Failed Flydubai hijacking triggers alert over Egyptian pilot's threat video in Italy
Italian authorities are checking a video by an Egyptian pilot that pairs an El Al jet with a Sadat speech on violence. The post follows the failed attempt by a Flydubai co-pilot to crash a Tel Aviv-bound flight on 30 September.
The hijack attempt on flight FZ1073
On 30 September, Flydubai flight FZ1073 left Dubai for Tel Aviv, and its co-pilot, Hamam al-Hammami, allegedly attacked the captain with an axe to take control of the aircraft. Il Giornale describes the 29-year-old Omani as a first officer who intended to crash the plane, carrying more than 170 passengers, into a target such as Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv. According to Open, Indian pilot Smit Machchhar was gravely wounded by axe blows but still opened the cockpit door, and Israeli passengers then immobilised Al-Hammami. Off-duty pilots on board stabilised the aircraft and landed it at Tabuk in Saudi Arabia. Al-Hammami was arrested and transferred to Abu Dhabi, where he is being questioned.
- Flydubai hires Hamam al-Hammami as a co-pilot
- Al-Hammami says he planned the attack in July
- Attempted hijack of flight FZ1073 to Tel Aviv
- Osama Mansour posts video with an El Al jet and a Sadat excerpt
A planned attack and a lapse in vetting
Reports based on the investigation say Al-Hammami had searched for airlines and routes that would take him to Israel, and that he had nearly carried out the plan in July. According to the Wall Street Journal, he held back because he cared about one member of the crew. Open reports that he later confessed to investigators, and he is quoted saying:
I did it to avenge Gaza, I wanted to die as a martyr.
Oman Air had reportedly barred him from flying over his extremist views, according to 20 minutos, and media reports cited by the Irish Times say he was flagged as radical and moved to a desk job. Flydubai hired him in February of this year, and 20 minutos says the airline did so without thorough background checks. He had also worked briefly for Royal Air Maroc. Israel does not allow pilots from countries without relations with it, including Oman, to land there, yet il Giornale reports that no one appears to have enforced that rule.
Online posts and the investigation
The Financial Times reviewed more than 3,000 of his tweets from November 2021 to October 2022, finding misogynistic language and violent messaging, according to the Independent. In one post he said he would not "chase after cheap, rotten flesh", and in another he wrote that a woman seeking a divorce "needs a good thrashing". The account has since been disabled. The UAE has called the attack a terrorist act, and Emirati interrogators are checking whether he acted alone. Israeli investigators, according to people briefed on the matter, are convinced he was a lone wolf, but the Irish Times reports that critics in Israel are calling the case a systemic security failure.
The Egyptian pilot's video
Osama Mansour, who presents himself as an Egyptian pilot, posted a video on Instagram on 7 October and on Facebook the following day, according to il Giornale. The footage shows the tail of an El Al Boeing 737 beside an EgyptAir jet, with an excerpt of a speech by former president Anwar Sadat as the soundtrack: "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth and violence for violence". The post appeared on the third anniversary of the Hamas massacre in Israel. EgyptAir told il Giornale that, after an initial check, Mansour does not appear among its pilots. Speaking to the Corriere della Sera, Mansour described himself as a commander working on private jets and explained the choice of footage:
It is simply a source of pride for my flag carrier.
Israeli journalist Itay Blumental asked on X:
Will European states and the rest of the world allow pilots with violent intentions to carry passengers? A disturbing video.
Il Giornale reports that Italian intelligence and police are examining the video, including whether the post amounts to a criminal offence such as apology for the 7 October massacre. Il Giornale places the filming at Milan Malpensa, while Open reports that the Italian airport was not identified.
