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Australian security agencies are investigating the flydubai co-pilot's time as a student in Australia, while the UAE leads a probe into the axe attack on an Israel-bound flight that injured the captain and left 182 people on board.
Australian security agencies have launched an investigation into the flydubai co-pilot who allegedly tried to hijack an Israel-bound flight, after it emerged he spent about two years in Australia as a student.
Australian Authorities Probe Flydubai Co-Pilot
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) confirmed on Sunday that multiple agencies, including the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), are probing the man's links to the country. The co-pilot has been named in numerous outlets as Omani national Hammam al-Hammami. The AFP said the Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team, comprising the AFP, Victoria Police and ASIO, is investigating. An AFP spokesperson said an update will be provided at an appropriate time.
A source familiar with the case said the man was granted an Australian student visa in 2014 and arrived the following year to commence a university course. He left Australia in 2017 and his visa was cancelled in 2019 after authorities confirmed he was no longer enrolled. The incident occurred on Wednesday when passengers and crew intervened to stop the co-pilot from taking control of the flydubai flight to Tel Aviv.
The plane had 182 people on board and plunged 16,625 feet (5,067 metres) in just over 30 seconds. The co-pilot used a crash axe in what the United Arab Emirates called a terrorist attack, and the captain was stabbed mid-air. The captain, identified as Indian national Smit Machchhar, was badly wounded. The Omani co-pilot and the Indian captain were taken to the UAE, which is leading the investigation.
Flight Attack and Co-Pilot Background
Officials have said a number of countries including Israel are participating. Flydubai's flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv have been suspended until further notice after the attack. The co-pilot was an Omani national who had been barred from flying by Oman over concerns about extremist views, officials said. A regional official and a person familiar with the matter said he was moved to an administrative job at Oman Air before being hired by UAE-based flydubai.
The Gulf diplomat said he had undergone standard security checks before being hired, but the checks focused on whether he had been convicted of criminal charges and did not go deeper into examining his background for potential signs of radicalisation. The regional official said security agencies from four regional countries are working to establish the co-pilot's motives, aided by the United States and other Western governments.
The Gulf diplomat said the investigation, which has not concluded, has not found any connections with militant groups, suggesting the co-pilot acted on his own. The regional official said the co-pilot was born in the UAE and his mother is Syrian. He obtained Omani nationality from his father, also an Omani national. The regional official also said the co-pilot had travelled to Syria, with no details.
Israel Suspects Islamist Radicalisation
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday said the co-pilot had undergone Islamist radicalisation, but provided no evidence. There was no immediate comment Saturday from Israel's government. A flydubai spokesperson said in an email that the airline could not comment beyond its official statements and acknowledged there are many questions at this stage. The spokesperson said the circumstances surrounding the incident were still under investigation and the airline was not in a position to comment further.
There was no immediate comment from Oman Air, and Oman's government has said nothing publicly. In a statement to the Associated Press, Royal Air Maroc, Morocco's national carrier, said the co-pilot completed a three-month theoretical training period with the airline in 2025 as part of the pre-employment process. At the end of this training period, his application was not selected for employment.
Keith Coles, a spokesperson for Buckinghamshire New University in England, told the AP that al-Hammami previously completed a distance-learning course in aviation management there but did not undertake any pilot training. US media outlets, including CNN, reported that a now-deleted LinkedIn profile said al-Hammami had studied engineering at an Australian university. Guardian Australia has not verified which university the co-pilot attended. His Instagram account was active until the day of the flight and then deleted.
Aviation Security Checks Under Scrutiny
Little else was immediately known about the co-pilot's background. Philip Baum, a visiting professor of aviation security at Coventry University in England who wrote a book about aircraft hijackings and bombings, said background check systems differ from country to country and there are limits on what types of information can be shared.
He said in terms of aviation security itself, obviously we want to have as robust background checks as possible, but there are huge limitations on doing background checks in any case, especially in cross-border checks. Airlines are generally required to carry crash axes in the cockpit that could be used in an emergency to break open a window to escape or break open a panel to access a fire.
The incident occurred at a sensitive time for Israel, a week before the anniversary of the Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023 that sparked the war in Gaza. It also came weeks before a highly contentious election in which security and 7 October security failures have been central issues. Israel has said it has agreements with foreign carriers to keep pilots of nations without diplomatic ties from flying there. Israel and Oman do not have formal diplomatic relations.
The UAE government has earned a reputation for effective measures against extremist activities but has bristled in the past over criticism of security lapses.
SBSNews 
GuardianAus:Flydubai co-pilot’s time in Australia being investigated by security agencies after alleged cockpit attackThis story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
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