Australia probes flydubai co-pilot’s links to the country

Australian authorities are probing the background of an Omani co-pilot on a flydubai flight that was hijacked by the man himself. The co-pilot, identified as Hamam Al-Hamami, studied at a university in Melbourne, the capital of Australia's Victoria state. Two sources familiar with the investigation confirmed this, while RMIT University declined to comment.

The flight, bound for Israel from Dubai, experienced a terrifying descent, plunging 16,000 feet in just 30 seconds before being stabilized and landing safely. The U.S. UAE prosecutor general has called the incident a terrorist attack. Passengers and crew on the flight, which had mostly Israeli nationals on board, subdued the co-pilot, who had attempted to take control of the aircraft in an apparent attempt to crash it.

The incident is under investigation by a multi-agency Australian counterterrorism unit, comprising federal police, Victorian state police, and the ASIO intelligence agency. The co-pilot's alleged links to radical mosques and extremist websites in Australia have also been reported, though Reuters could not independently verify these claims.