Emirati sources on the Omani co-pilot who tried to crash a Fly Dubai plane into Ben Gurion Airport: "The punishment the pilot will receive will not be minor, but rather extremely significant."
Estimates run from life imprisonment to the de...
Emirati sources on the Omani co-pilot who tried to crash a Fly Dubai plane into Ben Gurion Airport: "The punishment the pilot will receive will not be minor, but rather extremely significant."
Estimates run from life imprisonment to the death penalty.
The Abu Dhabi Attorney General's statement confirmed he planned to hit the passenger terminal in a September 11 style attack, and that he used two earlier flights to Israel to study the flight path and the target. He claims he acted alone. The Emirates are still checking whether anyone helped him.
Latest Houthi attack: Riyadh International Airport
WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR
A Houthi missile struck the complex housing Terminals 3 and 4 (domestic flights) at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday.
The attack is attribute...
Latest Houthi attack: Riyadh International Airport
WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR
A Houthi missile struck the complex housing Terminals 3 and 4 (domestic flights) at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday.
The attack is attributed to the Houthis, but they have not claimed it yet, unlike their earlier strikes this week.
Time: Approximately 3:00 PM local time.
Saudi Arabia's early warning system issued no alert before impact.
Casualties: Dozens injured, including several pilgrims traveling to Mecca.
A hospital source told AFP that 5 people are in intensive care.
No fatalities have been confirmed yet.
Airport terminals were evacuated and operations suspended. Health authorities called in doctors for a mass casualty emergency.
Numerous flights were canceled or diverted, with 266 canceled and 219 delayed. Several international airlines suspended Riyadh flights, including Lufthansa Group (through October 16), Air India, Flydubai, Pakistan International and Kuwait Airways.
The US, Canadian and other embassies told citizens to stay away from the airport.
This is the third attack on the airport this week. Thursday's strike killed 3 Saudis, including Saudia pilot Captain Hamoud Ali Alkalthami, and hit a parked Saudia jet.
Wednesday's attack killed a Sudanese national. Total confirmed deaths at Riyadh and Abha airports this week: 6.
Saudi authorities have warned residents that filming or sharing interceptions or impact sites could bring legal action.
Europe's aviation safety agency (EASA) expanded its warning on Saudi airspace, citing the Houthis' growing focus on airports.
Official statement from the UAE Attorney General on the Flydubai case.
The Omani first officer planned to carry out a suicide attack by crashing a Flydubai passenger plane into the terminal at Ben Gurion Airport. The stated objective was t...
Official statement from the UAE Attorney General on the Flydubai case.
The Omani first officer planned to carry out a suicide attack by crashing a Flydubai passenger plane into the terminal at Ben Gurion Airport. The stated objective was to cause as many casualties as possible, in a manner similar to the September 11 attacks.
The roots of his radicalization go back to 2017, when he stayed in Melbourne, Australia, for studies and began adopting extremist views.
He also gathered intelligence in preparation for the attack attempt. That collection took place on two flights to Israel and covered both the flight path and Ben Gurion Airport itself.
On the hiring question, the Attorney General's statement says the suspect met all professional and security requirements of Flydubai at the time he was taken on. The preliminary checks conducted on him revealed no signs of extremist positions or terrorist intentions.
Israel's Transportation Ministry has issued new guidelines for foreign airlines landing in or flying over Israel following the flydubai incident. The ministry has no mechanism to verify that the carriers actually comply. Options under review include special visas or temporary passports for air crews.
Hamam al-Hammami, the FlyDubai co-pilot accused of trying to crash Flight 1073 near Tel Aviv last week, told investigators this was his second attempt. He prepared the same attack in July and pulled back because he cared about one of the cr...
Hamam al-Hammami, the FlyDubai co-pilot accused of trying to crash Flight 1073 near Tel Aviv last week, told investigators this was his second attempt. He prepared the same attack in July and pulled back because he cared about one of the crew.
The Omani national looked for work at airlines flying to Israel. The plan was to incapacitate the captain and crash into a target such as Ben Gurion Airport.
Oman Air had already barred him from flying over extremism concerns. FlyDubai hired him without checking with Omani authorities.
Mossad representative to the cabinet on flydubai co-pilot:
"We discovered that in recent years the terrorist visited countries that are hostile to Israel, some of them enemy countries. These were hasty visits. We are checking whether during these visits someone or some organization activated or recruited him."
The Omani co-pilot of the FlyDubai flight had a second plan. If he could not crash the aircraft in Israel, he intended to crash it at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, a U.S. military base in Jordan.
Fox News: UAE prosecutors have formally classified the attack by the Flydubai co pilot as an attempted act of terrorism. Suspect Hamam Al Hammami could face the death penalty, according to reports.
Omani copilot Hamam al-Hammami, accused of attempting to crash a flydubai flight bound for Israel, could face the death penalty in the UAE, a senior Emirati source told Ynet. Israeli intelligence officials are taking part in the investigation inside the UAE.
NEW DETAILS: Major security failures in Israel are emerging following the Flydubai incident, according to N12.
The pilot had previously landed in Israel, including just one week before the incident.
Israel did not know that Oman had previ...
NEW DETAILS: Major security failures in Israel are emerging following the Flydubai incident, according to N12.
The pilot had previously landed in Israel, including just one week before the incident.
Israel did not know that Oman had previously dismissed the pilot over concerns about Islamic religious extremism.
The Transportation Ministry did not independently vet the backgrounds of foreign crews flying into Israel and did not conduct ongoing monitoring of their backgrounds.
CBS Report: Israeli investigators lean toward a lone-wolf attack in the FlyDubai FZ1073 hijacking attempt. Trump had floated an Iran link to the co-pilot. All avenues remain open.
Al Arabiya reports the Omani co-pilot of the Fly Dubai flight had been barred from flying in Oman over radicalization he underwent in Syria, where he spent most of his time before moving to the UAE. His name is reported as Maa'm Al-Hamami.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee met with Yaniv Hayon, the passenger who took control of the cockpit on a FlyDubai flight, along with Hayon's wife.
Advisor to the UAE president, on the Flydubai incident:
The pilot deserves appreciation for confronting a serious terrorist act and bravely faced a potential disaster. Vigilance and precaution are necessary in the face of extremism and terrorism.
AFP
Air India
European Union Aviation Safety Agency
flydubai
Houthis
Kuwait Airways
Lufthansa Group
Pakistan International Airlines
Saudia
Abha
King Khalid International Airport
Mecca
Riyadh
