Hamam al-Hammami, the Omani national flydubai co-pilot who recently attempted to hijack a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, had initially planned to carry out his attack in July, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people briefed on the investigation into the incident.
According to the WSJ, Hammami told investigators that he had sought to crash a plane into an Israeli target, such as Ben-Gurion Airport, due to the situation in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas War.
He had been prepared to hijack a plane in July, sources said, with some adding that he had held back because he cared about one of the flight’s crew members.
Hammami hired by flydubai in post-COVID recruitment push
According to a previous WSJ report on Tuesday, Hammami was hired by the airline during a push by the United Arab Emirates-based carrier to expand its pilot staff.
The report came after it was alleged that Hammami had previously been banned from flying by Omani authorities over concerns regarding his radical ideological views and that flydubai may have hired him in February without conducting thorough background checks.
According to the WSJ, the airline’s recruitment spree began after the COVID-19 pandemic, as the carrier worked to expand its model of providing low-cost, high-volume flights amid an industry-wide shortage of pilots.
Goldie Katz contributed to this report.
