Il Nuovo Postiglione - Flydubai co-pilot planned suicide attack on Tel Aviv airport: UAE prosecutor

The unnamed Omani co-pilot, now in custody in the UAE, had drawn inspiration from Al-Qaeda's September 11, 2001 suicide attacks on the United States, and carried out his attempt "with the aim of causing the greatest possible loss of life", according to the prosecutor's findings published by state media.

"The findings showed that he had met the professional and security requirements for employment, including holding a pilot's licence, providing a certificate of good conduct and completing the required checks."

"However, none of the procedures revealed any indications of his extremist views or his intention to carry out a terrorist plot."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously said that the co-pilot must have got around restrictions preventing individuals from nations that do not recognise Israel operating flights to the country.

According to the UAE prosecutor, the co-pilot -- identified in reports as Hamam al-Hammami -- had previously worked for Oman Air and Royal Air Maroc.

- 'Extremist literature' -

Last week, Emirati investigators said the co-pilot was planning a terrorist attack and revealed that he had used the cockpit's emergency axe to attack the captain, but did not at the time reveal his motivations.

Netanyahu told the media last week that the suspect had undergone "Islamist radical indoctrination".

According to the Emirati prosecutor, the co-pilot was radicalised while studying in Australia "through reading extremist literature and following online content glorifying terrorist organisations and suicide attacks".

He said this was the co-pilot's third flight to Tel Aviv, following two earlier trips he had used to plan the attack.

During the flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, the Omani co-pilot assaulted the plane's Indian captain, Smit Machchhar, but he managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to overpower the attacker and force an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

In the immediate aftermath, passengers described rushing the cockpit and a fight for control after the plane suddenly plunged by around 5,000 metres (17,000 feet).

An off-duty pilot travelling on the plane was then able to take the controls and land the aircraft safely in Saudi Arabia.

The passengers on board the aircraft were overwhelmingly Israeli, with Netanyahu hailing them and the pilot for their bravery after the foiled attack.

He later ordered a "thorough review of all security aspects of foreign civil aviation to Israel" in response to the incident.

Q.Bernardi--INP