Flydubai plane attack: co-pilot previously barred from flying by Oman over extremist views

A Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv with 182 people on board was diverted to Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia for an emergency landing after the co-pilot attacked the captain. The captain, Smit Machchhar, was seriously injured but managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to overpower the attacker.

The co-pilot, identified as Omani national Hamam al-Hammami, had previously been barred from flying by Oman over concerns about his extremist views, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter. He was subsequently hired by Flydubai. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the suspect had undergone "Islamist radical indoctrination" and had attempted to crash the plane.

The incident has raised questions about background checks in aviation hiring. The co-pilot was removed from a job at Oman's national airline last year over concerns about extremist views, according to CNN, citing two sources familiar with the matter. Al Arabiya reported that Omani authorities determined that the co-pilot held extremist views and had spent time in Syria.

Brief written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post, The Mainichi, Malay Mail, The Indian Express, DW English (Top Stories) — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.