A UAE investigation has found that a 29-year-old Omani co-pilot flying for flydubai had planned a suicide attack aboard flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv, authorities revealed on Friday, October 9, 2026. The flight was forced into an emergency diversion to Saudi Arabia on September 30, 2026, after the co-pilot attacked the captain inside the cockpit with an emergency crash axe. the pilot, who had worked for Oman Air between 2020 and 2024 and briefly for Royal Air Maroc in early 2025 before joining flydubai in January 2026, used two earlier flights on the same route to familiarise himself with the flight path and the layout of the destination airport.
Investigators say he intended to seize control of the aircraft and crash it into the passenger terminal at Ben Gurion Airport, an act authorities have described as inspired by the September 11, 2001 attacks. His radicalisation reportedly began in 2017 while he was studying in Australia, where he was said to have been influenced by extremist material and a mosque associated with RMIT university.
The suspect has given investigators a detailed confession describing his motives and the planning behind the attempted hijacking, claiming he acted alone. Authorities, however, say they are continuing to examine whether anyone else was involved.
The case is being treated as one of the most serious aviation security incidents in the UAE in recent years. Dubai's aviation authorities say the investigation remains open until the full scope of the plot, including any possible accomplices, is established.