pilots from countries that have no relationship with Israel – such as Oman – are not supposed to fly into the country.
Meanwhile, in the U.K., the United States has pulled all of its B-1 Bombers from R.A.F. Fairford amid security concerns over a suspected pilot targeting the base. The Pentagon announced that the bombers have now returned to their home stations in the U.S.
Iran denied any role in the alleged plot, calling it a “false flag operation.”
President Trump indicated that he is considering whether to resume attacks on Iran, as more US military assets are headed for the region.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that Tehran remains open to diplomacy, but warns against further military attacks.
“They will receive a more fierce response this time, and we will defend ourselves more powerfully than before,” Araghchi warned.
Iran’s Army spokesman claimed the Tehran regime is working to increase the range of its missiles, citing the greater distance of U.S. forces from Iran after the U.S. pulled out of Iraq.
U.S. security personnel are expected in Israel in the coming weeks amid concerns over potential terrorist attacks before the October 27th elections. About 3,000 U.S. troops are already stationed in the Jewish state.
The Green Party of England and Wales adopted a resolution on Sunday equating Zionism with racism. It called for a “single democratic Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine…with equal rights for all.”
Israel’s foreign ministry announced it has banned Zack Polanski, the British Green Party’s leader, from entering the country, and it described the motion as a “clear anti-Semitic text” and “beyond the boundaries of legitimate political debate.”
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Marion Rice-Oxley and Chris Mitchell authored this article.
