Flydubai: Countries probe co-pilot after attack
The Omani co-pilot accused of attacking the captain aboard a Flydubai flight is currently under investigation by authorities in Australia, Israel, and the UAE. Australian authorities confirmed that a counterterrorism task force, involving the Australian Federal Police, Victoria Police, and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, is examining the co-pilot's connections to Australia.
The co-pilot, identified as Hamam al-Hammami, had a student visa in Australia from 2015 to 2017, but it was canceled in 2019 for non-enrollment, not for character concerns. In the UAE, authorities stated that al-Hammami attempted to carry out a terrorist act by attacking the captain with a crash axe. He was reportedly banned from flying in Oman due to radical ideological beliefs and removed from flight training in Israel over similar concerns.
Al-Hammami had been employed by Flydubai for about eight months before the incident. The attack occurred on Flydubai flight FZ1073, where al-Hammami injured the Indian captain using the crash axe. The plane crashed from a cruising altitude of 34,000 feet, with the injured captain enabling passengers to subdue the attacker before landing safely at Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Airport in Saudi Arabia.
Written by urgent.news from The Economic Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
