The co-pilot accused of attacking the captain and trying to crash a FlyDubai flight bound for Israel on Wednesday is an Omani national who had previously been barred from flying by Oman Air after being deemed a security risk, according to senior intelligence and law enforcement officials.
Several sources familiar with the investigation identified the suspect as 29-year-old Hamam Al Hammami.
The officials told ABC News that Al Hammami was working as a co-pilot trainee for Oman Air in 2024 when he was found with extremist materials. Despite that discovery, the sources said, he remained with the airline in an administrative position.
UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said Saturday that the aircraft’s co-pilot had attempted to commit a terrorist act. According to state news agency WAM, Al Hammami began carrying out the plan during the flight by attacking the pilot in the cockpit with a crash axe and trying to take control of the aircraft.
The statement marked the first time UAE authorities confirmed that the co-pilot had assaulted the captain and specified that a crash axe was used. Earlier statements had referred to the episode as a security incident, saying investigators were examining whether it involved terrorism or advance planning.
Al Shamsi said the investigation remains active as authorities work to determine the incident’s full circumstances, motives and any connections to others. Technical checks and reviews of physical and digital evidence are also underway, with final conclusions expected after the required procedures are complete.
Investigators are also seeking to understand how the alleged attacker was later cleared to fly for FlyDubai and how he came to serve as first officer aboard a flight heading to Israel, according to the sources.
Al Hammami, who was transferred from Saudi Arabia to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, has been cooperating with investigators, sources briefed on the case said. They added that he told authorities he intended to crash the plane in Israel.
FlyDubai, Oman Air and the Omani Embassy did not immediately respond to ABC News requests for comment.
FlyDubai
Dr. Shota Musaev, another passenger who rushed toward the front of the aircraft, told ABC News this week that the attacker was bloodied and restrained on the floor outside the cockpit. Musaev said the man told him he was from Oman and, at one point, asked him to kill him.
"He said, 'Kill me please, kill me please,'" Musaev said.
Sources said Israeli officials are expected to travel to the UAE and participate in questioning Al Hammami.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that the suspect, whom he did not identify by name, had undergone "Islamist radicalization."
Netanyahu also renewed his praise for Hayoun and the other passengers, saying they had helped prevent a "tragedy like 9/11."
A sparse online biography believed to belong to the suspect said he had studied aviation management at a university in Britain and engineering at an Australian university.
A source at Buckinghamshire New University confirmed that Al Hammami completed a three-year distance-learning program and earned a degree in aviation management in 2023.
This story has been updated.