CAIRO (AP) — The co-pilot suspected of stabbing the captain of an Israel-bound FlyDubai flight before passengers and others stopped the attack is an Omani national named Hamam al-Hammami, three people with knowledge of the situation, including a Gulf and Western diplomat, said on Saturday.
All spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The Gulf diplomat said investigations are underway to establish whether
he acted as a “lone wolf or has any connection with any extremist groups.”
The co-pilot, who officials said nearly crashed the sharply plummeting flight with 182 people aboard, was barred from flying by Oman over concerns he had adopted extremist views, a person familiar with the matter said.
The co-pilot was then hired by the United Arab Emirates-based airline FlyDubai, the person said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation. It was not immediately clear to what extent he was vetted when he was hired. Oman’s barring of him was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
How the co-pilot managed to be working in the cockpit on Wednesday morning is a central question for investigators.
Israel says has it has long-standing agreements with foreign carriers to keep pilots from flying into the country if they are citizens of nations that don’t maintain diplomatic relations with Israel. Israel and Oman do not have formal diplomatic relations.
There was no immediate comment from FlyDubai, the UAE government or Oman Air. Oman’s government has said nothing publicly in response to repeated questions since the incident.
UAE senior diplomatic adviser Anwar Gargash on Friday called the attack a “dangerous terrorist act” in a post on X. The incident is a test for the UAE government, which has earned a reputation for effective measures against extremist activities but has also bristled in the past over criticism of security lapses.
Little else was immediately known about the co-pilot’s background. His Instagram account was active until the day of the flight and then deleted.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday said the co-pilot had undergone “Islamist radicalization,” but provided no evidence.
The captain, who was badly wounded, has said he used his remaining energy while being stabbed to unlock the cockpit door, allowing people who had noticed alarmingly unusual sounds to come in, tackle the co-pilot and stabilize the plane. It made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
Investigators have not publicly identified the object used to stab the captain or said whether it was carried onto the plane or came from inside the aircraft.
Both the captain and co-pilot were later taken to the UAE as it leads the investigation. Officials have said a number of countries including Israel are participating.
___
Mednick reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. AP Washington bureau chief Anna Johnson contributed to this report from Washington.
