ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates – The co-pilot accused of attacking the captain of flydubai Flight FZ1073 has been identified by multiple sources as Hamam Al Hammami, a 29-year-old Omani national whose previous aviation career is now a central part of the investigation into the Sept. 30 incident.
Al Hammami was the co-pilot aboard the Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight when the captain was attacked and the aircraft entered a steep descent before passengers and crew intervened. The aircraft was eventually diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where Saudi authorities detained the co-pilot before he was transferred to the United Arab Emirates.
His identity has been reported by ABC News, CNN and other outlets citing people familiar with the investigation, while Saudi state media and an Israeli official have also identified him.
The UAE has not publicly announced a final finding about his motives or formally characterized the incident as terrorism.
What is established about his aviation background
Al Hammami’s reported professional history includes Oman Air, a period of training with Royal Air Maroc and later employment with flydubai.
According to senior intelligence and law-enforcement officials cited by ABC News, Al Hammami was a co-pilot trainee at Oman Air in 2024 when he was identified as a security risk and found in possession of extremist material. The sources said he was subsequently suspended from flying duties but continued working for the airline in an administrative role.
That account has not been publicly confirmed in a detailed statement by Oman Air. ABC News said its inquiries to relevant parties were continuing, and the UAE has urged the public to rely on official information while its investigation proceeds.
The distinction is important: the reported previous security concern is evidence of an earlier personnel decision attributed to sources familiar with the matter. It is not, by itself, an official finding about the motive for the FZ1073 incident.
■ Related News
His reported connection to Royal Air Maroc
Al Hammami’s career also included a period associated with Morocco’s national carrier, Royal Air Maroc.
Moroccan publication Le Desk reported that Al Hammami had presented himself professionally as a pilot with Royal Air Maroc and that its reporting was based partly on an authenticated LinkedIn profile that has since been deleted.
Royal Air Maroc, however, told Le Desk that Al Hammami underwent three months of theoretical training with the company and did not fly operationally for the airline.
That distinction means his association with Royal Air Maroc should not be described as previous service as an operational Royal Air Maroc pilot.
Le Desk reported that the LinkedIn profile listed employment at Oman Air from February 2018 to February 2025, followed by Royal Air Maroc from June 2025 to January 2026. The profile has since been removed.
The employment dates are therefore based on a deleted profile and reporting that authenticated it, rather than publicly released employment records.
Education in aviation management
A man named Hamam Al Hammami also completed an aviation-management degree through Buckinghamshire New University in the United Kingdom.
A university source confirmed to ABC News that Al Hammami completed a three-year distance-learning program and graduated in 2023. The university source also clarified that the program was in aviation management and did not constitute pilot training.
The publicly accessible professional profile associated with the name likewise listed Buckinghamshire New University among his education history.
This provides corroboration for the educational background, but the university’s confirmation does not establish anything about the alleged cockpit attack or its motive.
Questions over how he reached the flydubai cockpit
The reported Oman Air history has raised questions about how Al Hammami subsequently obtained employment that allowed him to operate commercially for flydubai.
Those questions are particularly relevant because the UAE investigation is examining not only the immediate circumstances of the incident but also the suspect’s background and possible prior planning.
The UAE Attorney-General ordered a specialized Public Prosecution investigation after the flight landed in Saudi Arabia. The investigation is examining the circumstances and motives surrounding the incident and whether it involved terrorist activity, prior planning or outside direction.
The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs has specifically warned against speculation and unverified information while the investigation remains open.
It has not publicly established whether any previous employer or authority communicated security concerns about Al Hammami to flydubai, nor has it released a finding about whether such information existed in a form that should have affected his later employment.
Social-media material remains disputed
Investigators and journalists have also examined social-media accounts associated with Al Hammami.
CNN reported that accounts bearing his name contained material that included extremist imagery and cockpit-related videos. However, CNN also reported uncertainty over who published some of the material and whether certain posts had been scheduled in advance.
That uncertainty makes the social-media material different from an authenticated government record or court finding.
Journos News therefore does not treat the contents of deleted or disputed social-media accounts as proof of Al Hammami’s motive, ideology or responsibility for the attack beyond what investigators formally establish.
What investigators have and have not established
The immediate sequence aboard FZ1073 is supported by official and aviation authorities: flydubai confirmed an incident in the flight deck, the aircraft landed safely in Tabuk, and Saudi authorities subsequently reported that the captain had been assaulted by his co-pilot.
The UAE investigation remains broader.
The Attorney-General has directed investigators to establish the facts, circumstances and motives and to determine whether the incident had any connection to terrorist activity or involved prior planning or direction.
The General Civil Aviation Authority said on Oct. 2 that Captain Smit Machchhar had returned safely to the UAE and was in good condition. It also said investigators were continuing their work and declined to comment on claims that could pre-empt the investigation.
Consequently, Al Hammami’s reported previous security concerns should not be presented as proof that the FZ1073 incident was a terrorist attack.
Similarly, statements by political officials about alleged radicalization remain separate from the formal findings of the UAE investigation.
The aviation-security question
The central unanswered question is not simply who Al Hammami is, but how his reported professional history intersects with the security systems that allowed him to become a commercial co-pilot.
If the reported Oman Air security concerns are confirmed by investigators, authorities will need to establish what information existed, which institutions had access to it, whether it was shared, and what screening procedures were applied when Al Hammami later obtained aviation employment.
Those questions cannot yet be answered conclusively from the public record.
For now, the documented picture is of an Omani national identified as Hamam Al Hammami, a former aviation trainee at Oman Air who was reportedly removed from flight duties after security concerns, later associated with Royal Air Maroc for theoretical training, educated in aviation management and eventually employed by flydubai.
The UAE investigation will determine whether those elements of his background are relevant to the motive, planning or circumstances of the FZ1073 incident.
Reporting Credit: UAE Attorney-General / UAE Public Prosecution; UAE General Civil Aviation Authority; flydubai; Royal Air Maroc; Buckinghamshire New University; Saudi authorities; Oman Air-related information reported by senior intelligence and law-enforcement sources; court and investigative records when released.
