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Investigators say flydubai pilot's 'drift towards terrorism' started in Australia

Read the original at ABC News (AU) ↗
Cite

Doran, M. (2026, October 10). Investigators say flydubai pilot's 'drift towards terrorism' started in Australia. ABC News (AU). https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-10/flydubai-investigation-copilot-drift-to-extremism/107250928

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

ABC News (AU) · collected 2026-10-10 · by Matthew Doran

Quick Summary

Emirati authorities claim that the co-pilot who allegedly attempted to hijack a flydubai flight to Tel Aviv showed signs of extremist leanings while studying in Australia nearly 10 years ago. The man attacked his co-pilot with an axe during the flight but was stopped by passengers and crew. UAE officials say he planned to crash the plane into Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport as a suicide attack, inspired by Al Qaeda’s September 11 attacks. Australian Federal Police are now investigating his time in Australia for any connections to extremism.
Written by AI on 2026-10-10, 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 2026-11-02, 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 unscored and hedges 17% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
BBC News
Hedges 4 of 17 claims Outlet record 68/100
CBS News
Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the incident, with Article A focusing on Israel's characterization of the attacker as a 'lone wolf' and Article B detailing earlier signs of extremism in Australia.”
Times of India
Hedges 11 of 22 claims Outlet record 59/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the co-pilot's background and motivations but do not describe the same specific incident.”
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 7 of 20 claims Outlet record 60/100
“Article A discusses investigators' findings about the pilot's past in Australia, while Article B focuses on a Melbourne man rejecting accusations linked to the suspect. These are different aspects of related events.”
South China Morning Post
Hedges 1 of 2 claims Outlet record 63/100
“While both articles discuss the co-pilot's alleged attempt to hijack a flydubai flight, Article A focuses on the investigation of his past in Australia, whereas Article B reports on the co-pilot's rejection of UAE links and accusations from an Islamic centre chief.”
The Guardian
Hedges 3 of 22 claims Outlet record 66/100
“While both articles discuss the alleged hijacking attempt by Hammam al-Hammami, they describe different aspects of the overall incident. Article A focuses on his educational background in Australia and the events during the flight, whereas Article B discusses the timing and origins of his alleged drift towards extremism.”
New York Post
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 3 of 24 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss related events but describe different aspects: one focuses on the background investigation in Australia, while the other comments on reactions and implications in the US.”
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 8 of 24 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles describe related investigations but focus on different aspects of the incident timeline, with Article A reporting on immediate events and plans revealed to investigators, while Article B discusses earlier signs of extremism in Australia.”
Times of India
Hedges 8 of 29 claims Outlet record 59/100
“While both articles discuss the same co-pilot accused of planning an attack on a flight to Tel Aviv, they describe different aspects of the investigation timeline and do not appear to be reporting on the exact same specific incident or occurrence.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
23
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
17%
4 of 23 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
68/100
ABC News (AU)'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 2026-10-10 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

ABC News (AU) · 4627 article(s) · 10 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 10 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Matthew Doran
16 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction
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🔮 Rabbi Elchanan Danino, whose son Uri was abducted and murdered in Hamas captivity, said an inquiry "will not bring our sons and daughters home, but it is necessary for the futures of our sons and daughters … and for the soldiers who are risking their lives for our existence here."
🔮 The popular businessman is a resident of Kiryat Shmona and, like many other Israelis, is preparing to vote in an election that will have a profound impact on the country after years of conflict and social upheaval.
🔮 Levine herself said she feared she wouldn't have survived the attack had she not been wearing a helmet and flak jacket.
🔮 "If Israel has the wrong Leader, which would be anyone other than Bibi, America will have to do this work ourselves, and I am not inclined to do so," he wrote. "Bibi Netanyahu has been Strong, Brave, and Brilliant in the face of tremendous opposition, including that coming from even Israel, itself.
Also by Matthew Doran
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 16 articles by Matthew Doran →

Topics

Australia Tel Aviv Tel Aviv's The Australian Federal Police flydubai

Subjects

Al-Hammami PERSON · 6× Australia GPE · 5× Tel Aviv GPE · 4× Emirati NORP · 2× Israel GPE · 2× Melbourne GPE · 2× Saudi Arabia GPE · 2× Tel Aviv's GPE · 2× The Australian Federal Police ORG · 2× flydubai ORG · 2×

Narrative

"[Al-Hammami] also said that he had prepared himself both psychologically and physically to carry out the plot by intensifying his exposure to material promoting terrorism and training in boxing under a private coach," the news agency reported.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-10

Claims (23 extracted, 4 hedged)

In short: The co-pilot who allegedly tried to hijack a flydubai flight to Tel Aviv began showing signs of a "drift towards extremism and terrorism" in Australia nearly 10 years ago, investigators say. uncertain
investigators → try → Australia
United Arab Emirates authorities say the man was trying to take control of the plane to crash it into Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport. asserted
man → say → Airport
The Australian Federal Police is investigating his time in Australia and any links to extremism. asserted
Police → investigate → extremism
Emirati investigators have revealed the pilot who allegedly attempted to hijack a plane from Dubai to Tel Aviv started to "drift towards extremism and terrorism" while studying in Australia. uncertain
who → reveal → Australia
The man, widely reported as Omani national Al-Hammami, is accused of attacking his co-pilot with an axe in the skies over Saudi Arabia, as they were flying a flydubai plane with more than 170 passengers. asserted
they → report → passengers
The Indian co-pilot, Smit Machchhar, managed to unlock the cockpit door during the violent attack, which allowed passengers to storm in and wrest back control. asserted
passengers → manage → control
A LinkedIn profile seen by multiple media outlets, since deleted, showed Al-Hammami said he studied at Melbourne's RMIT. asserted
he → see → RMIT
The Attorney-General of the United Arab Emirates, Hamad Saif Al Shamsi, alleged Al-Hammami was trying to take control of the plane to crash it into Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport in a "suicide attack". asserted
Hammami → allege → attack
Mr Al Shamsi said the pilot had been inspired by Al Qaeda's September 11 attacks in New York, learning of his leanings during interrogations of the 29-year-old. asserted
pilot → say → old
"The findings indicated that signs of his drift towards extremism and terrorism first emerged in 2017, while he was studying in Australia," the UAE's state news agency reported, in comments attributed to the attorney-general. " asserted
agency → indicate → general
During that period, he was influenced by takfiri [radical] ideology through reading extremist literature and following online content glorifying terrorist organisations and suicide attacks." asserted
he → influence → organisations
It said Al-Hammami had "regularly attended" a mosque during his time studying in Melbourne, and "became acquainted" with an organisation linked to the Muslim Brotherhood. asserted
Hammami → say → Brotherhood
Known as "My Centre," the news agency reported it was managed by a Lebanese man known as "Abu Hamza". asserted
it → know → Hamza
"[Al-Hammami] also said that he had prepared himself both psychologically and physically to carry out the plot by intensifying his exposure to material promoting terrorism and training in boxing under a private coach," the news agency reported. asserted
agency → say → coach
Last week, the Australian Federal Police confirmed it had launched an investigation into Al-Hammami's time in Australia and any links to extremism. asserted
it → confirm → extremism
Scrutiny on why co-pilot was allowed to fly The pilot is accused of using the crash axe, stored in the cockpit, to attack his co-pilot during the attack in early October. asserted
pilot → allow → October
"In the presence of his lawyer and with all legally prescribed safeguards ensured, the suspect provided a detailed confession outlining his motives and the stages of planning and execution," the Emirati news agency said. " asserted
agency → prescribe → planning
He admitted that he had acted alone, without the involvement of others, although investigations are continuing to verify this claim." uncertain
investigations → admit → claim
The plane plummeted during the incident, before passengers managed to take back control and a pilot, travelling on the flight, managed to execute an emergency landing in northern Saudi Arabia. asserted
pilot → plummet → Arabia
Questions have been raised as to how Al-Hammami was allowed to fly the plane to Tel Aviv, given he had reportedly been sacked by his country's national carrier due to his extremist views. uncertain
he → raise → views
Israel also has rules banning flight crews from countries that do not have diplomatic relations with it from operating planes in and out of Tel Aviv. asserted
that → have → Aviv
Oman falls into that category. asserted
Oman → fall → category
There have been demands in Israel for the country's transport minister to resign, given her department is meant to flag security risks among flight crews. asserted
department → resign → crews
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