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Flydubai co-pilot used crash axe to attack captain, says UAE

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Cite

Guardian staff. (2026, October 3). Flydubai co-pilot used crash axe to attack captain, says UAE. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/03/flydubai-co-pilot-used-crash-axe-to-attack-captain-says-uae

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Guardian · collected 2026-10-03 · by Guardian staff

Quick Summary

On Wednesday, the co-pilot of flydubai flight FZ1073 used a crash axe to attempt a “terrorist attack” against the captain during a flight bound for Israel, according to the United Arab Emirates prosecutor general. The incident occurred after the co-pilot had been banned from flying by Oman due to concerns about extremist views but was later hired by flydubai. Passengers and crew intervened, subduing the co-pilot and preventing a crash that would have endangered the 182 people on board. Israel’s prime minister suggested the attack stemmed from Islamist radicalization, though no evidence was provided.
Written by AI on 2026-10-03, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On September 30, 2026, a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv signaled an emergency and was diverted to land at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia. The incident initially raised concerns about a possible hijacking, prompting Israel to scramble warplanes. However, Israeli officials later reported that the emergency signals were due to a physical altercation between the plane's two pilots rather than a hijacking attempt.

The flight, identified as Flydubai Flight FZ1073, transmitted multiple emergency alerts after takeoff and over Jordanian airspace before landing safely in Saudi Arabia. Passengers on board managed to overpower the attacker, who was later identified by UAE officials as Omani co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami. Al-Hammami allegedly attempted to crash the plane into Tel Aviv's airport but was stopped by passengers.

UAE Attorney-General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi stated that signs of al-Hammami’s radicalization first emerged in 2017 while he was studying engineering at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. He reportedly became influenced by extremist literature and online content glorifying terrorist organizations during this period.

Written for “Flydubai Hijacker's Radicalization Path” on 2026-11-05, grounded in this article and the 345 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Flydubai Hijacker's Radicalization Path
Crime & Law · 346 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

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This article reads unscored and hedges 8% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
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Hedges 3 of 16 claims Outlet record 95/100
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Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 67/100
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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
25
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
8%
2 of 25 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
The Guardian's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
346
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-03 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Guardian · 2996 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Guardian staff
79 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction
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Wire or desk byline, not an individual reporter.
Also by Guardian staff
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 79 articles by Guardian staff →

Topics

Israel Oman UAE United Arab Emirates flydubai

Subjects

UAE GPE · 5× Israel GPE · 4× Oman GPE · 4× United Arab Emirates GPE · 2× flydubai ORG · 2× Anwar Gargash PERSON · 1× Instagram ORG · 1× Oman Air ORG · 1× Syrian NORP · 1× the Wall Street Journal ORG · 1×

Narrative

Security agencies from four regional countries were working to establish the co-pilot’s motives, aided by the US and other western governments, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the investigation.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-03
2026-10-03 · The Guardian
Flydubai co-pilot used crash axe to attack captain, says UAE · assertive framing

Claims (25 extracted, 2 hedged)

The co-pilot of flydubai flight FZ1073 used a crash axe to attempt to carry out a “terrorist attack” during the flight, the United Arab Emirates prosecutor general said on Saturday, according to a state news agency. uncertain
general → use → agency
The UAE statement cited the prosecutor general as saying the co-pilot also tried to take control of the plane during Wednesday’s attack on the Israel-bound flight. asserted
pilot → cite → flight
Passengers and crew intervened to subdue the co-pilot and stabilise the plane. asserted
Passengers → intervene → plane
Officials said the co-pilot’s actions nearly crashed the flight with 182 people on board by sending it into a sharp plunge. asserted
actions → say → plunge
A crash axe is typically kept in the cockpit for use during emergencies. asserted
axe → keep → emergencies
The co-pilot had been barred from flying by Oman over concerns he had adopted extremist views, a person familiar with the matter said. asserted
person → bar → matter
He was then hired by the United Arab Emirates-based airline flydubai, the person said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation. asserted
person → hire → investigation
It was not immediately clear to what extent he was vetted when he was hired. asserted
he → vet → ?
Oman’s barring of him was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. asserted
barring → report → Journal
The co-pilot was born in the UAE and his mother is Syrian, according to a regional official with knowledge of the investigation. uncertain
mother → bear → investigation
How the co-pilot managed to be working in the cockpit on Wednesday morning is a central question for investigators. asserted
managed → manage → investigators
Israel says it has agreements with foreign carriers to keep pilots out of its airspace who come from nations with which it does not maintain diplomatic relations. asserted
it → say → relations
Israel and Oman do not have formal diplomatic relations. asserted
Israel → have → relations
The official confirmed that the co-pilot worked with Oman’s national airline but was removed from flying because of concerns that he showed signs of extremist views. asserted
he → confirm → views
He was later moved to an administrative job at Oman Air, the official said. asserted
official → move → Air
Security agencies from four regional countries were working to establish the co-pilot’s motives, aided by the US and other western governments, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the investigation. asserted
official → work → investigation
UAE senior diplomatic adviser Anwar Gargash on Friday called the attack a “dangerous terrorist act”. asserted
Gargash → call → attack
The incident is a test for the UAE government, which has earned a reputation for effective measures against extremist activities but has also bristled in the past over criticism of security lapses. asserted
which → earn → lapses
Little else was immediately known about the co-pilot’s background. asserted
Little → know → background
His Instagram account was active until the day of the flight and then deleted. asserted
account → delete → flight
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Friday said the co-pilot had undergone “Islamist radicalisation” but provided no evidence. asserted
pilot → say → evidence
The captain, who was badly wounded, has said he used his remaining energy while being stabbed to unlock the cockpit door, allowing people who had noticed loud noises to come in, tackle the co-pilot and stabilise the plane. asserted
who → wound → plane
It made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. asserted
It → make → Arabia
Both the captain and co-pilot were taken to the UAE as it leads the investigation. asserted
it → take → investigation
Officials have said a number of countries including Israel are participating. asserted
number → say → Israel
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