Flydubai co-pilot planned attack before being hired by airline, officials say

The Flydubai co-pilot who stabbed his captain in an alleged attempt to crash the plane last week told UAE interrogators he planned the attack before being hired by the airline, according to two Israeli officials with knowledge of the probe.

The flight was bound for Israel from Dubai.

What did the Flydubai co-pilot tell investigators?

Two Israeli officials say the co-pilot told interrogators he applied to Flydubai after searching for airlines that fly to Tel Aviv. A third source said he planned to crash Wednesday's flight into Ben Gurion airport, and had intended to hijack and crash an earlier Tel Aviv flight he operated, but opted not to.

The third source, who is briefed on the UAE probe and said the co-pilot is an Omani national, added that it was not immediately clear why he changed his mind on the earlier flight. The co-pilot is thought to have known someone onboard. The same source said Israel was being continuously updated about the investigation from the UAE.

All of the sources spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the investigation. UAE and Israeli authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did Flydubai .

What happened on Flydubai flight FZ1073?

The United Arab Emirates prosecutor general has said the co-pilot of Flydubai flight FZ1073, which was bound for Israel from Dubai last Wednesday, attacked the pilot with an emergency crash axe. The prosecutor general called the incident a "terrorist attack".

Disaster on board was averted after passengers and crew subdued the co-pilot. The pilot, Indian national Smit Machchhar, survived the attack and has been hailed as a hero for managing to open the cockpit door. The plane was carrying more than 170 passengers and crew, most of them Israeli.

A reserve Flydubai pilot travelling on the flight took control of the aircraft and landed it at a regional airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia. Saudi authorities detained the co-pilot there and later transferred him to the UAE on Thursday.

Who is the Flydubai co-pilot accused of the attack?

Two sources have said the co-pilot is an Omani national named Hamam al-Hammami. Israeli officials have not named the co-pilot but have said he is from Oman. UAE authorities and Flydubai have not publicly disclosed his identity.

Reuters has not been able to independently reach al-Hammami, who is in UAE custody, for comment. The UAE has not announced any formal charges against him, and it is not known if he has appointed legal counsel. Oman has not commented on the incident.

A multi-agency Australian counterterrorism unit is investigating links to Australia of the co-pilot, who was once enrolled at RMIT University in Melbourne, Victoria. A fourth source said that the co-pilot studied there around a decade ago.

Why was an Omani co-pilot assigned to a flight to Tel Aviv?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said pilots who are citizens of countries that Israel does not have diplomatic relations with, like Oman, are not permitted to operate flights to Israel.

It is not clear how the co-pilot came to be assigned to the flight to Tel Aviv. Netanyahu has since ordered a review of foreign airlines flying to Israel.