UAE says Omani flydubai co-pilot planned suicide attack on Tel Aviv flight

DUBAI, Oct 9 (Reuters) – An Omani flydubai co-pilot had planned to seize a Dubai-Tel Aviv flight and crash it into a terminal at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport on September 30 in a suicide attack before he was thwarted by his fellow pilot, the UAE attorney general said on Friday, according to the state news agency.

The plan was inspired by the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US, UAE public prosecutors believe as a result of their investigation launched on October 1, which found the suspect had used two previous flights to Tel Aviv to “familiarise himself with the flight route and the airport”, the state news agency WAM reported.

The incident caused the jet to plunge 16,000 feet in 30 seconds.

The attorney general said the suspect had worked for several airlines in different countries in the past, including Oman Air and Royal Air Maroc, before joining flydubai in January 2026.

(Reporting by Enas Alashray and Yasmine Ghania; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

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