FlyDubai co-pilot accused of stabbing captain was grounded by Oman Air

The FlyDubai co-pilot accused of attacking a captain on a Tel Aviv-bound flight earlier this week allegedly used the cockpit’s “crash axe” in the attack and has been identified as a 29-year-old Omani national.

The co-pilot has been identified as Hamam al-Hammami, a Middle Eastern source told Fox News, adding that he was barred from flying with Oman Air — his country’s airline — in 2024 due to concerns about extremist views.

The source also said authorities believe the co-pilot moved to Dubai later that year.

The United Arab Emirates, which is leading the investigation into the attack on FlyDubai Flight 1073, said the co-pilot attacked Capt. Smit Machchhar with the cockpit’s crash axe, incapacitating him and causing the aircraft to plummet before passengers on board seized control of the plane.

FLYDUBAI PASSENGER SAYS CO-PILOT STABBED CAPTAIN BEFORE TERRIFYING PLUNGE, EMERGENCY LANDING

A FlyDubai aircraft carrying Israelis who experienced an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia is seen parked at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (Ariel Schalit/AP)

The source said al-Hammami spent a significant part of his life outside Oman, including time living with his mother, who is from Syria.

According to the source, FlyDubai did not check with Oman Air about al-Hammami before hiring him.

A Gulf diplomat told The Associated Press that investigators are working to determine whether al-Hammami acted as a “lone wolf or has any connection with any extremist groups.”

The AP separately reported that Oman had barred al-Hammami from flying over concerns that he had adopted extremist views.

HERO FLYDUBAI PILOT SAYS HE WAS ‘FIGHTING FOR MY LIFE’ AS PLANE PLUNGED AFTER COPILOT ATTACK

Captain Smit Machchhar, the Indian pilot who allegedly was attacked on a FlyDubai plane heading to Israel on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (Israel Foreign Ministry)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday described the incident as an act of terrorism, saying the attacker had undergone “Islamic radicalization.”

“He came to crash the passengers on board,” Netanyahu said, according to The Wall Street Journal.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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Israeli passenger Haim Lazarovich, who experienced an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, during a flight on FlyDubai plane, arrives at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit) ( )

Fox News Digital’s Brittany Miller contributed to this report.