Australia’s Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team is investigating a flydubai co-pilot’s links to the country after he allegedly attacked a colleague in the cockpit of a flight bound for Tel Aviv. The team brings together the Australian Federal Police (AFP), Victoria Police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO). An AFP spokesperson said an update would come “at an appropriate time.”
The allegations are serious. The ABC identified the co-pilot as Hamam al-Hammami. He stands accused of stabbing the pilot, Smit Machcharr, with the cockpit’s crash axe and trying to seize control of the aircraft. The United Arab Emirates called it a “terrorist attack.”
What Happened in the Air
The ABC reported that the plane plunged nearly 14,000 feet (4,267 metres) in less than 30 seconds. It put the number of people aboard at 174. The Guardian gave different figures: 182 people on board and a drop of 16,625 feet (5,067 metres) in just over 30 seconds. The Guardian also reported that passengers and crew intervened to stop the co-pilot taking control. The flight diverted to Tabuk in north-western Saudi Arabia for an emergency landing.
The UAE is leading a separate investigation. According to the Guardian, the co-pilot and captain were taken to the UAE, and officials said several countries, Israel among them, are taking part. The Guardian named the flight’s Indian captain as Smit Machchhar. Flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv are suspended until further notice.
A Résumé With Red Flags
Sources close to the incident told the ABC that al-Hammami received an Australian student visa in 2014, studied in Australia from 2015 to 2017 and then left. His visa was cancelled in 2019. The ABC said it understood the cancellation happened because he was no longer enrolled in a course, which made him ineligible for a student visa. It wasn't a character decision. The ABC added that investigators will examine whether he was radicalised in Australia. The Guardian’s source, who wasn't authorised to speak publicly, gave the same timeline.
His path through the aviation industry raises its own questions. Royal Air Maroc told the Associated Press that he “completed a three-month theoretical training period with the airline in 2025, as part of the pre-employment process.” The airline said that “at the end of this training period, his application was not selected for employment.” Buckinghamshire New University said a student named Hamam al-Hammami completed a distance-learning course in aviation management but “did not undertake any pilot training at the university.”
The ABC reported that al-Hammami is an Omani national. Citing officials, it said he had been barred from flying on Oman’s airline over concerns about extremist views. The Wall Street Journal reported, according to an official cited by the Guardian, that he moved to an administrative job at Oman Air before flydubai hired him. A flydubai spokesperson said Saturday that the circumstances remained under investigation and the airline couldn't comment further.
Vetting and Border Protocols
The ABC said the episode raised questions about flydubai’s vetting of potential employees. It also raised questions about how he boarded a flight carrying Israeli passengers despite Israel’s security protocols. Israel has said it has agreements with foreign carriers to prevent pilots from countries without diplomatic ties from flying there. Israel and Oman don't have formal diplomatic relations. The ABC also noted that the UAE government has a reputation for measures against extremist activities and has previously bristled at criticism of security lapses.
Philip Baum, visiting professor of aviation security at Coventry University, offered a measured view. “In terms of aviation security itself, obviously we want to have as robust background checks as possible,” he said. “But there are huge limitations on doing background checks in any case, especially in cross-border checks.”
Why This Matters:
The reported facts point to an employer-level problem more than a visa-system one. Australia’s cancellation in 2019 followed standard enrolment rules, and the ABC said it wasn't a character decision. Meanwhile, concerns about extremist views reportedly followed the co-pilot from one employer to the next, yet he still ended up in a cockpit on a route where Israel says it has carrier agreements designed to keep out pilots from countries without diplomatic ties. Baum’s warning about cross-border checks suggests no regulator can close every gap. From this perspective, the weight falls on airlines to answer for who they hire, and on governments to share intelligence quickly. The commercial fallout is already visible: Dubai–Tel Aviv flights are suspended until further notice.