New Details Emerge on Suspected 'Pilot-Terrorist's' International Training
Translated & summarized from Behadrei Haredim by baba
New details have emerged about Hammam Al-Hamami, the Omani co-pilot suspected of attempting to hijack a Flydubai flight to Israel. His extensive training included periods in Australia, New Zealand, and theoretical training in Morocco, with reports of him being banned from flying in Oman due to extremism concerns. The incident occurred on September 30th, where he allegedly attacked the captain before being subdued by passengers and crew.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Omani co-pilot Hammam Al-Hamami is suspected of attempting to hijack a Flydubai flight to Israel.
- Al-Hamami underwent pilot training in New Zealand and Australia, and theoretical training in Morocco.
- He reportedly faced a flying ban in Oman due to ideological extremism concerns.
- During the flight, he allegedly attacked the captain and tried to take control of the plane.
- Passengers and crew subdued him, and the plane landed safely in Saudi Arabia.
A 29-year-old Omani national, identified as Hammam Al-Hamami, is suspected of attempting to hijack a Flydubai flight bound for Israel on September 30th. Al-Hamami, who is currently being held and interrogated in the UAE by Israeli Shin Bet investigators, underwent a peculiar and extensive training path across multiple countries. His journey included periods in Australia from 2015 to 2017 on a student visa, which was later canceled in 2019 not for security reasons but for academic non-compliance. Australian authorities are now re-examining his time there.
Further details reveal Al-Hamami spent 175 days in New Zealand between November 2018 and May 2019 on a student visa, undergoing part of his pilot training for a now-defunct British company. New Zealand police are reviewing records from that period. Concurrently, he pursued academic studies, completing a remote aviation management course from Buckinghamshire New University in the UK in 2023.
His timeline also includes approximately seven years of work at Oman Air, from February 2018 to February 2025, where he served as a co-pilot. Reports indicate he was banned from flying in Oman due to concerns over ideological extremism, though full details of this decision remain undisclosed.
Following his departure from Oman, Al-Hamami underwent a three-month theoretical training in 2025 with Royal Air Maroc, Morocco's national airline, as part of a hiring process, but his candidacy was ultimately rejected. He then joined Flydubai, whose recruitment process involves psychometric tests, interviews, simulator evaluations, medical checks, and background assessments.
During the Flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Israel, Al-Hamami allegedly attacked the captain with an emergency axe and attempted to seize control of the Boeing 737 MAX 8. The aircraft plummeted over 16,000 feet before the injured captain managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to subdue Al-Hamami. Other pilots on board successfully landed the plane in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. UAE authorities are classifying the incident as an attempted terrorist attack.
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