What happened
A Flydubai co-pilot, Hamam al-Hammami, attempted to crash a plane into a suicide dive, but was stopped by passengers and an off-duty pilot. The incident occurred on a Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight, and investigators believe al-Hammami was planning a 9/11-style attack on Tel Aviv's Azrieli Towers.
Al-Hammami, 29, used the cockpit's emergency crash axe to attack the captain, Smit Machchhar, and took control of the plane, sending it into a death spiral. However, Captain Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door, allowing Israeli passengers to storm in and subdue al-Hammami. An Israeli passenger, Yaniv Hion, grabbed the controls and brought the plane out of its plunge, and an off-duty pilot helped guide it to an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
Al-Hammami's past has raised concerns, as he was previously barred from flying by Oman Air due to extremist views and had visited radical Islamic websites. He had also traveled to Syria and completed pre-employment training with Royal Air Maroc, but was not hired. His hiring checks at Flydubai reportedly focused on criminal records rather than signs of radicalization.
The United Arab Emirates is likely to seek the death penalty for al-Hammami, and a multi-nation probe is underway, involving intelligence agents from Saudi Arabia, Oman, the US, and Israel. The incident has also led to Israel tightening crew screenings on all incoming foreign flights.
