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A Flydubai co-pilot attempted to hijack an Israel-bound plane, wounding the captain, UAE officials say. The suspect posted extremist videos years earlier.
A Flydubai co-pilot attempted to hijack an Israel -bound plane on Wednesday, severely wounding the captain with a crash axe before passengers and crew subdued him, according to UAE authorities. The suspect, 29-year-old Omani national Hamam Al Hammami, was trying to carry out a terrorist act, prosecutor general Hamad Saif al-Shamsi said. The flight was en route to Tel Aviv when the attack occurred.
During the struggle, the plane plummeted 14,000 feet in just 29 seconds before those on board regained control. An off-duty British pilot is believed to have been among the heroes who intervened.
Suspect’s Background and Radicalization Concerns
Al Hammami, who studied at a British university, had previously worked with Oman’s national airline as a trainee in 2024 but was removed from flying because of concerns that he may have been influenced by radical groups during time spent in Syria, according to officials. He was then moved to an administrative job at Oman Air.
He was born in the UAE and his mother is Syrian; he obtained Omani nationality from his father. Al Hammami completed a three-year distance-learning course with Britain’s Buckinghamshire New University, graduating with a degree in aviation management in 2023. The university said he did not take any pilot training there. He also studied engineering at a university in Australia, it is understood.
Royal Air Maroc confirmed that Al Hammami had completed three months of training with the airline in 2025, but his application to work there afterwards was rejected. His LinkedIn profile indicated he worked at Oman Air for seven years, leaving in February 2025, and joined Royal Air Maroc in June 2025 before departing in January 2026. It made no mention of Flydubai.
Pre-Attack Posts and Extremist Links
Three years before the attack, Al Hammami posted videos of Al Qaeda leaders and clips appearing to show plans to target Israeli planes, according to CNN reports. Two posts were made to a LinkedIn page matching his identity, nine hours after the attack.
The first post reportedly featured clips filmed in the cockpits of a Boeing 737 Max aircraft. One clip, geolocated to Dubai International Airport, zoomed in on a plane belonging to Israeli airline El Al. The cockpit screen showed flight number OMA624 and the date October 11, 2023, matching the time when Al Hammami worked at Oman Air. That flight number usually corresponds to a route from Dubai to Muscat. Other clips showed more El Al planes and one from another Israeli airline, Arkia. The post ended with a photo of Ayman al-Zawahiri, who led Al Qaeda after Osama Bin Laden’s death, and a photo of Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, who killed nine people in a 2009 suicide bombing.
The second post showed an AI-generated image of Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem – Islam’s three holiest sites – linked by a glowing trail. In the background, a poem was recited speaking of rejecting humiliation, not fearing death and defending one’s dignity. The LinkedIn account has since been deleted and it is not known who published the posts or whether they were scheduled in advance.
Investigation and Security Checks Under Scrutiny
It was not immediately clear to what extent the co-pilot was vetted when he was hired by UAE-based airline Flydubai. A Gulf diplomat confirmed today that he had undergone standard security checks before being hired, but these checks focused on whether he had been convicted on criminal charges and did not go deeper into examining his background for signs of radicalisation.
The UAE, which is leading the investigation, is now working to establish whether he acted as a lone wolf or has any connection with extremist groups. Al Hammami was transferred Thursday from Saudi Arabia to the UAE and is understood to be cooperating.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that the suspect had undergone Islamist radical indoctrination. In a post on X, UAE senior adviser Anwar Gargash branded the attack a dangerous terrorist act. A Flydubai spokesman said the airline could not comment beyond its official statements and acknowledged there are many questions at this stage.
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