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Flydubai co-pilot attempted 'terrorist attack,' UAE says

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Majumdar, R., & Dockery, W. (2026, October 3). Flydubai co-pilot attempted 'terrorist attack,' UAE says. Deutsche Welle. https://www.dw.com/en/flydubai-co-pilot-attempted-terrorist-attack-uae-says/a-79526641?maca=en-rss-en-world-4025-rdf

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

Deutsche Welle · collected 2026-10-03 · by Roshni Majumdar, Wesley Dockery

Quick Summary

UAE investigators report that the co-pilot of Flydubai Flight 1073 attempted a terrorist attack using a crash ax, aiming to stab his captain and potentially crash the plane carrying 182 people from Dubai to Tel Aviv. The flight was diverted safely to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. According to reports, the suspect is an Omani national barred by Oman from flying due to concerns about radical views, but he was still hired by Flydubai. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu stated that the co-pilot had undergone Islamist indoctrination and might have acted under direction or as a lone wolf, with investigations ongoing into his potential connections to extremist groups.
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 2026-11-02, 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 ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 19% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
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Hedges 4 of 29 claims Outlet record 60/100
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Hedges 3 of 11 claims Outlet record 69/100
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Hedges 3 of 39 claims Outlet record 63/100
The Straits Times
Hedges 2 of 13 claims Outlet record 66/100
The Guardian
Hedges 2 of 25 claims Outlet record 66/100
New York Post
Hedges 2 of 6 claims Outlet record 66/100
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Hedges 0 of 5 claims Outlet record 60/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
16
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
19%
3 of 16 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
95/100
Deutsche Welle'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

Deutsche Welle · 557 article(s) · 0 correction(s) detected
No corrections detected for this publisher. That may mean careful reporting, or simply that nothing has been checked.

Who wrote this

Roshni Majumdar
2 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 The newspaper said it could not be determined whether Oman shared concerns about the pilot's radicalization with other countries or airlines.
🔮 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he would travel to Miami if his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, attended the Group of 20 (G20) leaders' summit scheduled for December.
Also by Roshni Majumdar
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
Wesley Dockery
2 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 "NATO will remain basically the center of defense and the center of deterrence, but NATO doesn't have a budget, the member state has," Sikela said.
🔮 The newspaper said it could not be determined whether Oman shared concerns about the pilot's radicalization with other countries or airlines.
Also by Wesley Dockery
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

Topics

Emirati Flydubai Oman Omani UAE

Subjects

Oman GPE · 5× Omani NORP · 3× UAE GPE · 3× Dubai GPE · 2× Emirati NORP · 2× Israel GPE · 2× Reuters ORG · 1× Tel Aviv GPE · 1× The Wall Street Journal ORG · 1× WAM ORG · 1×

Narrative

Anwar Gargash, an Emirati presidential adviser, referred to the Flydubai incident on X, saying the latest "terrorist operation" showed the Mideast region's "fight against extremism continues." Flydubai co-pilot was barred from flying by Oman over security concerns The Wall Street Journal report said the co-pilot was hired by Flydubai despite the ban by Oman, allowing him to fly the jet on a sensitive route connecting the UAE and Israel.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-03
🔮 The newspaper said it could not be determined whether Oman shared concerns about the pilot's radicalization with other countries or airlines.
2026-10-03 · Deutsche Welle
Flydubai co-pilot attempted 'terrorist attack,' UAE says · assertive framing

Claims (16 extracted, 3 hedged)

The co-pilot accused of stabbing his captain during Flydubai Flight 1073 was wielding a crash ax and attempted to carry out a "terrorist attack," UAE investigators said Saturday, according to Emirati state news agency WAM. uncertain
investigators → accuse → WAM
A crash ax is typically stored in the plane's cockpit for use in case of an emergency. asserted
ax → store → emergency
According to a Reuters media report based on unnamed sources familiar with the matter, the suspect is an Omani national. uncertain
suspect → accord → matter
The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that the co-pilot had been barred from flying by Oman over concerns that he had adopted radical ideological views. asserted
he → report → views
What happened on the Flydubai flight? asserted
What → happen → flight
The attack that took place on a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv has raised many questions about how the incident unfolded as well as about background checks in aviation hiring. asserted
incident → take → hiring
After the co-pilot stabbed the captain in an apparent attempt to crash the plane, two other pilots in the cabin took control and landed the aircraft safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. asserted
pilots → stab → Tabuk
Anwar Gargash, an Emirati presidential adviser, referred to the Flydubai incident on X, saying the latest "terrorist operation" showed the Mideast region's "fight against extremism continues." Flydubai co-pilot was barred from flying by Oman over security concerns The Wall Street Journal report said the co-pilot was hired by Flydubai despite the ban by Oman, allowing him to fly the jet on a sensitive route connecting the UAE and Israel. asserted
him → refer → UAE
Israel and the UAE, which includes Dubai, signed the Abraham Accords normalizing relations in 2020. asserted
which → include → 2020
The newspaper said it could not be determined whether Oman shared concerns about the pilot's radicalization with other countries or airlines. uncertain
Oman → say → countries
US broadcaster CNN cited two sources saying the co-pilot was removed from a job at Oman's national airline last year over concerns about extremist views. asserted
pilot → cite → views
Saudi broadcaster Al Arabiya, also citing an informed source, reported that Omani authorities determined that the co-pilot held extremist views. asserted
pilot → cite → views
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday in a video statement that they know the co-pilot "underwent Islamist radical indoctrination" and intended to crash the jet. asserted
pilot → say → jet
Netanyahu also said they were also looking into whether the co-pilot had acted under anyone's direction, warning that whoever was involved would pay a "heavy price." The investigation is ongoing. asserted
investigation → say → price
A Gulf diplomat, in comments to AP, said authorities were attempting to find out whether the Omani co-pilot was a "lone wolf or has any connection with any extremist groups." asserted
pilot → say → groups
If you rely on our team for trusted reporting, please take a moment to select us as your Preferred Source on Google so you'll always see our verified news first. asserted
you → rely → news
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