Flydubai terrorist reportedly admitted that he sought airline job in order to crash a passenger jet into Ben Gurion Airport or a Tel Aviv skyscraper.By World Israel News StaffThe Omani copilot accused of attempting to bring down a flydubai passenger jet bound for Israel had allegedly planned the attack before joining the airline, researched carriers serving Tel Aviv and reportedly confessed that had hoped to crash an aircraft into Ben Gurion Airport or a skyscraper in the city.Hamam al-Hammami, who has been identified in multiple reports as the copilot behind the September 30 attack aboard flight FZ1073, told interrogators that his intention to use a passenger aircraft as a weapon predated his employment with flydubai.“The dream was to crash into Ben-Gurion Airport,” Hammami said during questioning, according to an Israeli source cited by The Jerusalem Post.Investigators believe Hammami researched airlines operating routes to Israel and sought employment with several carriers before ultimately joining flydubai approximately eight months ago.After being hired, he repeatedly flew into Ben Gurion Airport and is believed to have used at least one of those trips to gather information in preparation for an attack.Israeli intelligence has also reportedly concluded that Hammami considered steering a hijacked aircraft into high-rise buildings in Tel Aviv.Under the plan, he would incapacitate or kill the captain without immediately alerting the cabin, continue toward Israel along the aircraft’s normal flight path and strike his target before fighter jets had enough time to intercept the plane.Hammami is also alleged to have contemplated carrying out an attack months earlier but backed away on at least one occasion after discovering that a crew member with whom he had a personal relationship was aboard.The plot finally erupted aboard FZ1073 as the Boeing 737 Max was flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv with more than 170 passengers and crew, most of them Israelis.Authorities say Hammami attacked Indian captain Smit Machchhar inside the cockpit with an emergency crash axe and attempted to seize control of the aircraft.The jet suddenly plunged approximately 16,000 feet in roughly half a minute as the struggle unfolded.Despite being seriously wounded, Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door, enabling passengers and other crew members to intervene. Hammami was subdued, and a reserve pilot traveling aboard the aircraft helped regain control before the plane was diverted to Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia.Saudi authorities detained Hammami before transferring him to the United Arab Emirates, which has jurisdiction over the incident because the aircraft is Emirati-registered.The UAE attorney general said investigators had determined that the copilot had “attempted to carry out a terrorist act,” while stressing that authorities are still examining his motives, preparation and possible connections to others.Israeli investigators currently believe Hammami may have acted as a lone terrorist rather than under direct orders from an established organization, although authorities have not publicly ruled out outside involvement.The investigation has increasingly focused on Hammami’s history of Islamist extremism and on whether warning signs were missed long before the attack.Hammami previously worked for Oman Air but was reportedly removed from flying duties amid concerns over extremist views. He later obtained employment with flydubai despite those concerns.His years in Australia have now also drawn the attention of counterterrorism authorities.Hammami entered Australia on a student visa in 2014 and studied there between 2015 and 2017. RMIT University has confirmed that the individual under investigation had been enrolled at the institution but did not complete an engineering qualification.Australian authorities are examining whether he became radicalized during that period and whether he had contacts with extremists while living in the country.The Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team, which includes the Australian Federal Police, Victoria Police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, confirmed that it is “investigating the man’s links to Australia.”Reports have indicated that Hammami frequented radical mosques and extremist websites while in Australia and that Australian intelligence services previously maintained a file on him.The attempted attack has also triggered scrutiny over how Hammami was permitted to operate a flight to Israel in the first place.Israel and Oman do not have diplomatic relations, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israeli aviation security rules should have prevented a pilot from such a country from serving aboard a flight to Israel.Netanyahu has ordered the National Security Council to conduct a broad review of the security arrangements governing foreign airlines flying into the country.Questions have also emerged over what information was available before the flight.The UAE had transmitted the passenger and crew manifest to Israel before departure, including the pilots’ identities and nationalities, according to officials familiar with standard procedures surrounding the flight.The post Flydubai terrorist admitted he ‘dreamed of crashing into Ben Gurion Airport’ appeared first on World Israel News.