The flydubai copilot accused of attacking his captain and attempting to hijack a flight to Israel had allegedly planned to crash the aircraft into Ben Gurion Airport, according to Israeli media reports.

Omani national Hammam al-Hammami, who is under arrest and being interrogated in the United Arab Emirates, reportedly told investigators he intended to kill Captain Smit Machchhar inside the cockpit before continuing flight 1073 to Tel Aviv.

Hi plan, according to Channel 12, was to maintain the flight as normal and obtain the necessary landing clearances before deliberately crashing into a building or another aircraft at Ben Gurion Airport. By waiting until the final stage of the flight, he would have avoided alerting authorities of his intentions.

Reports said this was why Mr al-Hammami waited until the aircraft was over Jordan before attacking the captain.

Mr Machchhar was stabbed with a cockpit axe and badly injured but managed to open the cockpit door, allowing several Israeli passengers to enter, restrain Mr al-Hammami and regain control of the aircraft.

Two -ff-duty pilots on board then took over the controls and landed the plane safely in Saudi Arabia.

Israeli news outlet Ynet reported that Mr al-Hammami had also planned to crash into a US military air base in Jordan if he was unable to reach Israel.

Mr al-Hammami had visited Israel several times in recent months after arriving on fludubai flights and reportedly told investigators that during a June visit he focused on gathering intelligence and refining his plans.

He had allegedly intended to carry out the attack in July but abandoned the plan at the eleventh hour because he was friendly with one of the crew members.

“I looked into which airline flies to Tel Aviv. That’s why I chose flydubai. I planned it even before I was accepted,” Mr al-Hammami told investigators, according to The Times of Israel.

Israeli investigators have not directly questioned Mr al-Hammami, with the information reportedly passed to Israel through Saudi and Emirati investigators. Israel has asked the UAE to expand its questioning to include flight attendants.

Mr al-Hammami’s alleged links to Australia are also being investigated by a joint counter-terrorism team.

The Australian reports the Omani national was granted an Australian student visa in 2014 and began studying at an Australian university the following year.

He reportedly left Australia in 2017, with sources telling the publication his visa was cancelled in 2019 after authorities determined he was no longer enrolled in a university course.

US outlets CNN and ABC America have also reported that a LinkedIn profile listing his time at the Australian university was taken down.

Al-Hammami reportedly later studied at New Buckinghamshire University in Britain, graduating with a degree in aviation management in 2023.

Australian authorities have confirmed an investigation after reports he studied an engineering degree in Melbourne between 2015 and 2017.

“The Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team (VIC JCTT), comprising the AFP, Victoria Police and ASIO, can confirm it is investigating the man’s links to Australia,” an AFP spokeswoman said.

“An update will be provided at an appropriate time.”