A Flydubai co-pilot accused of attacking the captain of a flight bound for Israel has been identified as an Omani national previously barred from flying in his home country over concerns about alleged extremist views, according to media reports.
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pilot → accuse → reports
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co → give → landing
3FlyDubai pilot describes opening cockpit door during attack
The United Arab Emirates on Saturday described Wednesday’s incident on board Flight FZ1073 as an attempted “terrorist operation”, saying the co-pilot attacked Captain Smit Machchhar, an Indian national, with an emergency axe and attempted to take control of the aircraft.
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pilot → describe → aircraft
But investigators are still working to establish the motive and whether anyone else was connected to the attack, which has raised concerns about pilot vetting and aviation security.
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which → work → vetting
Here is what we know:
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we → know → what
What do we know about the accused pilot?
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we → know → pilot
The co-pilot suspected of attacking the captain of the Dubai-Tel Aviv flight carrying 174 people has been identified as Hamam al-Hammami, an Omani national, three people with knowledge of the situation, including a Gulf diplomat and a Western diplomat, told AP news agency.
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people → suspect → agency
All spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.
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they → speak → media
The Gulf diplomat said investigations are under way to establish whether he acted as a “lone wolf or had any connection with any extremist groups”.
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he → say → groups
US media outlet CNN, quoting a source and an Israeli official, reported that al-Hammami is an Omani citizen who was born in the UAE to a Syrian mother and spent several years in the Emirates.
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who → quote → Emirates
Questions have emerged about his previous aviation career and whether warning signs had been raised before he joined the Dubai-based low-cost carrier.
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he → emerge → carrier
The Wall Street Journal, quoting unnamed sources, reported on Friday that Omani authorities had previously barred the accused co-pilot from flying in the country because of concerns that he had held extremist views.
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he → quote → views
Nevertheless, it remains unclear what those alleged views were or whether Oman informed other countries or airlines about its concerns.
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Oman → remain → concerns
CNN separately quoted a regional diplomatic source as saying that al-Hammami had been removed from flight training over similar concerns and was subsequently reassigned to another position.
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Hammami → quote → position
The US-based network also reported that a LinkedIn profile bearing al-Hammami’s name said he had spent seven years at Oman Air before leaving in February 2025.
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he → base → February
The profile said he joined Royal Air Maroc in June 2025 and left in January 2026.
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he → say → January
What happened on flight FZ1073?
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What → happen → FZ1073
At 7:05am (03:05 GMT) on Wednesday, Flight FZ1073 departed Dubai for Tel Aviv, climbing to 34,000ft (more than 10,000 metres), according to Flightradar24.
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FZ1073 → depart → Flightradar24
A little more than two hours later, it suddenly began to descend, plunging before rising and then descending again.
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it → begin → ?
Flight-tracking data showed the plane plunging more than 17,000 feet in about two minutes, before climbing and descending again.
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plane → track → minutes
Meanwhile, a fight had begun in the cockpit between the two pilots.
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fight → begin → pilots
The co-pilot had attacked the Indian captain of the plane, Smit Machchhar, by stabbing him.
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pilot → attack → him
Machchhar later described finding himself seriously wounded on the cockpit floor as the aircraft descended.
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aircraft → describe → floor
“When I was down, I could feel that the aircraft was plummeting, and I knew this is the last chance to do something,” he told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi from a hospital in Abu Dhabi.
“I knew that the aircraft was going down …
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aircraft → feel → Dhabi
I had fallen to the ground.
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I → fall → ground
I told myself that the door is right there, just open it.
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door → tell → it
I managed to do it and people entered,” he said.
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he → manage → it
Passengers and crew members entered the cabin and overpowered the co-pilot.
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Passengers → enter → pilot
The aircraft eventually levelled out at about 15,000 feet.
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aircraft → level → feet
Its transponder was subsequently switched to code 7500, signalling unlawful interference.
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transponder → switch → interference
Two reserve pilots who were on board took control of the jet and landed it in Tabuk, northwestern Saudi Arabia.
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who → take → Tabuk
The plane landed safely at 9:45am (06:45 GMT) local time.
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plane → land → 9:45am
Saudi authorities said both pilots were taken to hospital.
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pilots → say → hospital
They were later transferred to Abu Dhabi after being medically cleared.
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They → transfer → Dhabi
What has the UAE said about the attack?
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UAE → say → attack
UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi said on Saturday that investigators had determined that the co-pilot had begun carrying out what he described as a “terrorist act”.
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he → say → act
According to al-Shamsi, the co-pilot attacked the captain inside the cockpit using the aircraft’s emergency crash axe and “attempted to take control of the aircraft’s controls”.
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pilot → accord → controls
A crash axe is a tool kept in a cockpit to help pilots cut through the plane in emergencies.
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pilots → keep → emergencies
On Thursday, al-Shamsi had ordered investigators to determine whether the incident was connected to “terrorist activity or intent” or involved prior planning or direction.
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incident → order → planning
The UAE has not yet publicly established a motive or announced whether investigators believe al-Hammami acted alone.
UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash on Saturday said that the latest ‘terrorist’ attack is new warning that region’s fight against extremism is not over.
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fight → establish → extremism
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
