Omani national Hamam al-Hammami told investigators that he had planned to fly the aircraft to Tel Aviv before crashing into a building or another plane at Ben Gurion Airport, according to Channel 13 and News24.
The flydubai co-pilot who is accused of attacking his captain mid-flight had allegedly planned to crash the aircraft into an Israeli airport, according to a latest report.
The suspect attacked Machchhar while the aircraft was over Jordan. Despite his injuries, Captain Machchhar reportedly managed to force open the cockpit door. Passengers entered the cockpit, restrained al-Hammami and helped regain control of the aircraft. Two off-duty pilots flew the plane to safety in Saudi Arabia. Investigators are now trying to determine if he was radicalised while in Australia.
Police have launched a joint investigation following reports that al-Hammami spent three years studying engineering in Melbourne between 2015 and 2017.
“I looked into which airline flies to Tel Aviv. That’s why I chose flydubai. Channel 13 reported that the alleged plot had reportedly been in place before al-Hammami joined flydubai .
Because it operated flights to Israel, investigators were told he had selected the airline.
The suspect said he had also planned to kill Captain Smit Machchhar inside the locked cockpit and then take control of the plane, according to Israeli media reports. I planned it even before I was accepted,” he said.
It is unclear how he was allowed to operate a flight carrying passengers to Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has now ordered a review of security arrangements for international flights into the country. Al-Hammami had been barred from flying by Oman because of concerns over his extremist views, according to reports.
This caused the plane to plunge 16,000 feet in less than a minute and almost reach the speed of sound. he changed his plans after he became friendly with one of the crew members While he had originally planned to carry out the attack in July. He had allegedly planned that in case he was unable to reach Israel, he would crash the aircraft into a US military base in Jordan. Australian counter-terrorism authorities are now reportedly examining the co-pilot’s background.
Al-Hammami also told investigators that he had used previous trips to Israel to gather information and make his plans. Al-Hammami also interfered with the aircraft’s controls during the attack, switching off the engines and pushing the rudders forward, according to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.
