Trump thanks man who helped save Flydubai flight: 'What a job he did, he's a hero'

On Wednesday, a FlyDubai flight bound for Israel was threatened by its co-pilot, Hamam al-Hammami, who attacked the captain with a cockpit crash axe and attempted to seize control of the plane. This incident led to an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia after the plane descended so drastically that part of the rudder was damaged. According to Gulf and Western diplomats, al-Hammami had been barred from flying by his home country, Oman, for concerns about his extremist views.

He was moved to an administrative position at Oman Air due to these worries. Despite being hired by FlyDubai, the extent of his background checks is unclear, but it seems they primarily focused on criminal convictions. Al-Hammami, born in the UAE with a Syrian mother, had connections to Syria but did not pursue pilot training there.

He completed a distance-learning course in aviation management at Buckinghamshire New University in England in 2025 but was not selected for employment. The airline and Oman Air have not commented extensively on the incident.