Authorities in Australia and Israel are investigating the Omani co-pilot's links to Australia.
DUBAI — Authorities in Australia and Israel are investigating the Omani co-pilot's links to Australia and how he came to be part of the crew of a flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv, as the UAE-led probe examines his motives and connections, according to media reports.
The Australian Federal Police said a counterterrorism team was investigating the man's links to Australia, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported on Sunday.
The Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team, comprising the Australian Federal Police, Victoria Police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, is conducting the Australian investigation, the Australian Federal Police told ABC and the BBC.
Sources familiar with the case told Australian media that the co-pilot was issued a student visa in 2014 and studied in Australia between 2015 and 2017 before leaving the country.
His visa was cancelled in 2019, the ABC reported, adding that the cancellation was not on character grounds but because he was no longer enrolled in a course and therefore no longer eligible for a student visa.
The UAE, which is leading the investigation, said on Saturday that its probe had revealed the co-pilot attempted to carry out a "terrorist act".
UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said the co-pilot attacked the captain inside the flight deck with a crash axe and attempted to take control of the aircraft, the state-run WAM news agency reported.
He said investigations were continuing to establish the full circumstances, motives and any links related to the incident.
The co-pilot has been identified by multiple media outlets as Hamam al-Hammami, an Omani national, although his identity has not been officially confirmed.
The Wall Street Journal reported that al-Hammami had previously been barred from flying in Oman over concerns about his radical ideological views.
CNN, citing sources and an Israeli official, reported that he was removed from flight training because of concerns over his radical views and was subsequently given another role at Oman's national airline.
News reports citing sources said he had been working for flydubai for about eight months.
It was not immediately clear to what extent he was vetted before being hired by UAE-based airline flydubai.
Royal Air Maroc, Morocco's national carrier, told AP news agency that al-Hammami completed a three-month theoretical training period with the airline in 2025 as part of its pre-employment process, but his application was not selected for employment.
Al-Hammami completed a three-year distance-learning course in aviation management at Buckinghamshire New University in the UK and graduated in 2023, the BBC reported, quoting the university. The university said he did not undergo any pilot training at the institution.
The Israeli official also told CNN that several Israeli agencies, including Shin Bet, Mossad, the military and the Transportation Ministry, were investigating how the Omani pilot came to be part of the flight crew.
On flydubai flight FZ1073 on Wednesday, al-Hammami attacked Indian Captain Smit Machchhar with a crash axe, seriously injuring him. The motive for the attack remains unclear.
The flight, carrying 174 passengers, transmitted emergency signals and made a rapid descent of more than 17,000 feet from 34,000 feet.
The captain was lying injured on the cockpit floor when he realised the plane was descending and decided to make "one last push" to open the cockpit door, according to the BBC.
This enabled passengers to overpower the attacker, after which two reserve pilots landed the aircraft safely at Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Airport in Saudi Arabia's Tabuk city, where al-Hammami was taken into custody.
Machchhar was taken to a nearby hospital before being airlifted to Abu Dhabi, where he was reported to be in stable condition.