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Flydubai co-pilot attacks captain in midair terror attempt

dn.se (Swedish) — October 6, 2026 at 07:01 PM UTC

A Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv plunged over 5,000 meters after its Omani co-pilot, Hamam al-Hammami, attacked the captain with an emergency axe; passengers subdued him, and the plane landed safely in Saudi Arabia, with authorities now investigating an alleged terror plot. Al-Hammami, a former Oman Air pilot sent on a deradicalization course after suspected radicalization, was hired by Flydubai without reference checks. The captain, Smit Machchhar, survived the attack, and off-duty pilots helped regain control of the aircraft carrying over 170 people. Investigations in the UAE, with Israeli Shin Bet involvement, suggest al-Hammami intended to crash the plane into Ben Gurion Airport or a US base in Jordan. US President Donald Trump blamed Iran, but Vice President JD Vance said no evidence links him to a state or organization.

With a significance score of 2.8, this news ranks in the top 15% of today's 32754 analyzed articles.

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Most significant articles on this story:

[4.8]

Trump Blames Iran for Flydubai Hijacking Attempt; Houthis Strike Saudi Arabia (tg24.sky.it)

16h

Link Source (Italian)

[3.9]

Israeli jets prepared to down FlyDubai plane after co-pilot attack (lrytas.lt)

2h

Link Source (Portuguese)

[3.6]

FlyDubai co-pilot planned to crash plane into Israel's Ben Gurion airport, officials say (irishtimes.com)

1d 15h

[3.5]

Israel Prepared to Down Flydubai Jet After Hijack Signal, Report Says (ndtv.com)

18h

[3.5]

Rogue pilot threat exposes aviation security gaps after flydubai incident (smh.com.au)

21h

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[3.5]

Israeli agencies probe Omani pilot's Iran links after hijack attempt (jpost.com)

16h

[3.5]

Aircraft Incidents That Forced Aviation Safety Reforms Since 9/11 (usnews.com)

10h

[3.4]

Flydubai payments to Israeli aviation security chief exposed as Trump blames Iran (ynetnews.com)

22h

[3.4]

FlyDubai co-pilot planned Tel Aviv attack before hiring, Israeli officials say (cbc.ca)

1d 9h

[3.4]

FlyDubai co-pilot planned to crash plane into Ben-Gurion airport (fr.euronews.com)

1d 6h

Link Source (French)

[3.3]

Netanyahu orders security review of foreign airlines after Flydubai incident (nv.ua)

1d 19h

Link Source (Ukrainian)

[3.3]

Flydubai co-pilot reveals intended crash site in UAE interrogation (hotnews.ro)

1d 9h

Link Source (Romanian)

[3.2]

Flydubai pilot confessed to planning Ben Gurion attack, official says (nbcnews.com)

11h

[3.2]

Netanyahu orders security review of flights to Israel after flydubai attack (khaleejtimes.com)

1d 16h

[3.2]

US Officials Split on Iran's Role in Flydubai Incident (masrawy.com)

24h

Link Source (Arabic)

[3.2]

Flydubai copilot allegedly planned to crash plane into Ben Gurion Airport (srf.ch)

21h

Link Source (German)

[3.2]

Flydubai hijack suspect's training in UK, New Zealand, Australia under scrutiny (jpost.com)

1h

[3.2]

Israeli Aviation Security Chief Took Flydubai Payments; Trump Insists Iran Behind Attack (ynet.co.il)

1d 3h

Link Source (undefined)

[3.2]

Shin Bet joins UAE interrogation of flydubai hijacker (jpost.com)

1d 5h

[3.1]

Disobedience saves 180 lives on FlyDubai flight FZ1073 (abc.net.au)

12h

[3.1]

Omani co-pilot planned attack on flydubai flight to Israel before joining airline (haaretz.com)

1d 7h

[3.1]

Israel prepared to shoot down hijacked flydubai jet to prevent crash (jpost.com)

15h

[3.1]

Israel had Omani co-pilot's data before Flydubai cockpit attack, yet no alert was raised (english.mathrubhumi.com)

1d 21h

[3.0]

Trump says Iran behind Flydubai attack, investigators unconvinced (usatoday.com)

1d 2h

[3.0]

Omani Co-Pilot Tells Investigators He Wanted to Avenge Gaza in Flydubai Incident (blick.ch)

1d 3h

Link Source (German)

[3.0]

Israel opposition demands transport minister resign over Flydubai attack failures (firstpost.com)

1d 14h

[3.0]

FlyDubai Co-Pilot Tried to Crash Plane into Israeli Airport, Captain Disarmed Him (de.euronews.com)

1d 15h

Link Source (German)

[3.0]

Flydubai axe attack: aircraft 30 seconds from crash in dive, relief crew praised as heroes (nzherald.co.nz)

3h

[3.0]

Israel Prepared to Shoot Down Hijacked Plane With 150 Citizens Aboard (nettavisen.no)

20h

Link Source (Swedish)

[3.0]

Trump Blames Iran for Flydubai Attack Plot on Tel Aviv Flight (n-tv.de)

20h

Link Source (German)

[3.0]

Flydubai attack plot exposed gaps in Oman, UAE, and Israeli security checks (ynetnews.com)

1d 16h

[3.0]

Omani pilot admits to attempted hijacking in revenge for Gaza (ansa.it)

16h

Link Source (Italian)

[3.0]

Israel Prepared to Shoot Down Flydubai Flight After Cockpit Axe Attack (news18.com)

19h

[3.0]

US intelligence finds no conclusive Iran link in Flydubai attack; Trump blames Tehran (moneycontrol.com)

20h

[2.9]

Israeli Security Agencies Warned of Flight Threats; Transport Ministry Ignored Warnings (ndtv.com)

1d 20h

[2.9]

Flydubai co-pilot planned attack before airline hired him, Israeli officials say (usnews.com)

1d 16h

[2.9]

Israel Prepared to Shoot Down Flydubai Flight Carrying Its Own Citizens (gujarati.news18.com)

18h

Link Source (Gujarati)

[2.9]

Trump and Vance split on Iran's role in flydubai axe attack (deccanherald.com)

17h

[2.9]

New Zealand-trained co-pilot in Dubai flight attack may have targeted Israel's Ben Gurion Airport (worldjournal.com)

8h

Link Source (Chinese)

[2.8]

Trump says Iran behind flydubai attack; Vance cites lack of proof (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

21h

[2.8]

Trump Says Iran Behind Flydubai Attack Despite No Evidence (saharareporters.com)

8h

[2.8]

Flydubai co-pilot allegedly tried to crash plane into Ben Gurion Airport (web.de)

19h

Link Source (German)

[2.8]

Omani co-pilot admits trying to crash flydubai flight in 'revenge for Gaza' (hindustantimes.com)

16h

[2.8]

Investigators believe Flydubai co-pilot acted alone in attack on Israel-bound flight (independent.co.uk)

1d 17h

[2.8]

Flydubai co-pilot attacks captain in midair terror attempt (dn.se)

5h

Link Source (Swedish)

[2.8]

FlyDubai Co-Pilot Planned to Crash Jet into Ben-Gurion Airport; Captain Hailed as Hero (www1.cbn.com)

1d 13h

[2.8]

Flydubai co-pilot tried to crash plane into Tel Aviv airport (welt.de)

1d 1h

Link Source (German)

[2.8]

Boeing 737 MAX plunges 5,000 meters after copilot attack; passengers and off-duty pilots save flight (oglobo.globo.com)

16h

Link Source (Portuguese)

[2.8]

UAE interrogators question flydubai co-pilot over alleged plot to crash Tel Aviv flight (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)

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[2.8]

JD Vance questions flydubai hiring of co-pilot flagged by Omani authorities (indiatoday.in)

1d 1h

[2.8]

Aircraft incidents that reshaped aviation security rules since 9/11 (al-monitor.com)

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[2.7]

Israel was ready to shoot down Flydubai jet after cockpit attack (tamil.oneindia.com)

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[2.7]

Flydubai co-pilot planned attack for months, targeted Tel Aviv route (rtl.be)

1d 11h

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[2.7]

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1d 1h

[2.7]

Israel readied to down flydubai jet after cockpit attack (hindustantimes.com)

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[2.7]

Flydubai copilot subdued after plotting to crash plane into Israeli airport (bbc.com)

1d 7h

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[2.6]

Flydubai co-pilot planned to crash plane into Tel Aviv airport, Israeli sources say (nos.nl)

1d 4h

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[2.6]

Flydubai co-pilot planned to crash Tel Aviv flight, reports say (bbc.com)

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[2.6]

Flydubai copilot planned Israel airport attack, authorities say (noticiasaominuto.com)

8h

Link Source (Portuguese)

[2.6]

Flydubai pilot confesses to plotting Tel Aviv airport crash (nur.kz)

1d 23h

Link Source (Russian)

[2.6]

Flydubai jet's engines failed in 16,000-foot dive, had to be restarted, ex-US pilot says (news18.com)

18h

[2.6]

Omani copilot planned attack before joining airline, planned to crash plane into Ben-Gurion Airport (noticias.r7.com)

21h

Link Source (Portuguese)

[2.6]

Co-pilot planned flydubai attack before airline hired him, Israeli officials say (smh.com.au)

1d 16h

Link Source [$]

[2.6]

US House honors Indian pilot Smit Machchhar for foiling Flydubai attack (firstpost.com)

5h

[2.6]

UAE and Israel seek closer ties after flydubai attack, echoing US-Saudi post-9/11 cooperation (jpost.com)

1d 13h

[2.6]

Omani co-pilot tried to hijack Flydubai flight to Tel Aviv, citing Gaza revenge (corriere.it)

1d 4h

Link Source (Italian)

[2.6]

flydubai security lapses across Oman, UAE, and Israel enabled cockpit attack near Tel Aviv (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)

1d 18h

[2.6]

Omani pilot plotted to crash Flydubai plane into Tel Aviv airport (ct24.ceskatelevize.cz)

1d 5h

Link Source (Czech)

[2.6]

Omani co-pilot planned to crash flydubai jet into Ben Gurion Airport (hindustantimes.com)

1d 19h

[2.6]

IAF reservists describe response to flydubai hijacking scare (jpost.com)

1d 8h

[2.5]

Heroic passengers and pilot thwart terror attack on Dubai-Tel Aviv flight (arvamus.postimees.ee)

14h

Link Source (Malay)

[2.5]

Al-Qaida Supporters Hail Foiled Flydubai Attack as Crew Actions Raise Questions (welt.de)

1d 14h

Link Source (German)

[2.5]

Flydubai co-pilot says Gaza war motivated plane attack (malayalam.news18.com)

15h

Link Source (Malayalam)

[2.5]

Omani co-pilot faces possible death penalty in UAE over alleged plane crash plot (malayalam.oneindia.com)

1d 6h

Link Source (Malayalam)

[2.5]

Flydubai co-pilot planned crash before airline job, say Israeli officials (business-standard.com)

1d 14h

[2.5]

Flydubai co-pilot told investigators he attacked captain over Gaza war (firstpost.com)

17h

[2.5]

Flydubai copilot planned to crash plane into Tel Aviv airport, sources say (nos.nl)

1d 1h

Link Source (Dutch)

[2.4]

Israeli probe: Flydubai co-pilot likely acted alone, no terror link found (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)

1d 20h

[2.4]

Flydubai hijacker likely targeted Ben Gurion Airport, sources say (cnn.com)

1d 6h

[2.4]

Flydubai co-pilot planned to crash plane into Tel Aviv airport, reports say (bbc.co.uk)

1d 10h

[2.4]

US House honors Indian pilot for stopping cockpit attack on Dubai-Tel Aviv flight (khaleejtimes.com)

7h

[2.4]

Flydubai co-pilot confesses to plot to crash plane into Israel's Ben Gurion Airport (vnexpress.net)

1d 22h

Link Source (Vietnamese)

[2.4]

Omani co-pilot tried to crash Flydubai flight into Tel Aviv building (malayalam.news18.com)

1d 22h

Link Source (Malayalam)

[2.4]

Flydubai co-pilot planned to kill captain and crash plane into Tel Aviv tower, report says (firstpost.com)

1d 22h

[2.4]

Flydubai co-pilot confesses to plot to crash plane into Ben Gurion Airport (blick.ch)

1d 20h

Link Source (German)

[2.4]

Passengers overpower copilot after attack on Flydubai flight to Tel Aviv (n-tv.de)

1d 19h

Link Source (German)

[2.4]

Flydubai co-pilot who attacked captain had been fired from Oman Air over extremism (japantimes.co.jp)

1d 23h

[2.4]

Flydubai co-pilot postponed planned July hijacking, investigators say (theguardian.com)

1d 5h

[2.3]

Oman Co-Pilot Admits Plotting Dubai-Tel Aviv Hijack for Gaza (tamil.oneindia.com)

10h

Link Source (Tamil)

[2.3]

Omani pilot admits trying to hijack Flydubai flight to avenge Gaza (ilmessaggero.it)

19h

Link Source (Italian)

[2.3]

Israel Scrambled Jets as FlyDubai Crew Subdued Attacking Co-Pilot (news18.com)

1d 5h

[2.2]

Trump blames Iran for flydubai incident; Vance cites lack of conclusive proof (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)

18h

[2.2]

Flydubai copilot faces death penalty after passengers stop Ben-Gurion Airport crash plot (welt.de)

1d 12h

Link Source (German)

[2.2]

Co-pilot planned to crash flydubai jet into Tel Aviv airport, reports say (bbc.com)

1d 9h

[2.2]

Copilot accused of hijacking Flydubai flight plotted Tel Aviv attack (noticias.uol.com.br)

1d 22h

Link Source (Portuguese)

[2.1]

Israel confirms hijacker planned to crash plane into Tel Aviv airport (telegraph.co.uk)

1d 2h

Link Source [$]

[2.1]

Omani co-pilot planned to crash flydubai jet into Ben Gurion Airport (thestar.com.my)

1d 14h

[2.1]

Flydubai co-pilot accused of axe attack trained in New Zealand for 175 days (nzherald.co.nz)

20h

[2.1]

New Zealand police investigate flydubai hijacker's time in the country (jpost.com)

1d 12h

[2.1]

Oman barred Flydubai co-pilot over extremist website interest, cites background check gaps (firstpost.com)

1d 11h

[2.1]

flydubai copilot admits plan to crash plane into Israeli airport (rbc.ua)

1d 14h

Link Source (Ukrainian)

[2.1]

Flydubai Co-Pilot's Plot to Crash Plane into Tel Aviv Revealed (tamil.news18.com)

1d 22h

Link Source (Tamil)

[2.1]

Flydubai Co-Pilot's Dual Citizenship Raises Aviation Screening Gaps, Omani Sources Say (news18.com)

1d 13h

[2.1]

Passengers Subdue Attacking Pilot on Flydubai Flight to Tel Aviv (tt.com)

1d 20h

Link Source (German)

[2.1]

Flydubai Co-Pilot Accused of Stabbing Captain Trained in New Zealand (usnews.com)

18h

[2.1]

Omani co-pilot's 9/11-style plot foiled; Indian captain regains control after midair attack (tamil.oneindia.com)

1d 21h

Link Source (Tamil)

[2.1]

flydubai copilot planned to crash plane into Israel's Ben-Gurion Airport (rbc.ua)

1d 11h

Link Source (Russian)

[2.1]

Omani co-pilot admits hijacking Flydubai flight to avenge Gaza (tg24.sky.it)

1d 4h

Link Source (Italian)

[2.0]

Omani co-pilot admits plotting to crash flydubai plane into Tel Aviv skyscraper (firstpost.com)

1d 20h

[2.0]

New Zealand police confirm Flydubai co-pilot trained in the country before stabbing (shorouknews.com)

17h

Link Source (Arabic)

[2.0]

Omani Co-Pilot Arrested for Alleged Plot to Crash Flydubai Flight into Ben Gurion Airport (news18.com)

1d 19h

[2.0]

Captain Smit Machchhar: How a stabbed pilot stopped an attack on flight FZ1073 (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)

1d 17h

[2.0]

UAE Seeks Death Penalty for Flydubai Co-Pilot in Cockpit Attack (news18.com)

1d 19h

[2.0]

Flydubai co-pilot aimed to crash plane into Ben Gurion Airport, officials say (nationalpost.com)

1d 2h

[2.0]

Flydubai co-pilot admits planning Tel Aviv skyscraper or Ben-Gurion Airport attack (nv.ua)

1d 14h

Link Source (Ukrainian)

[1.9]

1,200 crew from hostile nations entered Israel this year (israelnationalnews.com)

5h

[1.9]

Russia Condemns Terrorist Attack on Flydubai Flight by Co-Pilot (fontanka.ru)

16h

Link Source (Russian)

[1.9]

FlyDubai co-pilot accused of ax attack failed RMIT engineering course (business-standard.com)

1d 16h

[1.9]

JD Vance Questions How Grounded FlyDubai Co-Pilot Regained Cockpit Access (news18.com)

1d 4h

[1.9]

Omani co-pilot says he tried to hijack FlyDubai flight to die as martyr for Gaza (ilfattoquotidiano.it)

1d 1h

Link Source (Italian)

[1.9]

US House bill honors Indian pilot Smit Machchhar for stopping flydubai terror attack (zeenews.india.com)

6h

[1.8]

Omani co-pilot targeted flydubai flight to crash in Israel (zeenews.india.com)

1d 18h

[1.8]

Israel Had Omani Co-Pilot's Details Before Flydubai Attack, Yet He Was Cleared (zeenews.india.com)

1d 20h

[1.8]

Indian pilot Smit Machchhar recovers after attack on Dubai-Tel Aviv flight (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

7h

[1.8]

Flydubai co-pilot planned to crash plane into Tel Aviv airport terminal (korrespondent.net)

1d 19h

Link Source (Russian)

[1.8]

Flydubai FZ1073: How crew and passengers foiled cockpit attack (khaleejtimes.com)

1d 20h

[1.8]

US House resolution honors Indian pilot Smit Machchhar, condemns attack as terrorism (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)

6h

[1.8]

Flydubai passengers feared hijack would divert flight to Iran or Yemen (jpost.com)

1d 8h

[1.8]

Oman Sources Reveal flydubai Co-Pilot Was Barred Over Extremist Links (ndtv.com)

1d 9h

[1.7]

UAE sent Flydubai crew list to Israel before Omani co-pilot's attack (firstpost.com)

1d 21h

[1.7]

Dentist recounts 40-minute fight to save flydubai captain after cockpit attack (gulfnews.com)

16h

[1.7]

Flydubai co-pilot suspected of planning to crash plane into Israeli airport (express.co.uk)

1d 13h

[1.6]

Flydubai cockpit fight forces emergency landing on Dubai-Tel Aviv flight (derstandard.at)

1d 17h

Link Source (German)

[1.3]

Indian Embassy: flydubai pilot Captain Smit Machchhar recovering after attack (gulfnews.com)

8h

[1.3]

Flydubai pilot survives axe attack by co-pilot, undergoes skull surgery (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)

2h

[1.1]

Flydubai pilot Smit Machchhar critical after skull fracture, emergency surgery (malayalam.oneindia.com)

8h

Link Source (Malayalam)

[1.1]

Indian embassy: flydubai pilot Smit Machchhar recovering after attack (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)

5h