New details have emerged about the co-pilot of flydubai flight FZ1073, identified in multiple reports as Hamam al-Hammami, who attacked the aircraft's captain during a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv last week.

According to sources with knowledge of the investigation, the co-pilot told investigators he planned to continue flying the Boeing 737 MAX into Israeli airspace, obtain landing clearances from Ben Gurion International Airport, and then crash the aircraft into the airport or into a tower block in central Tel Aviv. The attack was reportedly modelled on al-Qaeda's September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.

The plane had between 172 and more than 180 people on board, the majority of whom were Israeli. All passengers and crew survived after the aircraft made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. They were later flown to Tel Aviv.

Investigators said the co-pilot used a crash axe, a lightweight emergency tool stored in the cockpit, to attack the captain midflight. Aviation tracking data showed the plane descended more than 14,000 feet in under 30 seconds at one point during the incident.

The captain was able to open the cockpit door during the attack. Passengers rushed in and subdued the co-pilot, while another pilot who happened to be on board helped land the plane. Both the captain and the co-pilot are alive and have been transferred to the UAE for questioning.

Sources familiar with the investigation said the co-pilot most likely acted alone, rather than on behalf of a radical organisation or foreign government. Authorities in the UAE and Israel have classified the incident as an attempted terrorist attack, though the motive is still under investigation.

The co-pilot also reportedly told investigators that he had intended to hijack and crash a previous flight to Tel Aviv but changed his mind because he knew someone on board.

The co-pilot is an Omani national, according to Israeli officials. Omani and Emirati officials have not publicly confirmed that detail. Regional officials said he had previously been barred from flying by Oman's national carrier and moved to an administrative role due to concerns about his extremist views.

He was subsequently hired by UAE-based flydubai after undergoing standard security checks that did not examine his background for potential signs of radicalisation, according to those officials.

Israeli aviation regulations state that pilots who are citizens of countries without formal diplomatic relations with Israel, such as Oman, are not permitted to operate flights to the country. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacker must have gotten through a "loophole" in the vetting process.

Israeli officials from the transport ministry and security services have traded accusations over the failure to vet the co-pilot. Transport Minister Miri Regev said her ministry was not provided with passenger and crew lists, and that security oversight for flights operated by foreign airlines fell under the remit of the Shin Bet domestic security agency and the Mossad foreign intelligence agency. The Shin Bet, however, said the transport ministry was responsible for vetting such lists from foreign airlines.

Regional officials said Emirati authorities had shared a list of passengers and crew with Israel ahead of the flight's departure.

Netanyahu has instructed the head of the National Security Council to review "all security aspects regarding foreign civil aviation to Israel." He later announced a formal examination into the matter, without providing further details.

UAE Attorney-General Hamad al-Shamsi said his country's investigation would establish the full circumstances, motives, and any links related to the incident, and that results would be announced upon its conclusion. There was no immediate comment from Emirati or Israeli authorities on the specific details reported over the weekend.

Australian authorities are also investigating the co-pilot's links to Australia. Sources told local media he studied there between 2015 and 2017.

The incident has taken on political dimensions in Israel, where national elections are scheduled within weeks. Several of Netanyahu's political opponents have described the security breach as a failure on the prime minister's part and have called for a broader investigation.