Mossad, Saudis probe Flydubai pilot; death sentence expected

Hamad Saif Al-Shamsi, the Attorney General of the United Arab Emirates, has been appointed to lead the investigation into the attempted terror attack on a Flydubai flight, according to reports by commentator Smadar Peri in Ynet. The investigation, initially kept under wraps, is being conducted in absolute secrecy with the involvement of international intelligence agencies.

A senior official in Abu Dhabi confirmed in a conversation reported by Ynet that as part of the secret investigation, Mossad operatives and Israeli aviation experts arrived covertly in Abu Dhabi and are taking an active role in the interrogation room. Working alongside them are senior officials from Saudi intelligence, Omani intelligence, and at least two representatives from United States intelligence agencies.

Target: Azrieli Towers in Tel Aviv

At the center of the investigation is the aircraft's co-pilot, 29-year-old Mamam Al-Hamami. Al-Hamami was carrying out a particularly malicious and horrifying plan: interrogation reveals that he planned to crash into a high-rise building in Israel, similar to the September 11 attack on the Twin Towers in New York, with the Azrieli Towers in Tel Aviv marked as the primary target.

Despite having worked at Flydubai for only eight months, Al-Hamami had managed to reach Israel dozens of times, including just days before the plot was foiled. His plan included neutralizing the Indian pilot beside him, seizing the controls, and flying the aircraft directly into the heart of the country. Only "an outright miracle," as aviation professionals describe it, prevented a catastrophe of massive proportions.

The affair raises severe and troubling questions about regional security failures. As Peri notes in Ynet, Al-Hamami was previously fired from Oman Air in Muscat after extremist materials were found in his possession. However, Oman settled for dismissing him without passing the information to authorities in Abu Dhabi or other agencies, and he was absorbed without thorough vetting by the Dubai airline.

An additional failure lies at the door of Israeli authorities. Although Israel has no official relations with Oman, aircraft and their crews are required to undergo rigorous screening. Foreign airlines are obligated to submit crew lists in advance for flights landing at Ben Gurion Airport, but in this case the warning light did not go off, and the identity of the co-pilot and his problematic background — including a suspicious period in Syria and checks connected to Al-Qaeda — passed under the radar. In Abu Dhabi, officials openly admit this was "a very serious blunder," partly due to the severe global pilot shortage that leads to overly lenient screening.

Investigators in Abu Dhabi do not intend to let this pass. As Smadar Peri reports in Ynet, the senior source in the Emirates pledged that upon completion of the investigation, and despite the fact that no passengers were actually killed, Al-Hamami will be sentenced to death (execution). The goal is to send an unequivocal and deterrent message to anyone who assisted, financed, or equipped the terrorist with materials and ideas. The Emirates make it crystal clear: there will be no leniency, and there will be no pardon.

The dramatic incident occurred on a flight from Dubai to Israel, when the Omani co-pilot attacked Indian captain Sumit Machechar with the emergency axe from the cockpit and began diving the aircraft toward the ground. The wounded captain managed to open the cockpit door, allowing four Israeli passengers, Yaniv Hayon, Dr. Shota Musayev, Zvika Manes, and Asaf Rejwan, to storm the cockpit and overpower the attacker.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu provided an update on the investigation and revealed that "as time passes the picture becomes clearer, the perpetrator underwent Islamist radicalization. He came to crash the plane with its passengers." Netanyahu added: "We are investigating whether he was sent, and whoever sent him will pay a very heavy price."