The co-pilot accused of attacking an Israel-bound flydubai flight allegedly planned to murder the captain and crash the aircraft into Tel Aviv’s skyscrapers, according to an Italian newspaper report citing Israeli intelligence.

Corriere della Sera reported Sunday that Hamam al-Hammami intended to kill Capt. Smit Machchhar without alerting anyone outside the cockpit, then continue along the scheduled route. The alleged plan was to reach his target before Israeli fighter jets could intervene.

The September 30 flight instead ended with an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia after passengers and crew subdued the attacker. The UAE’s prosecutor general said Saturday that the co-pilot used an emergency crash axe in what authorities described as a terrorist attack. A reserve pilot aboard the aircraft brought it safely into Tabuk.

Machchhar described his desperate struggle during a Saturday conversation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The captain said he suffered repeated blows, his vision deteriorated and the aircraft pitched downward as his co-pilot repeatedly prevented others from entering the cockpit.

Hearing passengers scream, Machchhar managed to reach the door and open it, allowing those outside to intervene. “I had that one last fight left in me,” he told Netanyahu.

A source separately said that Israeli authorities currently believe al-Hammami acted independently, rather than under instructions from a terrorist organization. That remains an investigative assessment.

His employment history is also drawing scrutiny. The Guardian, citing The Wall Street Journal, reported that Oman previously barred him from flying over concerns about extremist views.

Australian authorities have confirmed an investigation into his connections to the country. Reports said he studied there between 2015 and 2017, with investigators examining whether he became radicalized during that period.

As of Reuters’ Sunday report, al-Hammami remained in UAE custody, and authorities had not announced formal charges.