Australia Investigates Oman Air Co-Pilot's Radicalization During Study Period

Australian authorities are investigating whether the co-pilot of the Flydubai flight to Tel Aviv, Haitham Al-Haitami, became radicalized during his studies in Australia between 2015 and 2017. A joint counter-terrorism task force, including the Federal Police, Victoria Police, and the Australian Security Intelligence Service, is examining the co-pilot's connections to the country. The Australian Federal Police confirmed the investigation into whether Al-Haitami underwent Islamic radicalization while living there.

Al-Haitami, who was born in the UAE to a Syrian mother, has a concerning background that has raised questions about his past. Reports from CNN and The Wall Street Journal indicate that concerns about his religious and ideological stances had previously surfaced. Sources cited in the media suggest that Oman had previously banned him from flying in its airspace, and he was dismissed from professional training due to similar concerns.

He was dismissed from two airlines, Oman Air, which banned him from flying, and Royal Air Maroc. The new details have prompted questions regarding the thoroughness of Flydubai's vetting process for potential employees and how Al-Haitami's presence on a flight full of Israeli passengers passed Israel's stringent security protocols, according to AP.

An Emirati source told i24NEWS that "additional and embarrassing findings are yet to be published" regarding the terror flight. The article also references previous reports detailing Al-Haitami's past, including his sharing of El Al aircraft images and Al-Qaeda militants, and a meeting between the Israeli ambassador to the UAE and the Indian pilot, who reportedly refused to call himself a hero. The UAE has officially confirmed that the co-pilot planned to carry out an attack, with reports detailing him attacking the captain with an axe.