The Aporia · 'Religious extremist' who attacked colleague and tried to crash FlyDubai plane is Omani national who studied remotely at British university

'Religious extremist' who attacked colleague and tried to crash FlyDubai plane is Omani national who studied remotely at British university - as it's revealed he used an AXE

Read the original at Daily Mail ↗

Cite

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Folker, R. (2026, October 3). 'Religious extremist' who attacked colleague and tried to crash FlyDubai plane is Omani national who studied remotely at British university - as it's revealed he used an AXE. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16180085/pilot-stabbed-FlyDubai-plane-Israel-Omani-national-British-university.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

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

Quick Summary

Hamam Al Hammami, a 29-year-old Omani national, is identified as the suspect who allegedly attacked his colleague during a suspected hijacking attempt on a FlyDubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv. Al Hammami previously worked for Oman Air and was demoted after being found with extremist materials in 2024. He completed a degree in aviation management through distance learning at Buckinghamshire New University but did not receive pilot training there. The attacker used an axe during the incident, which led to a dramatic emergency landing in Saudi Arabia after passengers subdued him.

Written by AI on 2026-10-03, 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 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 345 other(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

24%

6 of 25 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

68/100

Daily Mail's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

346

Crime & Law

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-10-03 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Daily Mail · 8618 article(s) · 20 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 20 correction(s)

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Clarifications and corrections

Who wrote this

Robert Folker

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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 59 articles by Robert Folker →

Topics

ABC News Jordan Omani Saudi Arabia Tabuk

Subjects

Saudi Arabia GPE · 7× Al Hammami PERSON · 5× Hamam Al Hammami PERSON · 2× Israeli NORP · 2× Jordan GPE · 2× Omani NORP · 2× Tabuk GPE · 2× ABC News ORG · 1× Oman Air ORG · 1× the Buckinghamshire New University ORG · 1×

Narrative

The person, who wishes to remain anonymous, said the pilot's voice was trembling as he called 'mayday' and said a hijacking was taking place and ambulances would be needed. But Saudi Arabia initially denied clearance to land and directed him to Jordan.

framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-03

🔮 Officials feared the incident could have become another 'September 11' attack, adding that passengers had prevented an 'Israeli 9/11' by tying up the assailant.

2026-10-03 · Daily Mail

'Religious extremist' who attacked colleague and tried to crash FlyDubai plane is Omani national who studied remotely at British university - as it's revealed he used an AXE · mixed framing

Claims (25 extracted, 6 hedged)

The 'religious extremist' pilot who allegedly stabbed his colleague in a suspected hijacking attempt has been named. uncertain

who → stab → attempt

The suspected attacker has been identified as 29-year-old Hamam Al Hammami, an Omani national. asserted

attacker → suspect → Hammami

According to ABC News, Al Hammami was found with extremist materials while working as a co-pilot trainee for Oman Air in 2024. uncertain

Hammami → accord → 2024

He was then demoted to an administrative role, sources said. asserted

sources → demote → role

A source at the Buckinghamshire New University reportedly confirmed that Al Hammami completed a three-year distance-learning course and graduated with a degree in aviation management in 2023. uncertain

Hammami → confirm → 2023

The source said that Al Hammami did not take any pilot training at the school. asserted

Hammami → say → school

It is understood the alleged hijacker also studied engineering at a university in Australia. asserted

hijacker → understand → Australia

Al Hammami is understood to have used an axe in the attempt to take control of the aircraft, the prosecutor general has said. asserted

general → understand → aircraft

The Daily Mail has gone to the university for comment. asserted

Mail → go → comment

The suspected attacker has been identified as 29-year-old Hamam Al Hammami, an Omani national. asserted

attacker → suspect → Hammami

Officials are understood to be investigating how the attacker was allowed to fly for FlyDubai and how he ended up as the first officer in the cockpit of a plane headed for Israel. asserted

he → understand → Israel

According to sources close to the investigation, Al Hammami, who was transferred Thursday from Saudi Arabia to the United Arab Emirates, is said to be 'cooperating'. uncertain

who → accord → Emirates

A major disaster was said to be narrowly avoided on Wednesday when brave passengers onboard Flight FZ1073 are understood to have subdued the pilot who allegedly tried to hijack the flight, according to Israeli officials. uncertain

who → say → officials

Video footage at the time captured the terrifying screams and cries of passengers as the plane plunged into an erratic descent. asserted

plane → capture → descent

The flight, carrying 182 people from Dubai to Tel Aviv, was diverted to Tabuk in north-western Saudi Arabia for an emergency landing. asserted

flight → carry → landing

It transmitted a general emergency signal using a squawk code – four-digit numbers used for in-flight communication – of 7700 while making a U-turn over the border between the two countries. asserted

It → transmit → countries

While flying over Saudi Arabia, it briefly issued a code of 7500, signalling unlawful interference or a hijacking. asserted

it → fly → interference

Officials feared the incident could have become another 'September 11' attack, adding that passengers had prevented an 'Israeli 9/11' by tying up the assailant. uncertain

passengers → fear → assailant

A person who heard the crew's mayday call with air traffic control described the plane being turned away by Saudi Arabia and Jordan before eventually landing in the major city located in the northwest of the Kingdom. asserted

plane → hear → Kingdom

Arabia → wish → Jordan

The plane was told to wait for clearance from the Jordanian military and then turned away. asserted

plane → tell → military

The pilot then returned to Saudi Arabia and said he had to land in Tabuk. asserted

he → return → Tabuk

The air traffic control operators gave no reason for the earlier refusals. asserted

operators → give → refusals

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the alleged attacker was arrested in Saudi Arabia and was undergoing interrogation there. asserted

attacker → say → interrogation

This is a breaking news story. asserted

This → break → ?