Flydubai FZ1073: a 'hijacker' aiming at a Tel Aviv tower, says the Jerusalem Post; a co-pilot with the crash axe, says the UAE prosecutor
On 30 September a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was diverted to Tabuk, in Saudi Arabia, after an attack in the cockpit. Four days later the reports disagree on who he was and where he meant to crash. Most of what they say comes from sources a reader cannot check.
What is on the record. An-Nahar reports that UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi says the investigation shows the co-pilot attacked the captain with the cockpit's emergency axe. He then tried to take the controls. The flight was diverted to Tabuk and landed safely. This is an accusation, not a court finding.
Who he was. The Jerusalem Post and Shargh name him as Hamam al-Hammami, from Oman. Shargh says he is 29.
| Outlet | Calls him | Target | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Jerusalem Post | "hijacker", "Omani pilot" | Tel Aviv skyscraper (headline); Ben-Gurion Airport (quote) | one unnamed Israeli source |
| An-Nahar | co-pilot | not given | UAE attorney general, named |
| Al Jazeera English | co-pilot "accused" | not given | not stated in what we hold |
| Shargh | co-pilot | not given | New York Times: one Arab and two US officials, unnamed |
Iran. Shargh cites the New York Times: he acted alone, with "no known" link to Iran. No other report we hold mentions Iran.
Israel's checks on foreign pilots. Digi24 cites Israeli army radio through the agency EFE. It says Israel's Transport Ministry was warned in 2024 and 2025 about gaps in checking foreign pilots. Ynet reports that the ministry's security division is short of staff and money. The ministry says the division works from scenarios and assessments.
Not settled. The target: one Jerusalem Post report gives two. The motive. Any link to Iran. Whether the warnings to Israel have anything to do with this case. Ynet's own columnist says that link has "no basis yet".
This story is about an attack in the cockpit of a passenger flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, and about who failed to stop it.
How it got here. The United Arab Emirates and Israel established relations under the Abraham Accords, signed on 15 September 2020. Direct flights followed. Flydubai is a low-cost airline owned by the government of Dubai, and it flies the route. Flights between the Gulf and Israel cross Saudi airspace. Saudi Arabia opened that airspace to them in 2022, though it has no diplomatic relations with Israel. Ties between the Gulf and Israel have been under strain since the attacks of 7 October 2023 and the war in Gaza that followed.
On 30 September 2026, after the attack, flight FZ1073 was diverted to Tabuk, in north-west Saudi Arabia. Photo captions in the Jerusalem Post say a replacement flight took the passengers on to Ben-Gurion Airport the same day.
The actors. - The UAE is the airline's home state. Its attorney general leads the investigation. He is the only official on record by name. - Israel was the destination. Its Transport Ministry oversees security on flights into the country, including foreign crews. - Saudi Arabia is where the plane landed. - Oman: two reports say the accused is Omani. - Iran comes up only because Shargh, an Iranian paper, carries a report that there is no known link. Iran and Israel are open enemies and fought a direct war in June 2025. That is why the question is asked at all.
What is at stake. Since 2001, airline security has been built around a locked cockpit door. In this case the threat was already inside that door. For Israel, the question is whether the foreign pilots who fly in are checked at all. For the UAE and Israel, it is a test of one of the best-known routes opened when they made peace.
Where it stands. The UAE investigation continues. None of the reports we hold carries a charge, a trial date or an official statement of motive.
The story so far
- Jerusalem Post says 'hijacking', The Insider 'attempted terror attack', Le Figaro only 'diverted' — and nobody we read names who sent the co-pilot · 2 Oct 2026
- Flydubai flight to Tel Aviv: Jerusalem Post says 'attempted hijacking', Libération says 'alleged attack' · 1 Oct 2026
Earlier stories The AI Times filed on this thread.
What is being argued about
- Whether he was a hijacker or the flight's own co-pilot
- Whether the target was a Tel Aviv tower or Ben-Gurion Airport
- Whether he had any link to Iran
- Whether Israel's Transport Ministry ignored warnings about foreign pilots
Claims and verdicts
Al Jazeera English
Al Jazeera English
🇶🇦QA ·
TV/radio · state-funded international
The Jerusalem Post
The Jerusalem Post
🇮🇱IL ·
newspaper · independent
Shargh
Shargh
🇮🇷IR ·
newspaper · independent
The Jerusalem Post
The Jerusalem Post
🇮🇱IL ·
newspaper · independent
Shargh
Shargh
🇮🇷IR ·
newspaper · independent
Who wrote it
The Jerusalem Post
The Jerusalem Post
The Jerusalem Post
Ynet
Ynet
Coverage, outlet by outlet
The Jerusalem Post
The Jerusalem Post
🇮🇱IL ·
newspaper · independent
The Jerusalem Post
The Jerusalem Post
🇮🇱IL ·
newspaper · independent
Ynet
Ynet
🇮🇱IL ·
digital · independent
כשמשרד התחבורה מתפרק, האחריות לא יכולה לטוס למקום אחר
Open this report in The AI Times →
Read it at Ynet →
What we have measured
A claim in the headline that the other reports very close to deciding the regime appears in one report only ×1Active voice The killers are the subject of the verbs 'beat' and 'burned'. ×1Active voice The killers are named as acting ×1Army's term, attributed the army names the target of its strikes, and no one on the other side is quoted ×1
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
— independent
Ynet
Ynet
🇮🇱IL ·
digital · independent
מאחורי הקריסה באגף הביטחון במשרד התחבורה: "זה לא מעניין את המנכ"ל או את השרה"
Open this report in The AI Times →
Read it at Ynet →
What we have measured
A claim in the headline that the other reports very close to deciding the regime appears in one report only ×1Active voice The killers are the subject of the verbs 'beat' and 'burned'. ×1Active voice The killers are named as acting ×1Army's term, attributed the army names the target of its strikes, and no one on the other side is quoted ×1
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
— independent
Al Jazeera English
Al Jazeera English
🇶🇦QA ·
TV/radio · state-funded international
Shargh
Shargh
🇮🇷IR ·
newspaper · independent
International Criminal Court
International Criminal Court
INT ·
official record · intergovernmental body
What we have measured
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
UN News
UN News
INT ·
official record · intergovernmental body
What we have measured
Actors named Names both vetoing states and the sponsor, and says what the draft would have created ×1Asserted versus attributed share of women and children among the dead given with no source ×1Asserted vs attributed Israel named as acting, stated in the report's own voice ×1Asymmetric verb The Iranian government's crimes are 'confirmed'. The US finding is only 'reasonable grounds'. The two findings are weighted differently in one sentence. ×1
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
International Court of Justice
International Court of Justice
INT ·
official record · intergovernmental body
What we have measured
Outlet profile in The AI Times →