UAE prosecutors reveal the 29-year-old pilot plotted to crash flight FZ1073 into Tel Aviv’s passenger terminal after radicalising while studying in Australia.
ABU DHABI — October 11, 2026 :An Omani co-pilot accused of attempting to crash a passenger jet into Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport has admitted to orchestrating a suicide mission inspired by the September 11 attacks, UAE federal prosecutors disclosed on Sunday.
The 29-year-old first officer told state investigators that his extremist views took root in 2017 during his university studies in Melbourne, Australia. He is accused of attacking the captain of flydubai flight FZ1073 with an emergency crash axe midway through the journey on September 30, aiming to seize control of the aircraft and slam it into the passenger terminal to cause maximum casualties.
UAE Attorney-General Dr Hamad Saif Al Shamsi confirmed that the suspect delivered a detailed confession in the presence of his legal counsel under statutory safeguards. The co-pilot stated that he acted alone.
The aircraft never reached Israeli airspace. An off-duty pilot scheduled to fly the return leg grew suspicious after seeing the cockpit door repeatedly open and close. Entering the flight deck with an emergency access code, he found the first officer striking the captain. Assisted by a flight attendant and several passengers, the relief pilot overpowered the suspect and restrained him.
The backup crew assumed control and diverted the Boeing aircraft to Tabuk Regional Airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia, where it landed without further incident. A forensic examination verified that the captain suffered head wounds matching strikes from an emergency cockpit axe.
The suspect’s radicalisation began nearly a decade ago in Melbourne, where he consumed takfiri propaganda and digital material celebrating suicide attacks. Investigators learned he frequented a prayer hall associated with the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) and came into contact with figures linked to an entity known as “My Centre.” Prosecutors emphasized that mentions of third-party centres and individuals were based entirely on the suspect’s admissions and do not indicate their direct involvement in the September 30 operation.
Dr Al Shamsi revealed that the suspect specifically pursued commercial aviation to carry out an aircraft suicide strike modeled on the 2001 hijackings in the United States. To prepare for the assault, he underwent private boxing training to build physical endurance.
The suspect’s career spanned three regional carriers: Oman Air from 2020 to 2024, Royal Air Maroc for several months in 2025, and flydubai, which hired him in January 2026. Pre-employment vetting, including licensing verifications and official certificates of good conduct, flagged no extremist sympathies or criminal indicators prior to his recruitment.
Flight records reviewed by UAE authorities showed the co-pilot had flown the Dubai–Tel Aviv corridor twice before the incident to survey the flight path and Ben Gurion’s approach layout, using his third rostered assignment on September 30 to launch the strike.
Federal prosecutors are reviewing flight data, cockpit voice recordings, and technical reports while checking whether the suspect received external logistics support. The suspect remains in custody pending trial.
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