UAE says Omani flydubai co-pilot planned suicide attack on Tel Aviv flight

Key facts

• An Omani flydubai co-pilot planned a suicide attack on a Dubai-Tel Aviv flight on September 30.
• The co-pilot intended to crash the plane into Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.
• The plot was inspired by the September 11, 2001 attacks.
• The suspect confessed to the plot and was thwarted by his fellow pilot.
• The aircraft was diverted to Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia after the incident.

An Omani co-pilot for flydubai planned to hijack a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv and crash it into Ben Gurion Airport in a suicide attack inspired by the September 11, 2001 attacks, the UAE attorney general announced on Friday. The incident occurred on September 30, 2026.

The 29-year-old suspect confessed to the plot, stating he pursued a career in aviation specifically to carry out such an operation. Investigators traced his radicalization to 2017 while he was studying in Melbourne, Australia, where he was exposed to extremist literature and online content glorifying terrorist organizations and suicide attacks. He also allegedly attended a mosque affiliated with the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and came into contact with individuals connected to a center managed by a Lebanese man known as "Abu Hamza," said to have links to the Muslim Brotherhood.

During his career, the suspect worked for Oman Air from 2020 to 2024, briefly for Royal Air Maroc in 2025, and joined flydubai in January 2026. Investigators found he had used two earlier flights to Tel Aviv to reconnoiter the route and airport.

On the day of the incident, the co-pilot allegedly struck the aircraft's captain with an emergency axe inside the cockpit. A pilot traveling as a passenger on the return flight noticed the cockpit door behaving unusually, gained entry, and with the help of crew and passengers, restrained the suspect and rescued the injured captain. The aircraft was diverted and landed safely at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia. The suspect confessed to acting alone, though investigations are continuing to verify this claim and review recordings, technical reports, and possible connections to accomplices.