{
  "id": 13312216,
  "title": "FlyDubai attacker began ‘drift towards terrorism’ as a student in Australia: United Arab Emirates",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/10/flydubai-attacker-began-drift-towards-terrorism-as-a-student-in",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-10T03:12:30.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Hindustan Times - World News",
    "slug": "hindustan-times-world-news",
    "url": "https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/flydubai-attacker-began-drift-towards-terrorism-as-a-student-in-australia-united-arab-emirates-101791600314550.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The United Arab Emirates has revealed that the co-pilot behind a September 11-styled attack on a flydubai plane intended to crash it into Israel's largest airport. Attorney General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi stated that a 29-year-old Omani co-pilot, Hamam al-Hammami, had developed a \"drift towards extremism and terrorism\" during his time as a student in Melbourne, Australia, nearly a decade ago. Hammami, who worked for Oman Air for four years before joining flydubai, was enrolled at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology between 2015 and 2017 but did not complete his engineering degree. Emirati investigators found that Hammami was inspired by extremist literature, online content, and the Muslim Brotherhood, and had consumed terrorist propaganda. He had planned to crash the plane into Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, aiming to cause the maximum loss of life. Passengers and backup pilots subdued the co-pilot, preventing the tragedy. The UAE found that Hammami met all professional and security requirements for employment at flydubai, and none of the checks revealed any indications of his extremist views or intentions.",
  "summary": "The flydubai attacker meant to carry out a September 11-inspired suicide mission, crashing the plane into Israel's largest airport, Emirati investigators said.",
  "key_points": [
    "29-year-old Omani co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami planned attack",
    "Hammami developed extremism during Melbourne studies 2015-2017",
    "Passengers subdued co-pilot, preventing tragedy"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The revelation that the flydubai attacker was radicalized in Australia heightens scrutiny of Middle Eastern airlines' screening processes and raises concerns about the security vetting of foreign employees.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "ABC News AU",
        "title": "Investigators say flydubai pilot's 'drift towards terrorism' started in Australia",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/investigators-say-flydubai-pilots-drift-towards-terrorism-started-in",
        "published": "2026-10-09T23:57:51.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "BBC News",
        "title": "Flydubai attacker began a 'drift towards extremism and terrorism' in Australia, UAE says",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/10/flydubai-attacker-began-a-drift-towards-extremism-and-terrorism-in",
        "published": "2026-10-10T04:34:55.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}