Abu Dhabi: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is seeking the harshest possible punishment, potentially the death penalty, for Hamam al-Hammami over the unsuccessful terrorist attack on board flydubai Flight FZ1073, Israeli news outlet Ynet reported.
Abu Dhabi wants al-Hammami to face the maximum punishment for the September 30 attack, in which the Omani co-pilot assaulted Indian Captain Smit Machchhar with a crash axe and attempted to seize control of the aircraft, a senior Emirati source told the outlet.
Israeli intelligence officials and aviation experts are assisting the UAE-led investigation, the report said.
The Dubai-Tel Aviv flight, carrying nearly 180 people, was forced to make an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, after the cockpit attack.
Passengers and crew members intervened and helped overpower al-Hammami, while other pilots helped stabilise the aircraft. He was detained in Saudi Arabia before being transferred to the UAE. The UAE has officially described the incident as a terrorist attack.
The co-pilot had told interrogators that he planned to crash the plane and was not afraid of dying.
He had waited for the last moment before attacking Capt Machchhar, hoping to raise no alarm. The plane was over Jordan and about to enter Israeli airspace when he carried out the attack.
Hammami also told the authorities that he had planned to crash the aircraft into a building or another plane at the Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv. Had that not been possible, he would have crashed it into a skyscraper or some other building in the Israeli capital in a repeat of the 9/11 US attacks.
Investigators are now trying to determine whether al-Hammami acted alone or had support from a wider extremist network, as reported by News18.
Israeli intelligence officials, including Mossad personnel, along with Israeli aviation experts have joined the investigation in the UAE, Ynet reported.
The probe also involves authorities from Saudi Arabia and Oman, while investigators are examining Hamam al-Hammami’s background, online activity and previous aviation career.
Investigators are also examining how al-Hammami was able to work as a commercial pilot despite earlier concerns about his conduct. Before joining flydubai, he had worked with Oman Air. According to The Wall Street Journal, people familiar with his background said Oman Air had barred him from flying after authorities became aware of his interest in extremist websites.
He was subsequently placed in a deradicalisation programme and assigned a desk job. He later sought employment elsewhere and reportedly joined flydubai in February this year.
It is now known that he had joined flydubai with this plan in mind. He had planned to carry out the strike in July, but did not do so as there was a friend among the crew.