Australia Probes Flydubai Co-Pilot's Ties After Midair Cockpit Attack

Australian federal authorities have launched an investigation into the background of the Flydubai co-pilot accused of attacking the flight's captain with a crash axe during a journey from Dubai to Tel Aviv, focusing specifically on the man's connections to Australia.

The Australian Federal Police confirmed it is examining "the man's links to Australia" in a statement provided to the BBC. The probe, which involves state-level police forces and the country's domestic security agency, is being coordinated at the federal level. Authorities indicated that further details would be released "at the appropriate time," suggesting the inquiry is still in its early stages.

The co-pilot has not been formally identified by Australian officials. However, several major international news organizations—including Reuters, CNN, and The New York Times—have named him as Hamam al-Hammami. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that the suspect is an Omani national. The BBC has not independently verified the identity.

According to sources who spoke with Australian media, the co-pilot was granted a student visa in 2014 and subsequently studied in Australia between 2015 and 2017. He reportedly left the country after completing that period of study. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that his student visa was cancelled in 2019 because he was no longer enrolled in a course, rendering him ineligible to hold it.

Counter-terrorism investigators are expected to examine whether the man was radicalised during his time in Australia. This line of inquiry reflects broader international concerns about how individuals can become radicalised while living, studying, or working abroad, sometimes without raising immediate red flags among those around them. The investigation will seek to determine whether any activities or contacts during his Australian years contributed to his later actions.

The incident occurred on 30 September aboard a flight carrying more than 170 passengers bound for Israel. Roughly two and a half hours into the journey, the aircraft plunged approximately 17,000 feet after the co-pilot attacked the pilot with a crash axe, according to the United Arab Emirates' prosecutor general. The sudden and violent nature of the assault, occurring at cruising altitude, placed everyone on board in immediate danger.

The captain flying the plane, identified as Smit Machchhar, has described the harrowing moments following the attack. He recounted lying on the floor injured when he realised the aircraft was descending rapidly and that he had to act despite his condition. "I told myself to go for one last push to open the door from inside," he explained, an action that allowed passengers to enter the cockpit area. Two reserve pilots subsequently took over the controls and landed the plane safely in Saudi Arabia.

Machchhar, an Indian national, was initially taken to a nearby hospital before being airlifted to Abu Dhabi. He is reported to be in a stable condition. His account of the ordeal has underscored the role that passengers and crew played in preventing what could have been a far greater catastrophe. The fact that two reserve pilots were on board and able to assume control was a critical factor in the safe landing.

The co-pilot was arrested following the emergency landing and is being questioned by Saudi authorities, according to Netanyahu. The United Arab Emirates' attorney general, Hamad Saif Al Shamsi, stated that investigations are under way to establish the circumstances, motives, and any links related to the incident. He further indicated that the inquiry had revealed the co-pilot attempted to carry out a "terrorist act," as reported by the country's state news agency.

Since the attack, additional details about the co-pilot's employment history have emerged. While working at Oman Air, US media reported that al-Hammami was removed from flight training due to concerns about his radical views. He was instead assigned a different role at Oman's national airline. This detail suggests that concerns about his beliefs had been identified before the incident, raising questions about how he was subsequently able to secure a position with Flydubai.

It is also known that from 2020, the co-pilot was enrolled in a distance-learning course offered by Buckinghamshire New University in the United Kingdom. The university confirmed that he graduated with a degree in aviation management in 2023. A spokesperson added that he did not undertake any pilot training at the institution, distinguishing his academic studies there from the practical flight training that would be required to operate commercial aircraft.

The flight's route, reconstructed from tracking data, shows the plane departed Dubai at 03:05 GMT and flew northwest across Saudi Arabia toward Israel. Near the Israel-Jordan border, the aircraft declared a general emergency at 05:31 and issued a hijacking alert at 05:38 before turning away from Tel Aviv. The flight was then diverted south and landed at Tabuk Airport in north-west Saudi Arabia at 06:58. The sequence of alerts and the diversion underscore the escalating severity of the situation as it unfolded.

The multiple investigations now under way—in Australia, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and potentially elsewhere—reflect the international dimensions of the case. Each country has a distinct interest: Australia in the suspect's history on its soil, the UAE in the flight's origin and the airline's operations, and Saudi Arabia in the emergency landing and the detention of the suspect. The coordination of these efforts will be essential to building a comprehensive picture of the attack.

For aviation safety authorities, the incident raises difficult questions about insider threats and the screening of flight crew. The prospect that a co-pilot could attempt to seize control of a commercial aircraft mid-flight poses profound challenges for security protocols, which have historically focused more on passenger screening than on the potential for crew members to act against the aircraft. The industry may face renewed scrutiny over how pilots are vetted, monitored, and supported throughout their careers.

The social media image of the Flydubai aircraft after its emergency landing appears to show damage to its tail fin, providing visual evidence of the physical toll the incident took on the plane. The investigation will likely examine the aircraft's systems and flight data to reconstruct precisely what happened in the cockpit during those critical minutes.