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Omani national Hamam Al Hammami, 29, studied at a British university before allegedly attacking a FlyDubai pilot with an axe on a flight that plunged 14,000ft.
Hamam Al Hammami, a 29-year-old Omani national, has been identified as the co-pilot who attacked his colleague with a crash axe in a suspected hijacking attempt on a FlyDubai flight bound for Israel on Wednesday morning. The flight, carrying 182 people from Dubai to Tel Aviv, was diverted to Tabuk in north-western Saudi Arabia after the attack. The captain, Smit Machchhar, was severely wounded before passengers and crew subdued the assailant.
The incident occurred on Flight FZ1073 when the co-pilot allegedly used the cockpit crash axe to attack the captain and attempt to take control of the plane. The aircraft plunged 14,000 feet in just 29 seconds before passengers and crew wrestled with the co-pilot and regained control. A British off-duty pilot was reportedly among those who helped subdue the attacker. The flight transmitted a general emergency signal with squawk code 7700, and later briefly issued code 7500, indicating unlawful interference. The plane made a U-turn over the border between the two countries while cruising at altitude.
Video footage from passengers captured screams as the plane descended erratically. The captain, Smit Machchhar, lay wounded on the floor while others tended to him. The flight was initially denied clearance to land by Saudi Arabia, which directed it to Jordan, but Jordan also turned it away. The pilot, his voice trembling, called mayday and said a hijacking was taking place and ambulances would be needed. Eventually, the plane landed in Tabuk, where the attacker was arrested and is undergoing interrogation.
Al Hammami studied at Buckinghamshire New University in the United Kingdom, graduating in 2023 with a degree in aviation management after completing a three-year distance-learning course. A source at the university confirmed he did not take any pilot training there. He also studied engineering at a university in Australia. In 2024, while working as a co-pilot trainee for Oman Air, he was found with extremist materials, according to ABC News. He was subsequently demoted to an administrative role. Oman later barred him from flying over concerns he had adopted extremist views, as first reported by The Wall Street Journal. He was then hired by UAE-based FlyDubai, though it remains unclear to what extent he was vetted during the hiring process.
Officials are investigating how he was allowed to fly for FlyDubai and how he became the first officer on a plane headed for Israel. The United Arab Emirates is leading the investigation and is working to establish whether he acted as a lone wolf or had connections to any extremist groups. Al Hammami, who was transferred from Saudi Arabia to the UAE on Thursday, is said to be cooperating with authorities. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the alleged attacker was arrested in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday afternoon and was undergoing interrogation there.
Passengers and crew, including the wounded captain, have been hailed for their bravery in preventing what officials feared could have been another September 11-style attack. Israeli officials said passengers prevented an Israeli 9/11 by tying up the assailant. The incident has raised questions about aviation security and the vetting of pilots, particularly those with known extremist links. The flight carried 182 people, and although initial reports mentioned 174 passengers, the total number on board was 182. The aircraft appeared to have a section of the rudder missing after landing. The investigation continues as authorities seek to understand the full circumstances of the attack and whether any wider network was involved.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz described the incident as an attempted jihadist terror attack, thwarted only thanks to the heroism of several Israeli passengers. One of them, named by local media as Yaniv Hayun, was called a hero by Netanyahu during a meeting as he arrived back in Tel Aviv. Hayun, wearing a blood-soaked T-shirt, embraced the Israeli PM before describing how he broke down the cockpit door and wrestled the alleged terrorist before taking over control of the plane. He credited his skills to watching the TV show Air Disasters, which investigates notable aviation crises.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Hayoun recounted the terrifying moment he stepped in, describing how he put the pilot in a headlock and prevented him from interfering with the controls as the jet plunged towards the ground. About an hour before landing, a woman started shouting, he said, adding that at the front of the aircraft a woman started screaming something about stabbing: He's stabbing him, he's stabbing him. Hayoun said he ran towards the cockpit, but as he approached, the plane nosedived. It lasted several seconds, he said, adding that they lost 14,000 or 15,000 feet in less than a minute. Another passenger, Zvika Manes, said people were flying out of their seats before the plane stabilised.
When he managed to recover, Hayoun says he got to the door of the cockpit, where someone was holding the handle. He pushed the door open and went inside. On the floor, right beside the door, was the pilot, lying there, very seriously injured. There was no pilot in the pilot's seat. One pilot was lying beside the door, seriously injured but conscious. Between the two seats are the aircraft's controls. Hayoun recounted how the knifeman had his knees on the plane's controls, as though trying to interfere with the instruments. He was leaning forward toward the aircraft's controls. So I grabbed him by the throat, he said. I pushed him out toward the exit and started shouting for people to come and help because he was resisting. The hero explained that at least three other Israelis rushed to his aid. We subdued him with blows. We had to stun him, so he took some blows. We tied him up. Once he was no longer a threat, we simply stood over him and made sure he couldn't free himself.
After the pilot had been subdued, Hayoun quickly returned to the plane's controls, in a desperate attempt to save the aircraft from plummeting to the ground. I leaned over the seat, reached forward with my hands and pulled the controls toward me because the aircraft was pointing downward, he said. I pulled the controls back toward me. It was only for a few seconds. He later recounted how his daughter used to ask him how the plane documentary would ever be useful. Well, this is where it became useful to me, he said. What I had seen became useful to me in the only attempt I've ever had in my life to survive. It was one shot, one opportunity. Despite his insistence he only helped for a few seconds, Hayoun's heroic actions allowed time for one of the off-duty pilots on the plane to step in and take control.
United Airlines pilot and aviation safety expert Steve Arroyo said he was surprised that the plane was able to land safely after most of the rudder was ripped off the tail during the extreme descent. That was a serious descent and strong aerodynamic forces on that rudder for that to happen. I'm just amazed the aircraft didn't come apart, Arroyo said. Another aviation safety expert, Jeff Guzzetti, said that given the rate of descent, it may not have been possible for the plane to level out if it had fallen below 10,000ft. It is remarkable they were able to pull out of that dive. What saved them is there was enough altitude left for them to recover, said Guzzetti, who used to investigate crashes for the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration in the US.
Delhi's embassy in Saudi Arabia has since confirmed Mr Machchhar is being treated in a hospital in Tabuk. Mr Machchhar was praised for saving the lives of those on board, which included four Americans. While cruising mid-air, the hero was able to fight off his co-pilot in the cockpit and his attempts to sabotage the plane's systems. Distressing footage showed Mr Machchhar lying on the ground covered in blood as passengers tended to his injuries, while another pilot is seen seemingly lying nearby unconscious. Passengers can be heard telling one of the men: You saved the plane.
A FlyDubai spokesperson in an email said the airline could not comment beyond its official statements and acknowledged there are many questions at this stage. The Daily Mail has gone to the university for comment. The investigation continues as authorities seek to understand the full circumstances of the attack and whether any wider network was involved.
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