The Omani co-pilot who attacked the captain of a flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv may have tried to crash the aircraft in the Saudi desert after realising that passengers were about to thwart his attempt to seize control of the plane, according to an investigation by Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera cited by Ynet News.
uncertain
passengers → attack → News
The report said the co-pilot, identified as Hamam al-Hammami, after repeatedly striking Indian captain Smit Machchhar with a crash axe, took control of the Boeing 737 after the injured captain activated the switch that allowed the cockpit door to be opened.
asserted
door → say → switch
Once he realised his plan to crash the aircraft would fail, he allegedly tried to bring it down in the Saudi desert.
uncertain
he → realise → desert
According to the investigation, the attacker disconnected the autopilot and pushed the aircraft's controls sharply forward, sending the plane into a steep descent.
uncertain
attacker → accord → descent
The aircraft lost around 16,000 feet in less than a minute.
asserted
aircraft → lose → minute
Report raises possibility engines were shut down
asserted
engines → raise → possibility
The Corriere della Sera investigation also raised a possibility not previously reported, that the co-pilot may have cut the fuel supply to the aircraft's engines.
uncertain
pilot → raise → engines
Two Boeing 737 captains who examined videos recorded inside the aircraft reached this possibility after noticing that the emergency lights in the passenger cabin suddenly came on during the flight, Ynet News reported.
asserted
News → examine → flight
The emergency lighting is designed to assist passengers during an evacuation or when an aircraft is on the ground.
asserted
aircraft → design → ground
According to the report, such lights would not normally be activated at cruising altitude.
uncertain
lights → accord → altitude
The two captains told Corriere della Sera that emergency lights can switch on when a Boeing 737 loses its main electrical power supply and moves to battery power.
asserted
lights → tell → power
That can happen if the aircraft's generators or engines are shut down.
asserted
generators → happen → ?
Investigators will therefore need to establish whether the co-pilot moved the switches controlling fuel flow to the engines from the “Run” position to “Cutoff”, according to the report.
uncertain
pilot → need → report
Corriere della Sera said its investigation was based on passenger testimony, reports submitted to security authorities by the flight crew, accounts from people familiar with the incident, airport employees, air traffic controllers and data from several platforms.
asserted
investigation → say → platforms
Videos recorded during the flight were analysed by Boeing 737 captains who spoke to the newspaper.
asserted
who → record → newspaper
Emergency codes changed during crisis
asserted
codes → change → crisis
The report also disclosed details about the emergency codes transmitted from the aircraft after additional pilots were called into the cockpit.
asserted
pilots → disclose → cockpit
One of the pilots transmitted squawk code 7700, which indicates a general emergency on a commercial aircraft without specifying its nature.
asserted
which → transmit → nature
Air traffic controllers initially did not understand what was happening.
asserted
what → understand → ?
Seven minutes later, the aircraft's code was changed to 7500, the code indicating a suspected hijacking.
asserted
code → change → hijacking
By that point, the aircraft was approaching Jordanian airspace, and air traffic controllers instructed it to turn back.
asserted
controllers → approach → it
Seven minutes later, controllers directed the aircraft to continue to Tabuk in Saudi Arabia for an emergency landing.
asserted
controllers → direct → landing
The flight, FZ1073, was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv when the co-pilot attacked the captain with an emergency crash axe and attempted to take control of the aircraft.
asserted
pilot → travel → aircraft
UAE authorities described the incident as a “terrorist attack”.
asserted
authorities → describe → attack
The aircraft plunged around 16,000 feet in about 30 seconds before being levelled out after passengers overpowered the co-pilot.
asserted
passengers → plunge → pilot
Aviation instructor Alberto Paduanelli, who recreated the descent in a flight simulator for Reuters, said the experience would have felt like a “vertical roller coaster” for those on board.
asserted
experience → recreate → board
Security questions emerge after attack
The incident has also prompted questions about how the Omani co-pilot was able to board the flight and operate it despite concerns about his background.
asserted
pilot → emerge → background
UAE authorities had shared a list of passengers and crew, including their nationalities, with Israel before the flight.
asserted
authorities → share → flight
Israeli officials said no passenger or crew member had triggered a security warning.
asserted
passenger → say → warning
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu subsequently instructed the head of the National Security Council to appoint an examiner to review “all security aspects regarding foreign civil aviation to Israel”.
asserted
Netanyahu → instruct → Israel
Authorities had already said the Omani co-pilot had been barred from flying by his own country because of concerns over his extremist views.
asserted
pilot → say → views
The Shin Bet said Israel's transportation ministry was responsible for vetting passenger lists from foreign flights.
asserted
ministry → say → flights
Transportation minister Miri Regev said on X that security agencies were responsible for flight security and that her ministry had not received a passenger list or any warnings.
asserted
ministry → say → list
Sharing passenger lists is standard aviation procedure.
asserted
Sharing → share → lists
Dvir Rubenstien, head of aviation security at Israel's transportation ministry, told Army Radio that the ministry relies on security checks conducted locally and does not have the tools or ability to check every passenger on every flight.
asserted
ministry → tell → flight
The co-pilot's background is also being examined.
asserted
background → examine → ?
Royal Air Maroc told Reuters that he underwent three months of training with the airline in 2025, but his subsequent application to work there was rejected.
asserted
application → tell → 2025
Buckinghamshire New University in Britain said he had completed a distance-learning course in aviation management, but not pilot training.
asserted
he → say → management
An Australian Federal Police spokesperson said authorities were investigating the co-pilot's “links to Australia”.
asserted
authorities → say → Australia
A source briefed on the investigation told Reuters that he had studied at a university in Melbourne.
asserted
he → brief → Melbourne
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
