A Flydubai co-pilot accused of attempting to seize a passenger aircraft and crash it into Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport began moving towards extremist ideology while studying in Australia, according to new findings released by prosecutors in the United Arab Emirates.
The 29-year-old Omani national has been identified as Hamam al-Hammami. He is accused of attacking the captain of Flydubai flight FZ1073 with an emergency crash axe while the aircraft was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv on September 30.
The Boeing 737 Max plunged approximately 16,000 feet during the violent cockpit incident before control was restored. The injured captain, Indian pilot Smit Machchhar, managed to open the cockpit door, allowing other crew members and passengers to intervene. The aircraft was diverted and landed safely at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia.
In an official update on the investigation, UAE Attorney-General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said the co-pilot had prepared a plan to seize the aircraft and carry out a suicide attack against a passenger terminal at Ben Gurion Airport. Prosecutors allege that he intended to cause the largest possible number of casualties.
According to the UAE account, signs of his movement towards extremism emerged in 2017 while he was studying in Australia. Prosecutors said he consumed extremist literature and online material glorifying terrorist organisations and suicide attacks. He was allegedly influenced by the September 11 attacks and later chose aviation as a career to pursue a similar mass-casualty operation.
Al-Hammami reportedly studied engineering at RMIT University in Melbourne for about two years but did not complete the course. The university has confirmed that it is cooperating with Victoria’s Joint Counter Terrorism Team, which includes the Australian Federal Police, Victoria Police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.
Australian investigators are examining his activities, online history and personal connections during his time in Melbourne. Authorities have not announced evidence that another person in Australia directed the alleged plot, and no Australian individual or organisation has been charged in connection with the case.
The claim that his radicalisation began in Australia is based on the UAE investigation and his reported confession. Prosecutors said he admitted acting alone and provided an account of his motives, planning and execution in the presence of his lawyer. The wider investigation remains open.
After leaving Australia, al-Hammami reportedly worked for Oman Air between 2020 and 2024. He then briefly joined Royal Air Maroc before moving to Flydubai in January 2026. UAE authorities said the professional and security checks conducted before his employment did not reveal plans to carry out an attack.
That finding has nevertheless intensified scrutiny of airline vetting procedures. Investigators must determine whether warning signs existed in his previous employment, online activity or personal conduct and, if so, whether they were communicated to subsequent employers.
Flydubai initially described the episode as a security incident involving an altercation in the cockpit and warned against speculation while the investigation was continuing. The UAE later classified the incident as an attempted terrorist act.
The survival of everyone aboard depended heavily on the actions of Captain Smit Machchhar, who fought back despite suffering serious injuries. His decision to release the cockpit door enabled passengers and additional crew members to overpower the accused co-pilot before reserve pilots stabilised the aircraft.
The inquiry now extends across several jurisdictions. Saudi Arabia is conducting a separate aviation-safety investigation because the aircraft landed in Tabuk, while Australian agencies are reconstructing the suspect’s years in Melbourne.
The case raises difficult questions about how airlines and security agencies assess insider threats without treating personal beliefs, nationality or religious practice as evidence of criminal intent. The central challenge will be identifying concrete indicators of planned violence while preserving fair and evidence-based screening.
