Flydubai Hijack Plot: Interrogation Reveals Suspect Planned To Crash Flight Into Building, Aircraft

Hamam al-Hammami, the suspect arrested over an alleged attempt to seize control of flydubai Flight 1073, reportedly planned to keep the aircraft on its normal course before deliberately crashing it into a building or another aircraft at an airport, newly disclosed interrogation details have revealed.

Al-Hammami is currently being held and interrogated in the United Arab Emirates, where investigators are examining the circumstances surrounding the incident.

According to the details of his interrogation, the suspect planned to incapacitate the captain, continue flying the aircraft normally, obtain the required landing clearances and only reveal his intentions at the final stage of the flight.

Investigators believe the strategy was intended to delay detection and prevent authorities or passengers from having enough time to intervene.

Al-Hammami reportedly told investigators that he deliberately waited until the aircraft was over Jordan before attempting to take control of the cockpit.

However, his plan was disrupted when Captain Smit Machchhar, despite being attacked and stabbed with the aircraft’s crash axe, managed to open the cockpit door.

Passengers and crew members then intervened, storming the cockpit and overpowering the suspect.

Yaniv Hayun, identified as “The Plumber”, reportedly put al-Hammami in a headlock and pulled him away from the flight deck, while other passengers restrained him.

For a brief period during the struggle, no one was at the aircraft’s controls. Hayun entered the cockpit and helped pull the aircraft out of a dive before two other pilots, who were close behind, reached the controls and took over.

Investigators also learned that al-Hammami had visited Ben Gurion Airport several times in recent months after arriving there on flydubai flights.

He reportedly told interrogators that during a visit in June, he concentrated on gathering information and preparing for the operation.

He had initially planned to execute the plot in July but abandoned it at the last moment because he was friends with one of the crew members.

“I looked into which airline flies to Tel Aviv. That’s why I chose flydubai. I planned it even before I was accepted,” he reportedly told investigators.

The suspect allegedly began the attack after requesting permission to pray at about 9:15 a.m. in the small area behind the pilots’ seats, close to where the aircraft’s crash axe was stored.

He then allegedly attacked Machchhar with the axe, triggering a struggle inside the cockpit as the captain attempted to unlock the door.

About five minutes later, Tali Manes accompanied her five-year-old daughter to a business-class bathroom located near the cockpit.

Manes reportedly heard an argument inside the flight deck and alerted the cabin crew, who in turn informed an off-duty pilot seated in the business-class section.

The off-duty pilot reportedly operated the cockpit’s external door handle at the same time Machchhar managed to unlock the door from inside.

When the door opened, al-Hammami was allegedly seen attacking the captain.

With his initial plan apparently compromised, al-Hammami reportedly put the aircraft into a nose dive at about 9:21 a.m., allegedly attempting to crash it into the desert.

He also reportedly tried to damage the aircraft’s controls to make it difficult for anyone else to regain control.

Passengers and crew members, however, rushed into the cockpit and subdued him while the pilots worked to stabilise the aircraft.

At about 9:31 a.m., the off-duty pilots who took over the flight controls set the aircraft’s transponder to 7700, the standard code for a general emergency.

By 9:35 a.m., al-Hammami had been restrained.

Three minutes later, the pilots changed the transponder code to 7500, which indicates unlawful interference, before reverting to 7700 after the situation had been brought under control.

Saudi air traffic control subsequently instructed the pilots to divert and make an emergency landing in Tabuk.

The aircraft landed in Tabuk at approximately 10:57 a.m.

There were 174 people onboard the flight.

Machchhar and al-Hammami were later returned to the United Arab Emirates, with the captain receiving medical treatment and the suspect handed over for further interrogation.

The UAE authorities are reportedly seeking the harshest possible punishment for al-Hammami. He is expected to face the death penalty if convicted.