Flydubai co-pilot plotted ‘suicide’ attack on Israel, UAE says

Attorney General says suspect admitted he acted alone after preparing ‌‌psychologically ‌‌and physically for the attack. Save Share Authorities in the United Arab Emirates say the co-pilot who tried to seize control of aFlydubai aircrafton September 30 was on a “suicide” mission to crash the plane at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv. Emirati public prosecutors believe the plan “drew inspiration from the 9/11 attack”, Attorney General Hamad ⁠⁠Saif al-Shamsi said in a statement carried by state news agency WAM on Friday, referring to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. WAM reported al-Shamsi’s comments as well as updates on what Emirati investigators had discovered about the alleged plot after launching an inquiry into the incident on October 1. They found that the ⁠⁠29-year-old suspect had used two previous flights to Tel Aviv to “familiarise himself with the flight route and the ⁠⁠airport”, WAM reported. The attorney general said the suspect had worked for several airlines in ‌‌different countries, including Oman Air and Royal Air Maroc, before ‌‌joining ‌‌Flydubai in January. Investigators examined Flydubai’s recruiting procedures and found the suspect had met all professional and security requirements, including holding a pilot’s licence and providing a certificate of good conduct. “However, none of the procedures revealed any ⁠⁠indications of his extremist views or his intention to carry out a terrorist plot,” the statement said. Al-Shamsi’s statement did not appear to implicate Flydubai in any wrongdoing, and contained the most detailed account yet from prosecutors about what they believe to have happened. UAE officials ‌‌have not identified the suspect, who is accused of attacking his co-pilot, the captain of theDubai-Tel Aviv flightthat was carrying 174 people on board. But people with direct knowledge of the matter have identified him as Hamam al-Hammami, an Omani national, both the Reuters and Associated Press news agencies reported. Al-Shamsi said the suspect had told investigators he had prepared ‌‌psychologically ‌‌and physically for the attack by viewing material promoting “terrorism” and taking boxing lessons. The findings indicated that “signs of his drift towards extremism and terrorism first emerged in 2017, while he was studying in Australia”, the statement said....