ABU DHABI: The UAE Attorney-General Counsellor Dr Hamad Saif Al Shamsi on Friday (local time) said an investigation into the incident involving flydubai flight FZ1073 revealed that the aircraft’s Omani co-pilot had allegedly planned a terrorist attack to seize control of the plane and crash it into the passenger terminal at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, with the aim of causing maximum casualties, according to UAE state news agency WAM.
UAE Attorney-General said the 29-year-old suspect had begun carrying out the alleged plot during a flight scheduled to travel from Dubai to Tel Aviv on September 30, 2026.
According to WAM, the investigation traced the suspect’s ideological and professional background and found that signs of his alleged radicalisation first emerged in 2017, when he was studying in Australia. During that period, he was influenced by extremist literature and online content glorifying terrorist organisations and suicide attacks.
The Attorney-General said the suspect subsequently adopted ideas advocating violence and terrorism and drew inspiration from the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. The idea of carrying out a similar operation using an aircraft had become firmly established in his thinking, according to his confession, as reported by WAM.
The suspect reportedly said his decision to pursue a career in aviation was linked to this objective. Al Shamsi said the suspect had worked for several airlines during his professional career, including Oman Air from 2020 to 2024 and Royal Air Maroc in early 2025, before joining flydubai in January 2026.
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