Flydubai co-pilot planned attack before joining airline as Oman security failures come under scrutiny

Euro Times – Dubai

New details in the investigation into Flydubai flight FZ1073 indicate that Omani co-pilot Hammam al-Hammami had planned an attack before joining the airline, widening scrutiny of security vetting that allowed him back into a cockpit after Omani authorities had previously barred him from flying over concerns about extremist views.

Reuters reported, citing two Israeli officials familiar with the investigation, that al-Hammami told UAE interrogators he had planned the attack before Flydubai hired him. A third source briefed on the UAE probe said he intended to crash the latest flight into Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv.

He searched for an airline flying to Tel Aviv

According to the officials, al-Hammami applied to Flydubai after searching for airlines that operated services to Tel Aviv. He had also operated an earlier Tel Aviv flight this year and allegedly intended to hijack and crash that aircraft as well, but abandoned the plan. Investigators have not established publicly why he changed his mind, although one source said he was thought to have known someone aboard.

Oman warning failed to stop his aviation career

A Wall Street Journal investigation added details about al-Hammami’s time at Oman Air. People familiar with the matter said Omani authorities examined his online activity and concluded that his interest in radical ideology made him unsuitable to continue flying.

He was barred from flying, sent to a deradicalisation programme and reassigned to a desk job. But the concerns were not communicated broadly enough to prevent him from later moving to another airline. The Journal reported that Flydubai did not contact Oman to vet his previous experience when it hired him in February, although the airline conducted a criminal-background check.

The case has therefore intensified questions over intelligence sharing, pilot licensing and airline recruitment procedures across the region.

New Zealand joins the investigation

New Zealand Assistant Police Commissioner Michael Johnson has confirmed that al-Hammami spent time in New Zealand and that police are examining that period, working with other agencies where necessary. Authorities have not disclosed when he was in the country or what he was doing there.

The development follows an Australian counterterrorism investigation into his links to Australia, where he was previously enrolled at RMIT University in Melbourne.

What happened aboard FZ1073

The UAE attorney general has described the incident as a terrorist act and said the co-pilot attacked the captain inside the cockpit with an emergency crash axe. Passengers and crew subdued him, while Indian captain Smit Machchhar, despite being injured, managed to open the cockpit door. A reserve Flydubai pilot travelling aboard the aircraft then took control and landed it in Saudi Arabia.

The UAE investigation remains ongoing and authorities have not announced formal charges against al-Hammami. Oman has not issued a detailed public response to the latest claims concerning his previous employment there.

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Australia investigates Flydubai co-pilot Hammam al-Hammami’s past in Melbourne