ع
The Wall Street Journal reported that the co-pilot, identified across multiple outlets as Hamam Alhamami, worked as a trainee co-pilot with Oman Air in 2024 until Omani authorities discovered his visits to radical websites and extremist views. The airline transferred him to a non-flying office role, after which he resigned and later secured employment with FlyDubai without the UAE carrier consulting Oman, according to sources cited by CBS News and Fox News. Alhamami, born in the United Arab Emirates to an Omani father and a Syrian mother, had spent much of his life outside Oman and reportedly faced radicalization influences, a person familiar with the investigation told The Week.
On the September 30 flight carrying 182 people from Dubai to Tel Aviv, Alhamami allegedly stabbed Captain Smit Machchhar inside the cockpit, prompting a rapid descent of approximately 16,000 feet in two minutes that threatened the safety of all aboard. The Indian captain fought back despite his injuries, unlocked the cockpit door and summoned assistance from other crew members who overpowered the co-pilot and stabilized the aircraft, Israel’s Channel 12 reported. The plane made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, with the captain and another crew member later transferred to a hospital in Abu Dhabi for treatment.
Investigators determined that Alhamami had undergone a process of indoctrination into al-Qaeda ideology and met with certain religious figures during his radicalization, according to an assessment shared with Channel 12. The co-pilot told authorities he planned to crash the aircraft in Israel in an attack that could have mirrored the scale of the September 11 tragedies, The Week reported citing people briefed on the probe. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement, “As time passes, the picture is becoming clearer; the attacker underwent Islamist radicalization. He came to crash the plane with its passengers.”
Captain Machchhar, recovering from stab wounds, described the ordeal as fighting for his life and knowing he had to regain control to save the passengers and crew, an account relayed during a call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that was broadcast on news channels. The incident has prompted scrutiny of hiring and security vetting processes at FlyDubai, particularly for flights operating on sensitive routes to Israel, a CBS News analysis found. It remains unclear whether Oman communicated its concerns about Alhamami to neighboring countries or airlines prior to his employment in the UAE.
Alhamami had previously been linked to a now-deleted LinkedIn profile indicating employment with Royal Air Maroc in 2025 and 2026 before joining FlyDubai eight months prior to the incident, CNN reported. Saudi authorities transferred the co-pilot to UAE custody where he is undergoing a terrorism investigation, according to regional diplomatic sources. Oman Air had reassigned him after flagging him as a security risk, but the precise details of his radicalization process have not been fully established, the Wall Street Journal noted.
