Australia investigates Flydubai co-pilot’s ties after midair attack

Australian authorities are investigating a Flydubai co-pilot’s links to the country after he allegedly attacked the captain of a flight bound for Israel and tried to crash the plane, forcing an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

The Australian Federal Police told the BBC that it was examining “the man’s links to Australia” alongside state police and the country’s security agency. It said an update would be provided “at the appropriate time.”

The flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Sept. 30 carried more than 170 passengers. About two and a half hours into the journey, the co-pilot attacked the captain with a crash axe and the aircraft plunged 17,000 feet (5,200 meters), according to the United Arab Emirates prosecutor general. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, passengers and the captain have said the co-pilot tried to crash the plane.

The injured captain, Smit Machchhar, managed to open the cockpit door. “I told myself to go for one last push to open the door from inside,” he said, describing how he acted after realizing the aircraft was descending. Passengers and Flydubai staff overpowered the co-pilot, and two off-duty pilots took control and landed the plane in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Machchhar, an Indian national, was treated at a nearby hospital and airlifted to Abu Dhabi, where the BBC reported he was in stable condition.

The co-pilot has not been publicly identified by authorities. Multiple outlets, including CBS News, have named him as Hamam al-Hammami. Netanyahu has described him as an Omani national, though CBS News reported that Oman’s government has not publicly confirmed his nationality.

The UAE attorney general, Hamad Saif Al Shamsi, said Saturday that investigators were examining the circumstances, motives and possible links behind the incident. He said the investigation had found that the co-pilot attempted a “terrorist act,” according to the UAE state news agency. People familiar with an early Israeli investigation told CBS News the attack was likely the work of a lone individual, but said investigators were still exploring all avenues.

President Donald Trump suggested Thursday that the co-pilot might be linked to Iran, saying, “The answer, based on what I’m hearing, is yes. But we’re working on it right now.” Netanyahu told CBS News the motive remained unknown. “I don’t think it was a hijacking,” he said. “I think it looks like a suicide attempt.” Netanyahu later told Fox News that information gathered during questioning indicated the co-pilot had undergone “Islamist radical indoctrination,” without providing further details.

The accounts differ on where the co-pilot is being questioned. CBS News reported that he was in the UAE for a second round of interrogation after Saudi authorities questioned him following the landing. The BBC reported that Netanyahu said Saudi authorities were questioning him.

Sources familiar with the case told Australian media that the co-pilot studied in Australia from 2015 to 2017 on a student visa issued in 2014. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that the visa was canceled in 2019 because he was no longer enrolled, and that counterterrorism officials would examine whether he was radicalized in Australia.

CBS News reported that Oman Air moved him from pilot training to an office job after Omani surveillance found he had visited radical websites. Buckinghamshire New University said he completed a distance-learning degree in aviation management in 2023 and received no pilot training there.