DUBAI, UAE, October 3 (ANI): A Flydubai co-pilot identified as Omani national Hamam al-Hammami “attempted to carry out a terrorist act” during a flight earlier in the week, using a cockpit crash axe against Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar, according to the Emirati state news agency WAM, citing United Arab Emirates Attorney General Counsellor Hamad Saif al-Shamsi.
The attacker aboard Wednesday’s Flight FZ1073, bound for Tel Aviv, sought to seize control of the aircraft’s flight controls, according to the country’s top prosecutor on Saturday.
An official inquiry is currently underway “to uncover all the circumstances of the incident, its motives, and related connections, in addition to completing technical examinations and examining physical and digital evidence.”
The conclusive findings will be made public once all mandatory legal and administrative procedures have been completed, according to al-Shamsi.
A crash axe is a standard emergency tool kept inside aircraft flight decks to assist aviators in cutting through fuselage materials during critical situations.
An examination of the security breach aboard the Flydubai service confirmed that the co-pilot initiated his attack while airborne, striking the captain in the flight deck with the emergency tool while attempting to commandeer the aircraft, according to WAM.
Technical evaluations and assessments of physical and digital evidence remain ongoing to establish the full circumstances and underlying motives behind the incident, with final findings expected after the completion of all required procedures.
Building on the ongoing investigation, international media reports have shed light on al-Hammami’s background.
According to sources cited by CBS News and Al Arabiya English, he had previously undergone pilot training with Oman Air, where government surveillance detected visits to radical websites. This prompted his reassignment to desk duties before he resigned around 2024. He had earlier been barred from flying in Oman over extremist concerns linked to a previous stay in Syria.
After relocating to Dubai, al-Hammami was hired by Flydubai without formal background vetting through the Omani government.
Meanwhile, CNN reported that his LinkedIn profile featured posts published roughly nine hours after the incident, containing cockpit footage of an El Al aircraft alongside imagery of Al-Qaeda figures such as Ayman al-Zawahiri. His career records indicated previous positions with Oman Air and Royal Air Maroc.
The security breach occurred on September 30, raising intense scrutiny over whether the assault was a deliberate terror plot to crash the aircraft.
The violent struggle caused the jet to plunge roughly 16,000 feet in two minutes during an emergency hijacking alert.
Despite sustaining serious injuries, Captain Machchhar fought back and unlocked the cockpit door, allowing crew members, passengers and two off-duty pilots to enter, overpower al-Hammami and stabilize the aircraft before an unscheduled emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. All 180 occupants safely disembarked. (ANI)
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