In a statement released by the UAE Attorney-General, Hamad Saif al-Shamsi, investigators revealed that al-Hammami intended to crash the plane into the passenger terminal at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv. The plot was described as a “premeditated … suicide attack” designed to cause the greatest possible number of casualties. The suspect’s fixation on this specific mode of attack was not a spontaneous impulse, but rather the culmination of a long-standing ideological shift. According to the UAE’s preliminary findings, al-Hammami told prosecutors that the 2001 attacks on the United States inspired him to pursue a career in aviation, with the explicit intent of replicating those events using a commercial jet.
The trajectory of al-Hammami’s radicalisation is now a focal point for international security agencies. The UAE attorney-general stated that signs of his ideological shift first emerged in 2017, during his time as a student at RMIT University in Melbourne. During this period, he was reportedly influenced by “takfiri” ideology through the consumption of extremist literature and online content that glorified terrorist organisations. Australian authorities, including the Australian Federal Police, Victoria Police, and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, have confirmed they are investigating his links to the country. RMIT University acknowledged that al-Hammami had studied at its Melbourne campus but noted that he did not complete his engineering qualification. He held a student visa and was in Australia between 2015 and 2017.
Al-Hammami’s aviation career path provides a timeline that complicates the picture of his recruitment. He worked for Oman Air from 2020 to 2024, though a source indicated he was removed from flight training there due to concerns about his views and reassigned to a different role. He subsequently trained with Royal Air Maroc in 2025 as part of a pre-employment process but was not selected. He joined Flydubai in January 2026, having passed all professional and security requirements, including holding a pilot’s license and a certificate of good conduct. The UAE investigation found no indications of his extremist inclinations during the recruitment process, a finding that has prompted intense scrutiny of existing vetting standards within the global aviation industry.
Physical preparation for the attack also featured prominently in the suspect’s actions. Investigators said he had trained in boxing under a private coach to enhance his physical capability for the plot. The attempt on September 30 was thwarted only by the intervention of the crew and passengers. The Indian co-pilot, Capt Smit Machchhar, was hailed as a hero after managing to unlock the cockpit door while being attacked with an emergency axe. Passengers then took control of the aircraft, allowing the flight to eventually land in Saudi Arabia. In total, 182 people were on board the flight.
The incident has reignited debates over the vulnerabilities of international aviation security, particularly regarding the screening of crew members for ideological extremism. While the suspect claimed to have acted alone, investigations remain ongoing to verify this assertion. For the families of the victims of the 2001 attacks, the revelation that a would-be hijacker was inspired by their loss adds a layer of profound tragedy to an event that has already exposed the fragility of security in one of the world’s busiest air corridors.
