- UAE prosecutors called the cockpit assault on flydubai flight FZ1073 an attempted terrorist act.
- The captain was injured but opened the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to subdue the co-pilot.
- The plane landed in Saudi Arabia; investigators are examining motives and digital evidence.
UAE prosecutors said the co-pilot on flydubai flight FZ1073 attacked the captain in the cockpit with a crash axe and tried to take control of the aircraft. Attorney General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi described the assault as an attempted terrorist act on Saturday, October 3, 2026.
The flight was headed from Dubai to Tel Aviv with 182 people aboard. The captain, Capt. Smit Machchhar, was badly injured during the attack.
Machchhar managed to unlock the cockpit door. Passengers and crew then entered and subdued the co-pilot, and the aircraft made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
From a hospital in Abu Dhabi, Machchhar described forcing himself to open the door. “I told myself to go for one last push to open the door from inside,” he said.
Reports say Oman Air had removed the co-pilot from flying duties
Multiple reports identified the suspect as Hamam al-Hammami, a 29-year-old Omani national. The UAE attorney general’s public account described the co-pilot’s actions but did not name him.
People familiar with the matter said Oman Air had barred al-Hammami from flying because of concerns about extremist views. They said the airline moved him to an administrative job after taking him off flight duties.
One account placed him in Oman Air’s co-pilot trainee program in 2024 and said he was found with extremist materials. Another said he was grounded in 2024 after the airline discovered he had visited radical Islamic websites.
The accounts describe overlapping concerns, but do not establish the same details of how the airline reached its decision. Officials cited in reporting also said he had allegedly possessed extremist materials while training. Oman Air’s reported decision preceded the incident aboard the Dubai-Tel Aviv service.
The captain opened the cockpit door while injured
Machchhar’s action allowed people outside the flight deck to reach the attacker. The captain had to unlock the door from inside while under assault, according to his account and statements about the sequence of events.
The co-pilot tried to take control of the aircraft’s controls, Al Shamsi said. The crew and passengers restrained him after the door opened, and the flight diverted for an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
flydubai suspended its Tel Aviv operations temporarily while the investigation proceeded. The suspension followed an incident on a route carrying passengers between Dubai and Israel.
Netanyahu called the incident a radicalized attack
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacker had undergone “Islamist radicalization.” He also said:
“He came to crash the plane with its passengers”
UAE authorities characterized the incident as an attempted terrorist act. The Israeli prime minister’s comments offered a separate public characterization of the suspect’s alleged motivation.
Investigators are examining motives and digital evidence
UAE investigators said they were working to establish the full circumstances of the attack, including the suspect’s motives and connections. Their examination also includes physical and digital evidence.
The probe is continuing as the airline keeps its Tel Aviv service suspended. Authorities have said their inquiry will address both the events in the cockpit and the evidence gathered afterward.
