Flydubai Cockpit Attack Prompts International Probe

The Straits Times reports, citing The Telegraph, that Hamam al-Hammami, the 29-year-old flydubai co-pilot accused of attempting to hijack an Israel-bound flight, trained at L3 Airline Academy, now part of Acron Aviation, and received instruction at one or more centres in England. Acron said it would assist with any investigation. The article describes international efforts to reconstruct al-Hammami’s background, including his studies at RMIT University in Melbourne from 2015 to 2017, where he did not complete an engineering qualification, and his time in New Zealand. Reuters, citing New Zealand Assistant Commissioner Michael Johnson, reported that al-Hammami had gone to New Zealand seven years earlier for flight training for a UK-based company. The Telegraph said trainees at the time could complete ground training in Southampton before travelling to New Zealand for flight school. The article also recounts the alleged incident on September 30: Israel’s government identified al-Hammami as the pilot who allegedly attacked the captain with an axe in the cockpit during a Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight. Flight-tracking data indicated the aircraft descended more than 14,000 feet in 30 seconds. The Boeing aircraft, carrying more than 170 passengers, landed safely at a regional airport in Saudi Arabia after passengers and a reserve crew member intervened, subdued al-Hammami and helped stabilise the plane. The article adds that al-Hammami had previously been dismissed by Oman Air over concerns about his radical views, but later obtained a job at flydubai, a sister airline of Emirates. The report presents these details as part of the continuing investigation into his history and the alleged attack.

New Zealand has opened an investigation into Hamam al-Hammami, the Flydubai co-pilot accused of attempting to hijack an Israel-bound flight on 30 September. Police confirmed that the Omani national spent 175 days in New Zealand, from November 2018 to May 2019, completing part of his flight training for a UK-based company that no longer operates there. Authorities are examining his time in the country as investigators in several nations try to establish his background, intentions, and whether he acted alone. The incident was stopped after passengers and crew intervened. According to the United Arab Emirates’ prosecutor general, Hammami allegedly used a crash axe and stabbed the pilot in the cockpit while 182 people were aboard. The flight’s captain, Smit Machchhar, later said he felt a blow to the back of his head after Hammami left his seat to pray. Despite his injuries, Machchhar unlocked the cockpit door, allowing passengers to overpower the co-pilot. A reserve Flydubai pilot took control and landed the plane in north-western Saudi Arabia, where Saudi authorities detained Hammami. The investigation has also widened to Australia, where Hammami studied for about two years before leaving in 2017 without completing an engineering degree at RMIT University. Australia’s security agencies are investigating his time there, and the Executive Council of Australian Jewry has called for a thorough inquiry into his associations and possible influences. The article cites concerns raised by the council about extremist literature, preachers advocating hate and violence, and recruitment. A deleted social-media profile believed to be Hammami’s reportedly described his overseas student years as the “golden years” of his religious commitment. Israeli and regional officials also suspect he may initially have planned an attack in July before postponing it.

The Israeli government has rejected flydubai’s request to resume flights to Israel, according to a report by Israel’s Channel 13 cited in the article. The decision came about a week after an attack in the cockpit of a Tel Aviv-bound flydubai flight, in which Omani co-pilot Hammam al-Hammami allegedly attacked Indian captain Smit Machchar. More than 170 people were aboard, most of them Israeli citizens, and the article says their lives were put at risk. Flydubai reportedly sought permission to restart its Israel operations, telling officials that its investigation was nearing completion and that several employees had been fired. The report also said Israeli transportation ministry officials had been invited to visit Dubai the following week. However, Transportation Minister Miri Regev declined the airline’s request for the time being. The article adds new details about Machchar’s injuries, reporting that al-Hammami attacked him with an axe kept in the cockpit and caused a “depressed fracture fragment of skull.” Despite being severely injured, Machchar managed to keep the aircraft under control and prevent the situation from escalating. The article characterizes the co-pilot’s alleged actions as an attempted “9/11-style attack.” The report does not provide further details about the investigation or explain what conditions might lead Israel to reconsider flydubai’s request.