Flydubai co-pilot plotted ‘suicide’ attack on Israel, UAE says

Prosecutors in the United Arab Emirates have accused a co-pilot of planning a 'suicide' attack on Israel's Ben Gurion airport.

The co-pilot, identified as Hammam al-Hammami, allegedly attacked the plane's Indian pilot with an emergency axe on a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv on September 30.

However, the badly injured pilot was able to open the cockpit's security door, allowing passengers to overpower al-Hammami and safely land the plane in Saudi Arabia.

According to Emirati authorities, al-Hammami had admitted to planning a 'premeditated terrorist plot' to launch a suicide attack on the passenger terminal at Ben Gurion airport.

The 29-year-old co-pilot had been influenced by hardline takfiri ideology while studying in Australia, where he read extremist literature and online content glorifying terrorist organisations and suicide attacks.

Al-Hammami had also drawn inspiration from the 9/11 attacks and had become convinced that carrying out a similar operation using an aircraft was a viable option.

Australian security agencies have launched an investigation into al-Hammami's time in the country, where he spent about two years as a student until 2017.

New Zealand authorities have also launched an investigation after it emerged that al-Hammami underwent flight training there about a year after he abandoned his degree in Australia.

Security officials are keen to understand if al-Hammami was acting alone or had become involved with a group such as al-Qaida or Islamic State, which could suggest further such attacks might be planned.

Emirati authorities believe that al-Hammami acted alone, although investigations are continuing to verify this claim.