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Flydubai hijacker previously barred from flying by Oman over radical beliefs: Report

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Cite

Carter, C. (2026, October 2). Flydubai hijacker previously barred from flying by Oman over radical beliefs: Report. Washington Examiner. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/world/4752652/flydubai-hijacker-ban-flying-oman-radical-beliefs/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Washington Examiner · collected 2026-10-02 · by Claire Carter

Quick Summary

A co-pilot who hijacked a Flydubai flight carrying 174 passengers and stabbed his captain was previously banned from flying by Oman due to radical beliefs. The attack occurred on Wednesday when Flight 1073, headed toward Tel Aviv from Dubai, experienced a sudden drop in altitude before being stabilized and diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested the hijacker intended a suicide attack, as he called for his own death after being restrained. Multiple countries, including Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, are now investigating the incident to determine the hijacker’s motives and how security protocols were bypassed.
Written by AI on 2026-10-02, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On September 30, 2026, a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv signaled an emergency and was diverted to land at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia. The incident initially raised concerns about a possible hijacking, prompting Israel to scramble warplanes. However, Israeli officials later reported that the emergency signals were due to a physical altercation between the plane's two pilots rather than a hijacking attempt.

The flight, identified as Flydubai Flight FZ1073, transmitted multiple emergency alerts after takeoff and over Jordanian airspace before landing safely in Saudi Arabia. Passengers on board managed to overpower the attacker, who was later identified by UAE officials as Omani co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami. Al-Hammami allegedly attempted to crash the plane into Tel Aviv's airport but was stopped by passengers.

UAE Attorney-General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi stated that signs of al-Hammami’s radicalization first emerged in 2017 while he was studying engineering at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. He reportedly became influenced by extremist literature and online content glorifying terrorist organizations during this period.

Written for “Flydubai Hijacker's Radicalization Path” on 2026-11-05, grounded in this article and the 345 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Flydubai Hijacker's Radicalization Path
Crime & Law · 346 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans right and hedges 12% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
FlyDubai co-pilot who nearly crashed plane was barred from flying by Oman over extremism concerns Same event
The Hindu
Hedges 5 of 32 claims Outlet record 60/100
Suspect in FlyDubai incident was previously identified as security risk: Officials Same event
ABC News (US)
Hedges 2 of 17 claims Outlet record 67/100
Suspect in flydubai attack was barred from flying in Oman: Media Same event
The Straits Times
Hedges 2 of 10 claims Outlet record 66/100
Omani co-pilot accused of trying to hijack Israel-bound flydubai flight previously banned from flying over radical views: report Same event
New York Post
Hedges 3 of 8 claims Outlet record 66/100
Alleged FlyDubai hijacker ‘underwent Islamist radical indoctrination’, Netanyahu claims Same event
The Independent
Hedges 1 of 33 claims Outlet record 59/100
UAE probes possible terror link in flydubai incident Same event
Dawn
Hedges 1 of 19 claims Outlet record 72/100
Israel plane attacker was banned from flying by Oman over suspected radicalisation - report Same event
The Independent
Hedges 2 of 19 claims Outlet record 59/100
Flydubai plane attack: co-pilot previously barred from flying by Oman over extremist views Same event
South China Morning Post
Hedges 0 of 2 claims Outlet record 62/100
How an Omani flagged for extremism ended up piloting a Tel Aviv-bound flydubai jet Same event
Times of India
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 7 of 31 claims Outlet record 59/100
Flydubai co-pilot attacked pilot with axe, attempted ‘terrorist’ attack, UAE says Same event
The Straits Times
Hedges 2 of 13 claims Outlet record 66/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
17
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
12%
2 of 17 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans right
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
69/100
Washington Examiner's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
346
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-02 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Who wrote this

Claire Carter
135 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 135 articles by Claire Carter →

Topics

Flydubai Israeli Oman Saudi Arabia UAE

Subjects

Flydubai ORG · 4× Israeli NORP · 4× Saudi Arabia GPE · 3× UAE GPE · 3× Israel GPE · 2× Machchhar PERSON · 2× Netanyahu PERSON · 2× Oman GPE · 2× Omani NORP · 2× Wall Street Journal ORG · 1×

Narrative

About two hours into the flight, the aircraft rapidly lost altitude, dropping from about 33,000 feet to 17,000 feet in roughly a minute, before other members of the Flydubai crew intervened and helped stabilize the plane.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-02
🔮 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the suspect was Omani and may have been radicalized into Islamist beliefs.
2026-10-02 · Washington Examiner
Flydubai hijacker previously barred from flying by Oman over radical beliefs: Report · assertive framing

Claims (17 extracted, 2 hedged)

The co-pilot who hijacked a Flydubai flight carrying 174 passengers and stabbed his captain on Wednesday was previously banned from flying by Oman over his radical beliefs. asserted
who → hijack → beliefs
Israeli officials identified the hijacker as an Omani national, but according to a Wall Street Journal report, the individual was banned from operating an aircraft by the country. uncertain
individual → identify → country
Despite the ban, the attacker was hired by Flydubai eight months ago. asserted
attacker → hire → Flydubai
The outlet said the co-pilot was banned because of his radical ideological beliefs, but the nature of those views was unknown. asserted
nature → say → views
It was not clear whether Oman shared its concerns about the individual with other countries. asserted
Oman → share → countries
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the suspect was Omani and may have been radicalized into Islamist beliefs. uncertain
suspect → say → beliefs
Netanyahu also said the suspect called for authorities to “kill” him after he was restrained, which he characterized as evidence that the man intended to die in a suicide attack. asserted
man → say → attack
On Wednesday, the co-pilot stabbed his captain and attempted to send Flydubai Flight 1073 toward disaster. asserted
pilot → stab → disaster
The flight had departed from Dubai and was headed toward Tel Aviv, Israel, carrying mainly Israeli passengers. asserted
flight → depart → passengers
About two hours into the flight, the aircraft rapidly lost altitude, dropping from about 33,000 feet to 17,000 feet in roughly a minute, before other members of the Flydubai crew intervened and helped stabilize the plane. asserted
members → lose → plane
The plane was diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where it landed safely. asserted
it → divert → Tabuk
Flydubai Captain Smit Machchhar was able to open the door to the cockpit to allow passengers in to restrain the attacker. asserted
Machchhar → open → attacker
Machchhar was hospitalized due to his injuries, but recounted the crucial moments aboard the aircraft during a video call with Netanyahu. asserted
Machchhar → hospitalize → Netanyahu
“I was lying on the floor injured, but I told myself to go for one last push to open the door from inside,” Machchhar said. asserted
Machchhar → lie → door
Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates are investigating the hijacker to uncover the key questions surrounding the suspect’s identity, motive, and how a weapon entered the cockpit. asserted
weapon → investigate → cockpit
The UAE’s attorney general has directed an investigation into whether the incident was connected to a terrorist plot, whether it involved prior planning or direction, and what motivated the attack. asserted
what → direct → attack
The investigation includes several countries because the incident involved an aircraft registered in the UAE, an Israeli destination, and a landing in Saudi Arabia. asserted
incident → include → Arabia
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