How Did the FlyDubai Co-Pilot Plan to Target Ben Gurion Airport?

Investigations in the United Arab Emirates revealed how the co-pilot of a "FlyDubai" aircraft planned to target the passenger terminal at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel.

Attorney General Dr. Hamad Saif Al Shamsi stated that investigations conducted by the Public Prosecution regarding flight FZ1073, which was traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv on September 30, 2026, uncovered that the Omani national co-pilot attempted to execute a pre-planned scheme with a terrorist purpose.

Below are the findings of the investigation:

The signs of the co-pilot’s drift toward extremism and terrorism began in 2017, during his period of study in Australia, where he was influenced by takfiri ideas through reading extremist literature and following online content glorifying terrorist organizations and suicide operations.
He adopted ideas inciting violence and terrorism, drawing inspiration from the September 11, 2001 attacks, and solidified the idea of executing a similar operation using an aircraft, which, according to his confessions, was linked to his decision to pursue a career in aviation.
During his stay in Australia, he frequented a mosque affiliated with the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), managed by a Lebanese individual known as "Abu Hamza," which received support from an association linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, and he prepared himself psychologically and physically to execute his plan,
He exploited his participation in two previous flights to Tel Aviv to scout the route and the airport, as part of his personal preparation for his terrorist plot, before proceeding to execute it during the third flight on September 30, 2026.
The co-pilot aimed to seize control of the aircraft and use it to carry out a suicide operation targeting the passenger building at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, intending to inflict the maximum possible human casualties.
The suspect ambushed the pilot inside the cockpit and attacked him with an emergency axe.
However, the pilot resisted the assault and attempted to call for help. The captain of the return flight was on board and happened to be near the cockpit at the time of the attack; he noticed the door being opened and closed repeatedly in an unusual manner, which aroused his suspicion. He approached the cockpit and tried to enter using the secret code until he succeeded and saw the suspect attacking the pilot, as shown by the investigations.

Immediately, he intervened with the help of a crew member and several passengers, managing to rescue the injured pilot and subdue the suspect, while the captain of the return flight and his co-pilot regained control of the aircraft, diverted its course, and landed safely at Tabuk Airport in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

In the presence of his lawyer and with all legal guarantees provided to him, the suspect gave a detailed confession regarding his motives and the stages of planning and execution, admitting that he acted alone without the involvement of others, while investigations continue to verify this.

The Public Prosecution also heard the testimonies of the pilot, the captain of the return flight, his co-pilot, and crew members. A forensic medical report confirmed that the pilot’s injuries were concentrated in the head, a vital and lethal area, and were recent and contemporaneous with the incident, resulting from an attack with an instrument consistent in nature with the emergency axe, aligning with the statements of the suspect, the pilot, and witness testimonies.