The Boeing 737 was eventually brought under control and landed safely in Saudi Arabia with the help of two reserve pilots who had been travelling on board.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has now invited Machchhar to attend Independence Day ceremonies next May.
The UAE prosecutor, Hamad Saif Al Shamsi, told state media that investigations were still ongoing to determine the full circumstances and motives of the incident, but revealed that the co-pilot attempted to carry out a “terrorist attack”, according to the country’s state news agency.
Three men entered the cockpit to restrain Hammami and regain control of the plane after Captain Smit Machchhar, an Indian national, opened the door from the inside after being stabbed. One of the men, Yaniv Hayun, said Hammami had been “trying to destroy the instruments in order to disable the plane” before Hayun put him in a chokehold and pulled him out of the cockpit.
Speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from his hospital bed in an Emirati hospital on Saturday, Machchhar revealed that the flight had been normal until the co-pilot asked to take a prayer break. Minutes later, the captain said, he was struck repeatedly in the back of the head. He initially believed the blows might reflect a problem with the aircraft before realising that his co-pilot was attacking him.
Netanyahu praised Machchhar during the call and invited him to attend Israel’s Independence Day ceremony in May 2027.
“Captain, I want to invite you and my dear friend Prime Minister Narendra Modi to light a celebratory flame on our next Independence Day,” the premier said in a video recording of the call published by his office, adding that Machchhar was a “true hero” and wishing him “a very speedy and complete recovery”.
Netanyahu said lighting an Independence Day flame is Israel’s “highest honour” and is usually reserved for Israeli citizens, but said Israelis would embrace Machchhar. The prime minister said he hoped to welcome the captain to Israel under “memorable and historic” circumstances.
In an interview with CNN on Wednesday evening, Netanyahu said Machchhar, passengers and second crew had "managed to prevent a 9/11 disaster".
The alleged attacker was an Omani national, according to Netanyahu. Several media organisations, including Reuters, CNN and The New York Times, have identified him as Hamam al-Hammami, although his identity has not been officially confirmed.
Timeline of the events that occurred on Flydubai flight FZ1073 on 30/09/26[Missing Credit]
Reports in US media said that while working for Oman Air, he had been removed from flight training because of concerns about his radical views and was subsequently given another role at the airline.
Australian authorities have also confirmed that they are investigating his "links" to the country after it emerged that he studied in Australia between 2015 and 2017. ABC reported that Australia’s counter-terrorism force is investigating whether he had become radicalised in the country. Hammami then completed a three-year distance-learning course run by the UK’s Buckinghamshire New University, graduating with a degree in aviation management in 2023. The school said he did not take any pilot training there.
