People disembark from a FlyDubai carrying Israeli passengers who had earlier been aboard another FlyDubai aircraft that made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia approaches Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

JERUSALEM - The investigation into the thwarted FlyDubai cockpit attack last week has turned into a wide security and intelligence probe spanning from the Middle East to New Zealand as authorities try to figure out how the suspect, previously flagged for extremist views in Oman, was cleared to fly an Israel-bound flight.

Investigators in the United Arab Emirates, along with Israeli and Saudi authorities, are treating the midair assault by the ax-wielding Omani co-pilot, Hamam al-Hammami, as a planned terror attack. The plane's wounded captain managed to open the cockpit door to allow passengers in. They subdued the attacker and the plane made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.


The suspect was detained and sent to the UAE, where he remains in custody, and the focus of the probe has now shifted toward addressing apparent vetting failures.

Here are some key aspects of the investigation that are still being sorted out.

CLAIM: The co-pilot should have been barred from flying to Israel.

THE FACTS: It's unclear how a citizen of Oman, an Arab country that has no diplomatic relations with Israel, was allowed to fly a planeload of Israelis to Tel Aviv.

Israeli law requires airlines to provide information about passengers and crew members, including their names and nationalities, to Israel up to 48 hours before a flight.

Authorities in the UAE did share with Israel a list of passengers and crew ahead of the flight, according to officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters about the probe.

Israel had not raised red flags on any passengers or members of the crew, the officials said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday - a day after the attack - that Israel has long-standing agreements with foreign carriers to ke

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