The Aporia · Who is Hamam Al Hammami? FlyDubai pilot who ‘stabbed captain and tried to hijack plane’ studied at British university

Who is Hamam Al Hammami? FlyDubai pilot who ‘stabbed captain and tried to hijack plane’ studied at British university

Read the original at Evening Standard ↗

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Watts, M. (2026, October 3). Who is Hamam Al Hammami? FlyDubai pilot who ‘stabbed captain and tried to hijack plane’ studied at British university. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/flydubai-hijack-pilot-hamam-al-hammami-british-university-b1299406.html

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

Quick Summary

Flydubai co-pilot Hamam al Hammami, an Omani national who studied aviation management at a UK university through distance learning, allegedly stabbed Captain Smit Machchhar with a crash axe during a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday. The attack caused the plane to descend sharply before passengers subdued Hammami and regained control of the aircraft. Investigations are ongoing to determine the motives behind the incident, which Israeli officials suggest was an attempt at a 9/11-style attack. Sources indicate that Hammami had been banned from flying by Oman due to concerns about extremist views prior to joining Flydubai. Buckinghamshire New University confirmed Hammami's graduation in 2023 but stated he did not receive pilot training there.

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.

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Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

15%

2 of 13 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

65/100

Evening Standard'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

Who wrote this

Matt Watts

79 article(s) here · 0 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 79 articles by Matt Watts →

Claims (13 extracted, 2 hedged)

The FlyDubai pilot who allegedly stabbed his co-pilot in an attempted terrorist attack has been named for the first time. uncertain

who → stab → time

The co-pilot has been identified as Hamam al Hammami, an Omani national who studied aviation management at a UK university. asserted

who → identify → university

Al Hammami attempted to take control of the flight on Wednesday from Dubai to Tel Aviv after attacking Captain Smit Machchhar with a crash axe, the United Arab Emirates prosecutor general said. asserted

general → attempt → axe

The flight carrying more than 170 people plunged 17,000ft (5,200m) two and a half hours into its journey, before passengers managed to overpower the attacker and successfully take control of the plane. asserted

passengers → carry → plane

The UAE attorney general told state media that investigations were ongoing to determine the full circumstances and motives of the incident. asserted

investigations → tell → incident

Israeli officials claim the co-pilot was trying to crash the plane in a 9/11-style tragedy. uncertain

pilot → claim → tragedy

Hammami, who has a Syrian mother and was born in the UAE, had been banned from flying by Oman over fears he had adopted extremist views before he was hired by Flydubai, sources told the Associated Press The UAE-based airline said the circumstances surrounding the incident are still under investigation. asserted

circumstances → have → investigation

A UK university has confirmed the co-pilot at the centre of the alleged hijack attempt was enrolled on one of its remote courses. asserted

pilot → confirm → courses

He completed a three-year distance-learning course at Buckinghamshire New University and graduated with a degree in aviation management in 2023, the university said. asserted

university → complete → 2023

It added he did not take any pilot training at the university, that has campuses in London. asserted

that → add → London

In a statement, a spokesperson said: "Our thoughts are with the injured pilot, crew and passengers involved in this incident. asserted

thoughts → say → incident

Read More "Hamam al Hammami previously completed a distance-learning course in aviation management. " asserted

Hammami → read → management

He did not undertake any pilot training at the University." asserted

He → undertake → University

Who is Hamam Al Hammami? FlyDubai pilot who ‘stabbed captain and tried to hijack plane’ studied at British university

Quick Summary

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Claims (13 extracted, 2 hedged)