Australian Police Investigate Links to Flydubai Co-Pilot

Australian Federal Police are investigating potential links between Australia and the co-pilot of a Flydubai flight who allegedly attacked the captain with an emergency axe before attempting to hijack the plane. The joint counter-terrorism team in Victoria, comprising federal police, Victoria Police, and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, confirmed the investigation. Sources indicate the co-pilot studied in Melbourne, Australia, approximately a decade ago at RMIT University, which declined to comment. The UAE Attorney General described the incident on Wednesday's Dubai-to-Israel flight as a "terrorist act." Passengers experienced a severe drop of 16,000 feet in about 30 seconds, likened to a "vertical roller coaster," before the plane was stabilized and landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. The co-pilot, identified by sources as Omani national Hammam Al-Hammami, is in custody in the UAE. Israeli officials confirmed the co-pilot was from Oman, but UAE authorities and Flydubai have not released his identity. The Financial Times reported, citing sources, that Al-Hammami allegedly visited extremist mosques and websites in Australia, and Australian intelligence had a file on him, though Reuters could not independently verify this. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated the co-pilot had undergone "radical Islamic indoctrination" and exhibited suicidal tendencies, without specifying when or where. He also noted that pilots from Oman are not permitted to fly to Israel, and it remains unclear how Al-Hammami was assigned to the flight to Tel Aviv.