Hamad Saif Al Shamsi
Role at the time: Attorney-General of the United Arab Emirates, in an update on the investigation carried by the state news agency WAM
Statement summary
In an October 3, 2026 update on the investigation, the UAE Attorney-General, Hamad Saif Al Shamsi, said investigations had revealed that the co-pilot of flydubai flight FZ1073 attempted to carry out a terrorist act. He said the co-pilot began executing his plan during the flight, attacked the captain inside the flight deck with a crash axe and tried to take control of the aircraft's flight controls. He said investigations into the full circumstances, motives and any links were continuing and that final results would be announced when the procedures are complete.
“Investigations into the incident aboard Flydubai flight FZ1073 revealed that the co-pilot attempted to carry out a terrorist act”
The UAE state news agency's report of the Attorney-General's October 3 update on the investigation, as republished on the UAE Barq news portal. It says the co-pilot attacked the captain with a crash axe and tried to take control of the aircraft, that investigations into the full circumstances, motives and any links are continuing, and that final results will be announced when the procedures are complete.
Why we used this label
The case asks whether a pilot deliberately tried to crash FZ1073. The UAE, which leads the investigation, says through its Attorney-General that the co-pilot attempted a terrorist act, attacked the captain and tried to seize the flight controls, which affirms that the co-pilot acted deliberately against the flight. We labeled it Condemned, the label this case uses for speakers who assert the attempt. The closest competing label is Mixed or conditional, because he says motives and links are still under investigation, but that reservation concerns why he acted, not whether he did.