Reuters: FZ1073 Co-Pilot Allegedly Planned Attack Before Joining flydubai

Photographer: Oleg Belyakov - AirTeamImages.com

The co-pilot accused of attacking the captain of flydubai Flight FZ1073 allegedly planned the attack before joining the airline, according to a Reuters report published October 5, citing two Israeli officials familiar with the investigation.

The officials said the co-pilot told UAE interrogators he sought employment with an airline after searching for carriers operating flights to Tel Aviv. Reuters reported that the allegation relates specifically to the period before he was hired by flydubai.

However, the UAE Attorney-General's October 3 statement did not address any alleged pre-employment intent. In that statement, UAE Attorney-General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said the co-pilot attacked the captain with a crash axe and attempted to seize control of the aircraft. Investigators were still examining the motive, possible connections, and physical and digital evidence, with final findings expected after the investigation concluded.

At the time of its October 5 report, Reuters said neither UAE authorities nor flydubai had responded to requests for comment or publicly identified the suspect. The UAE had also not announced formal charges.

A separate anonymous source briefed on the UAE investigation told Reuters that the co-pilot had allegedly intended to hijack and crash an earlier flight to Tel Aviv this year, but abandoned that plan. The reason for abandoning it was not immediately clear.

What happened aboard FZ1073?

Flight FZ1073 departed Dubai International Airport (DXB) for Ben Gurion International Airport (TLV) on September 30, 2026. According to flydubai, members of the crew traveling aboard the aircraft were able to secure the cockpit and land the aircraft safely at Tabuk Airport (TUU) in Saudi Arabia. The incident was later described by the UAE Attorney-General as an attempted terrorist act.

The investigation remains ongoing, and the publicly available information does not establish the full sequence of events, the precise motive, or whether the alleged pre-employment planning can be independently substantiated.

Recruitment and route assignment

Questions have also emerged about the suspect's recruitment. Royal Air Maroc (AT) said the man completed three months of theoretical training with the airline in 2025 but was not hired, Reuters reported. The airline separately denied that he had ever been employed as a crew member or performed professional duties for Royal Air Maroc.

Reuters did not report why the airline rejected his application. A rejected application, by itself, does not establish that the airline identified or should have identified a security concern. If the allegation of pre-employment intent is ultimately substantiated, however, information available during the recruitment process could become an important part of the investigation.

That would raise broader questions about what information was available at the time, whether any warning signs were reasonably discoverable, which organizations had access to them, and whether additional screening or information-sharing mechanisms could have prevented the individual from gaining operational access.

Those questions cannot be answered from the information currently available.

Questions surrounding the suspect's background

The Associated Press reported that the suspect was Omani, citing anonymous sources, and discussed restrictions concerning pilots from countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel.

Israel and Oman do not have formal diplomatic relations. However, the publicly reported information does not establish the precise rules that applied to the co-pilot's employment or the specific approvals involved in his assignment to FZ1073.

Reuters also reported that New Zealand police were examining the suspect's time in the country, while an Australian counterterrorism team was investigating his links to Australia. Reuters' reporting also referenced his previous enrollment at RMIT University in Australia. No publicly established evidence currently connects his university studies or time abroad to the alleged attack.

The insider-threat question

The FZ1073 incident has also brought renewed attention to the aviation industry's long-standing challenge of insider threats. Airways previously examined the issue in its analysis of the FZ1073 cockpit attack, including questions about recruitment, ongoing security assessments, and operational assignments.

The latest Reuters reporting adds another element to those questions: the allegation that the suspect's intentions may have developed before he joined flydubai.

For now, that remains an allegation based on information sources familiar with the investigation provided to Reuters. The UAE investigation is ongoing, and authorities have not publicly released a complete account of the evidence, motive or any potential charges.

As investigators continue examining the case, the central question will be whether they can substantiate the alleged pre-employment intent and, if so, whether any information available before the co-pilot joined the airline could reasonably have revealed the threat.