UAE says attacker in FlyDubai flight meant to crash into Israel's Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv

United Arab Emirates Attorney General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said Friday the co-pilot of a FlyDubai flight, who attacked the plane's captain last month, planned to crash the plane into the passenger terminal at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.

An investigation into last month's flight found that the co-pilot intended to carry out a Sept. 11-inspired suicide mission and had developed increasingly extreme Islamist views over several years.  

Al Shamsi has not identified the co-pilot so far, but he has been described as a 29-year-old Omani national and that he had begun a “drift towards extremism and terrorism” almost a decade ago, while studying in Melbourne, Australia. 

The Emirati official said the co-pilot developed a fascination for “glorifying terrorist organizations and suicide operations," and investigators said he allegedly confessed to authorities that following through on his own Sept. 11-inspired terror attack was “linked to his decision to pursue a career in aviation," according to the New York Times.

Al Shamsi said the co-pilot “met the professional and security requirements for employment” at FlyDubai, including completing required checks and providing a certificate of “good conduct," and none of the steps revealed “any indications of his extremist views or his intention to carry out a terrorist plot.” 

He was also previously employed by Oman Air for four years and spent a brief stint at Royal Maroc Air before switching to FlyDubai. 

The FlyDubai flight was carrying more than 170 passengers and crew members at the time of the incident and the jet eventually landed safely in Saudi Arabia. But data shows the aircraft plunged from 33,000 feet to 17,000 feet in about a minute.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.