Suspect in flydubai attack was barred from flying in Oman: Reports

A plane carrying passengers who were on the FlyDubai aircraft bound for Israel from the United Arab Emirates, arrives at Ben Gurion International Airport, in Lod, near Tel Aviv, Israel, on Sep 30, 2026. (Photo: Reuters/Ammar Awad)

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DUBAI: The co-pilot accused of attacking the captain of a flydubai flight to Israel had previously been barred from flying in Oman over concerns about his extremist views, multiple media outlets reported.

Scrutiny into the alleged assailant — who was identified in the reports as Omani national Hamam al-Hammami — and his motives has intensified after Wednesday's (Sep 30) drama aboard a Dubai-Tel Aviv route that officials say narrowly avoided catastrophe.

During the flydubai flight, the jet's Indian captain was assaulted by his co-pilot but he managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to overpower the attacker and force an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the suspect had undergone "Islamist radical indoctrination" and had attempted to crash the plane.

The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Omani authorities had banned the pilot from flying over concerns he had adopted radical ideological views, citing people familiar with the matter.

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