Banned Omani co-pilot allegedly attacked his captain on Flydubai plane

Several international media claimed on Saturday that the Omani co-pilot who attacked his commander with a knife on board a Flydubai plane was banned from flying by the authorities of his country, who suspected him of radicalization.

According to the Al-Arabiyah, CNN and ABC channels as well as the Wall Street Journal, the co-pilot, whose father is Omani and whose mother is Syrian, had been banned from piloting planes for security reasons by the Omani authorities, who believed that he had been influenced by radical Islamist groups during a stay in Syria.

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According to these same media, the future attacker, named Hammam Al-Hammami, had joined Flydubai after leaving his employer Oman Air and unsuccessfully applied for a position with the Emirates company.

Motivations still unclear

The incident took place on September 30 aboard a plane from Dubai to Tel Aviv, Israel. The co-pilot stabbed the Indian captain in mid-flight, who still managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew members to overpower the attacker. The plane, which had fallen precipitously during the scuffle, was able to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

The exact circumstances of this attack and the motivations, still unclear, of the attacker, are the subject of an investigation in the United Arab Emirates, where the two pilots were transferred.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacker had “suffered Islamist radicalization” and “intended to crash the plane with its passengers.”