The co-pilot who allegedly attacked his captain with an emergency crash axe aboard a Flydubai flight was attempting to carry out a terrorist attack, according to the United Arab Emirates prosecutor general.

Prosecutor General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi confirmed to state media that investigations established 29-year-old Omani national Hammam Al-Hammami intended to crash the Boeing 737 MAX in Israel. The disclosure comes as counter-terrorism authorities in Australia probe his background, and reports emerge detailing how the aircraft plunged 16,625 feet in just over 30 seconds during the struggle.

Disaster was narrowly averted on Wednesday, 30 September, aboard flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv when passengers and crew intervened after Al-Hammami attacked Captain Smit Machchhar over Jordanian airspace. News outlets including the BBC, Sky News, and The Guardian reported that the subsequent descent was violent enough to rip off part of the aircraft's rudder.

Despite sustaining severe injuries on the flight deck floor, Captain Machchhar managed to twist open the cockpit door knob from the inside. Two off-duty pilots and several passengers rushed into the flight deck, taking roughly 10 minutes to stabilise the aircraft before making an emergency landing at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. An Israeli passenger, Yaniv Hayun, also assisted at the controls. None of the 182 passengers on board suffered serious injuries.

The Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team in Australia—comprising the Australian Federal Police, Victoria Police, and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation—confirmed it is formally investigating Al-Hammami's ties to the country. He lived in Australia on a student visa from 2014 until 2017, before the visa was cancelled in 2019.

Saudi state media reported that Omani authorities had previously barred Al-Hammami from flying due to extremist views after he was dismissed by Oman Air. He had been employed by Flydubai for eight months. Buckinghamshire New University in the UK confirmed to the Press Association that he completed an online distance-learning degree in aviation management in 2023, a course that involved no practical flight training.

Captain Machchhar remains in hospital in Abu Dhabi, where the Indian embassy said he is recovering well. In calls with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the captain described his survival as a "twist of fate and faith" after making "one last push" to open the cockpit door.

I will continue to report on this investigation as further findings are confirmed by authorities.