Omani Co-Pilot Disqualified Over Extremist Views, Filmed Israeli Planes

The identity of the Omani co-pilot who attacked the captain of a Flydubai flight to Tel Aviv has been revealed as 29-year-old Al-Hammami. The UAE Public Prosecutor's Office has officially classified the incident as an attempted terror attack. According to investigation findings, Al-Hammami assaulted the captain with the cockpit's emergency axe and attempted to seize control of the aircraft's steering systems. Born in the UAE to an Omani father and Syrian mother, he held Omani citizenship. His LinkedIn profile, confirmed by a source to CNN, indicated he worked for Oman Air for seven years until February 2025. He also completed a remote aviation management degree in 2023 from Buckinghamshire New University in England, though a university spokesperson stated he received no flight training there. Reports suggest that while training at Oman Air, he was grounded due to "extremist materials" found in his possession in 2024, but remained with the company in an administrative role. Security sources cited by "Al-Majalla" magazine linked concerns about him to a period he spent in Syria, where he may have been exposed to extremist ideologies. Royal Air Maroc denied employing him, stating he completed a three-month theoretical training in 2025 but was not hired. It remains unclear how he was hired by Flydubai, where he worked for eight months according to an Israeli source speaking to CNN. A Gulf diplomat suggested Flydubai's screening focused on criminal convictions rather than extremism. Sources told CBS that Flydubai hired him without checking his background with the Omani government. Flydubai acknowledged "many questions at this stage" but declined further comment. Al-Hammami's conservative views on women were also previously reported; CNN examined thousands of tweets from a now-deleted account linked to him, showing opposition to mixed-gender workplaces and a belief that such environments corrupt religious women. Two posts appeared on his LinkedIn and a since-deleted Instagram account on the day of the incident, nine hours after it occurred. The first post included videos from the cockpit of a Boeing 737 MAX, showing Israeli planes, with the date October 11, 2023, visible on a cockpit screen. The videos concluded with images of former Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri and a terrorist involved in a 2009 bombing. The second post featured an AI-generated image of Islam's three holiest sites. According to sources who spoke with ABC, Al-Hammami is cooperating with investigators and stated his intention was to crash the plane in Israel. He was transferred from Saudi Arabia to Abu Dhabi with the captain on Thursday morning. The Saudi Interior Ministry stated his condition had improved. Investigators are examining whether he acted alone or has ties to extremist groups. An Israeli security official told Reuters that no findings currently link him to Iran.

Al-Hammami is reportedly cooperating with investigators and stated his intention was to crash the plane in Israel. He was transferred from Saudi Arabia to Abu Dhabi on Thursday morning with the captain. The Saudi Interior Ministry reported his condition had improved. Investigators are examining if he acted alone or has ties to extremist groups. An Israeli security official told Reuters that no findings currently link him to Iran.