The co-pilot suspected of attacking a captain on an Israel-bound FlyDubai flight with an axe has been pictured.
Hamam al-Hammami, an Omani national, is accused of hitting Captain Smit Machchhar on the flight to Tel Aviv and trying to seize the controls.
Investigation under way
Officials said today that al-Hammami is understood to have been barred from flying on his country’s airline because of concerns about extremist views.
A Gulf diplomat said investigations are under way to establish whether al-Hammami acted as a “lone wolf or has any connection with extremist groups”.
Attack on flight
The United Arab Emirates, which is leading the investigation, said the co-pilot attacked with the cockpit’s crash axe and tried to take control of the sharply plummeting plane in a “terrorist attack” Wednesday.
His actions nearly crashed the flight with 182 people on board before passengers and others rushed in and subdued him.
Questions raised
The fact he was barred from flying in Oman has raised questions about how the co-pilot was on the flight. Israel’s government has said it has agreements with foreign carriers to keep pilots of nations without diplomatic ties from flying there. Israel and Oman don’t have formal diplomatic relations.
Separately, a regional official and a person familiar with the matter said the co-pilot had been barred from flying by Oman over concerns he had adopted extremist views. The official said he was moved to an administrative job at Oman Air. Both spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation.
