In brief
A Flydubai flight was interrupted when an Omani co‑pilot allegedly tried to hijack the cabin in a violent assault. UAE Attorney‑General Hamad Saif al‑Shamsi said the pilot, who studied in Australia from 2015–17, had adopted extremist views beginning in 2017. Armed with an axe, he wounded the captain before passengers wrestled control and flew the aircraft to Saudi Arabia. Security agencies are probing how the man’s radicalisation slipped past Flydubai’s screening and the links between his earlier education and the attack.
An Omani flight‑crew member on a Flydubai aircraft from Dubai to Tel Aviv was accused of attempting to hijack the plane on 30 September after he struck the captain with an axe and tried to steer the aircraft toward the Israeli capital.
UAE Attorney‑General Hamad Saif al‑Shamsi said the incident was the culmination of a “drift towards extremism and terrorism” that began while the co‑pilot, named Hamam al‑Hammami, studied in Australia between 2015 and 2017.
Al‑Shamsi alleged that the pilot had been influenced by extremist literature and online content glorifying suicide attacks, and that he even trained in boxing to prepare for a one‑man plot.
Passengers overpowered the man and took control of the cockpit, enabling the aircraft to be diverted to Saudi Arabia for an emergency landing. The aircraft was later cleared to land at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.
Security officials are investigating how al‑Hammami passed Flydubai’s standard checks after being barred from flying by Oman Air due to concerns about his extremist views.
Australian authorities have also opened investigations into the passenger’s links to the country, where he held a student visa and attended university from 2014 to 2017.
The incident has reignited concerns about on‑board threats and the effectiveness of vetting procedures for crew members who have spent time abroad.
The Flydubai aircraft after its emergency landing appears to show it has sustained damage to its tail fin.
