The flydubai first officer who attacked his captain with a cockpit axe on September 30, 2026, had allegedly planned to hijack and crash an earlier flight to Tel Aviv, abandoning the plan only because he knew someone on board, according to a source briefed on the UAE investigation cited by Reuters.

The disclosure reframes the September 30 incident — already officially treated by UAE authorities as a terrorist attack — as the second iteration of a premeditated plot rather than an isolated act.

What did the earlier plan involve?

The Reuters source said the co-pilot had operated a flight to Tel Aviv earlier in 2026 and had intended to hijack and crash the aircraft on that sector. He decided against it because he knew a passenger on the flight.

Two Israeli officials, speaking separately to Reuters, added that the pilot had planned the attack before joining flydubai and had specifically searched for airlines that fly to Tel Aviv during his job hunt. That detail raises questions about screening and vetting at the point of hire — and about how a candidate whose stated motivation involved a specific route network passed recruitment into a flight deck.

UAE authorities have not publicly identified the co-pilot or confirmed his nationality. Sources familiar with the investigation have told media outlets he is Omani.

What happened on flight to Tel Aviv on September 30?

The flydubai Boeing 737 MAX 8, operating from Dubai to Tel Aviv, diverted to Saudi Arabia after transmitting emergency transponder codes, including 7500 — the signal used to indicate unlawful interference with an aircraft.

• The first officer attacked the captain with a crash axe kept in the cockpit for emergency use.
• Despite stab wounds, the captain opened the cockpit door, allowing passengers to enter the flight deck and restrain the attacker.
• An additional flydubai pilot, riding on the aircraft, took control after the jet descended more than 14,000 ft in roughly 30 seconds.

The descent figure — over 14,000 ft in about half a minute — points to a near-uncontrolled dive during the struggle, survived only because of the intervention of the captain, passengers and the third pilot.

How are UAE authorities handling it?

On October 3, 2026, UAE authorities said the "co-pilot began executing his plan during the flight, attacking the captain inside the flight deck using a crash axe and attempting to take control of the aircraft."

Counsellor Dr. Hamad Saif Al Shamsi, Attorney-General of the UAE, said investigations are ongoing to establish the full circumstances, motives and any links related to the incident, as well as to complete technical examinations and analysis of physical and digital evidence.

The framing by prosecutors — an executed plan, not a mid-flight altercation — will sharpen scrutiny of two areas: pre-employment psychological vetting at Gulf carriers, and the security posture around cockpit crew on routes flagged as higher-risk.

What comes next?

The findings so far remain preliminary and rest heavily on unnamed sources; neither the co-pilot's identity nor a formal charge sheet has been made public. flydubai has already suspended its Israel flights following the incident. Expect the UAE investigation's technical and digital-evidence analysis, and any Israeli input given the Tel Aviv target pattern, to determine whether the case is prosecuted as a solo plot or one with wider links.