A preliminary Israeli investigation has concluded that Hamam al-Hammami, a 29-year-old Omani national, planned to take control of Flight FZ1073 after incapacitating Captain Smit Machchhar and then deliberately strike a building in Tel Aviv or an aircraft at Ben Gurion International Airport. Investigators currently believe he acted alone, although inquiries into possible extremist links and his background are continuing.
The findings sharpen the focus on motive five days after the September 30 attack, while the UAE’s formal investigation remains under way. The UAE General Civil Aviation Authority has said its teams are examining the causes and circumstances, including operational and security aspects, and has cautioned against pre-empting its final findings.
Investigators believe al-Hammami’s plan involved killing Machchhar without alerting passengers, disabling or manipulating aircraft systems and continuing the flight towards Israel before carrying out a deliberate crash. The emerging account suggests the violent struggle in the cockpit disrupted that plan before he could gain lasting control of the Boeing 737 MAX 8.
Machchhar was seriously injured during the confrontation but managed to unlock the reinforced cockpit door, allowing other crew members and passengers to intervene. Al-Hammami was subdued and restrained, while qualified flydubai pilots travelling aboard the aircraft secured the jet and diverted it to Tabuk in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry said the aircraft landed at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport at 9.45am after authorities received an emergency declaration and cleared it to land. The ministry put the number aboard at 174 passengers and eight crew members. Flydubai later said everyone aboard was safe and that the captain returned to the UAE after receiving medical clearance.
Flight-tracking data showed the aircraft underwent a steep loss of altitude during the cockpit emergency before control was restored. The jet subsequently stabilised and headed for Tabuk, where Saudi emergency and security services met it.
The developing investigation has also widened into scrutiny of al-Hammami’s employment history and the screening that preceded his appointment. Authorities are examining information that he had previously attracted concern over extremist views while associated with aviation in Oman. Oman has said flydubai did not consult its authorities about him during recruitment, raising questions over whether information that might have affected his employment was shared across borders.
Investigators have so far found no established operational link between al-Hammami and a militant organisation. That distinction remains important as authorities assess whether ideological radicalisation led to an independently conceived attack or whether another person or network played any role. Claims about outside direction have not been substantiated.
The incident has prompted Israel to tighten scrutiny of pilots operating foreign commercial flights into the country. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a broader examination of security procedures for incoming civil aviation after describing the episode as an attempt to crash the aircraft.
Israeli authorities are reviewing how foreign airline crews are cleared for Ben Gurion and whether information held by governments should be incorporated more systematically into security assessments. Any changes would have to fit existing international licensing and oversight responsibilities.
The case has renewed attention on a difficult vulnerability in aviation security: a threat originating from a person already authorised to enter the flight deck. Reinforced cockpit doors introduced widely after the September 11 attacks were designed primarily to prevent attackers in the cabin from seizing an aircraft. Flight FZ1073 presented the reverse problem, with intervention dependent on the wounded captain managing to open the cockpit.
Flydubai initially described the episode as an altercation on the flight deck and said the underlying reasons and motives were subject to formal investigation. Chief executive Ghaith Al Ghaith subsequently confirmed that a full official inquiry was under way and thanked the captain, other pilots, cabin crew and passengers who helped secure the aircraft.
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