Who Was the Co-Pilot Who Brought a Crash Axe Into a Flydubai Cockpit Bound for Tel Aviv?

Hamam al-Hammami — removed from Oman Air over extremist views, gone from Royal Air Maroc in months, and eight months later attempted a terrorist attack on a Flydubai flight

The incident aboard Flydubai Flight FZ1073 on Wednesday was not a sudden breakdown. UAE prosecutors have called it what it was: a premeditated terrorist act. And the man behind it was no stranger to red flags.

UAE Federal Prosecutor Counselor Dr Hamad Saif Al Shamsi confirmed that the co-pilot attacked the captain inside the cockpit with a crash axe and attempted to seize control of the aircraft during a flight to Tel Aviv.

So who was he?

The Man: Hamam al-Hammami

Two sources and an Israeli official confirmed to CNN that the suspect is an Omani citizen named Hamam al-Hammami. Born in the UAE to an Omani father and a Syrian mother, he spent several years in the Emirates. Saudi state media also identified him by name.

The Career: Three Airlines, One Dangerous Trajectory

His since-deleted LinkedIn profile told a story that now reads very differently in hindsight.

Oman Air — Seven Years
Left in February 2025. Not voluntarily. A regional diplomat told CNN that al-Hammami was removed from flight training over concerns about his radical views, reassigned to another role, and eventually let go entirely.

Royal Air Maroc — June 2025 to January 2026
Joined just months after leaving Oman Air. Gone again within seven months.

Flydubai — Only Eight Months
An Israeli official told CNN that al-Hammami had been with Flydubai for just eight months before Wednesday’s attack.

The Beliefs: Al-Qaeda Photos, Israeli Airline Videos

Two posts appeared on his LinkedIn profile approximately nine hours after the incident — it remains unclear whether they were pre-scheduled or posted by someone else.

The first featured cockpit videos filmed aboard a Boeing 737 Max — the same aircraft type involved in Wednesday’s diversion — zooming in on El Al and Arkia Israeli airline planes at Dubai International Airport. The video ended with images of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri and Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, the suicide bomber who killed seven CIA officers in 2009.

The second post showed an AI-generated image connecting Islam’s three holiest sites, with a defiant poem in the background speaking of rejecting humiliation, not fearing death, and defending one’s dignity.

The same content appeared simultaneously on a matching Instagram account — also since deleted.

The Education

Al-Hammami studied at Buckinghamshire New University in England, graduating in 2023 with a degree in Aviation Management through distance learning. The university confirmed his enrollment to CNN.

The Question the Aviation Industry Cannot Ignore

A pilot removed from one airline over extremist views. Hired by a second. Then a third. And eight months later, inside the cockpit of a flight to Israel with a crash axe.

How did Hamam al-Hammami pass through three airlines without a single background check catching what Oman Air already knew?

UAE federal prosecutors say investigations are ongoing. Flydubai, Oman Air, Royal Air Maroc and Dubai’s media office have not yet responded to CNN’s questions.

The aircraft made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. The captain survived. Passengers physically restrained the attacker.

But the system that was supposed to stop him before he ever boarded that flight — that is still being examined.

Sources: CNN, Gulf News, UAE Federal Prosecutor’s Office
— MediaBites Desk