Flydubai co‑pilot flagged as security risk before attack

The pilot suspected of attacking India's Captain Smit Machchhar on the Tel Aviv-bound flydubai flight FZ1073 on Wednesday has been identified as Hamam al-Hammami, according to CNN. While his Omani nationality had been confirmed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier, his name has come to the fore now.

An Israeli official and Saudi state media have also confirmed his identity. What's shocking is the fact that al-Hammami secured a job as a commercial airlines pilot with flydubai despite allegedly being flagged as a security threat at Oman Air earlier. He was removed from flight training at Oman's national airline last year after concerns over his extremist views.

Who is Hamam al-Hammami? Al-Hammami was born in the United Arab Emirates to an Omani father and a Syrian mother. A LinkedIn profile in his name says he worked at Oman Air for seven years and left in February 2025. It said he joined Royal Air Maroc in June 2025 and left in January 2026.

The page did not mention flydubai, and it has since been deleted. CNN says it has confirmed that the profile is his. An Israeli official told CNN that he had been working for flydubai for eight months. The profile also mentioned he studied at Buckinghamshire New University. The university confirmed that a man of that name graduated in aviation management in 2023.

Why he left Oman Air He was taken off flight training at Oman Air in 2024 over concerns for his radical views, and was then given another role at the airline, reported ABC News. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that the suspect was believed to have gone through "Islamist radical indoctrination".

Also read Interactive: Flydubai cockpit incident, Smit Machchhar and the story so far Flydubai is yet to issue a statement on al-Hammami, while the investigation continues. What is found on his online accounts Two posts appeared on the LinkedIn profile on Wednesday, about nine hours after the incident.

The first showed clips filmed in Boeing 737 Max cockpits. CNN geolocated one clip to Dubai International Airport, where the person filming zooms in on an Israel's El Al plane. The cockpit screen showed a date in October 2023, when he worked with Oman Air. The video ended with photos of al Qaeda figures Ayman al-Zawahiri and Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi.

A flydubai flight from Dubai to Israel diverted its route on Wednesday after issuing an emergency signal for several minutes during the journey. (File photo) The second post was an AI-generated image of Islam's three holiest sites, with a poem about rejecting humiliation and not fearing death.

The same videos were posted on an Instagram account, which has also been deleted now. Who is investigating the flydubai incident? Israeli agencies, including Shin Bet and Mossad, are looking into how an Omani citizen, from a country that does not recognise Israel, became part of the crew.

On Thursday, the UAE attorney general opened an investigation into whether the attack was linked to "terrorist activity", state news agency WAM reported. Also Read Interactive: Flydubai cockpit incident, Smit Machchhar and the story so far Netanyahu told CNN that the suspect was questioned in Saudi Arabia, with Israel involved.

The pilot who was attacked, Captain Smit Machchhar, is Indian. The questions over how the suspect was hired and cleared to fly are likely to matter to Indian pilots and passengers who use Gulf airlines.