UAE authorities are questioning Omani co-pilot Hamam Al Hamami after an alleged attempt to bring down a flight travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv, according to reports carried by Israeli media.
Hebrew-language reports said he had planned an attack targeting Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport, allegedly waiting until landing clearances were secured before acting. The reports compared the intent to a large-scale aviation attack.
In a statement attributed to Al Hamami and cited by Ynet, he claimed he assaulted another crew member while the aircraft was over Jordanian airspace. He reportedly said he intended to wait until the last moment so that no one could anticipate or stop his plan.
The same report said that if he could not strike the airport, he would have tried to crash the aircraft into a major building in Tel Aviv or into a US military base in Jordan.
Israel’s Channel 12 reported that Al Hamami had initially planned to carry out an attack in July but changed course at the last minute because one of the staff members was his friend. The channel also claimed he had studied which flights go to Tel Aviv, joined flydubai, travelled multiple times to Ben Gurion as part of his job, and gathered intelligence during a June visit to Israel.
