International media outlets reported on Saturday that Omani authorities had previously barred the co-pilot involved in Wednesday's Flydubai cockpit attack from flying aircraft.
The co-pilot was serving on a flight bound for Tel Aviv when he allegedly stabbed the captain during the flight.
According to Al Arabiya, CNN, ABC and The Wall Street Journal, Omani authorities had prohibited the co-pilot from piloting aircraft on security grounds because they believed he had been influenced by extremist Islamist groups during his time in Syria.
The reports identified the co-pilot as Hamam al-Hammami, whose father is an Omani citizen and mother is Syrian. According to the same outlets, al-Hammami was hired by UAE-based Flydubai after leaving Oman Air and an unsuccessful attempt to secure employment with Emirates.
A LinkedIn profile under the name Hamam al-Hammami stated that he worked for Oman Air for seven years before leaving in February 2025, joining Royal Air Maroc in June 2025 and departing in January 2026.
An Omani diplomat told CNN that al-Hammami was removed from flight training because of concerns over his radical views and was subsequently assigned to another position within the state airline.
The revelations have raised concerns over the importance of background checks in airline recruitment, CNN reported.
Social media posts under scrutiny
Investigators have also focused on two posts published on al-Hammami's LinkedIn account following the incident.
It remains unclear who published the posts or whether they had been scheduled in advance.
The first post included a series of videos filmed inside the cockpit of a Boeing 737 Max aircraft. The aircraft diverted following Wednesday's incident was a Flydubai 737 Max 8. According to CNN, the cockpit footage was filmed aboard an aircraft at Dubai airport. The person filming zooms in on an aircraft belonging to Israeli airline El Al.
The video ends with an image of Ayman al-Zawahiri, who led al Qaeda after the death of Osama bin Laden, and an image of Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, who killed nine people, including seven U.S. officials and CIA personnel, in a 2009 suicide bombing and was affiliated with al Qaeda.
The second post featured an AI-generated image depicting Islam's three holiest sites in Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem linked by a continuous glowing path. A poem recited in the background speaks of rejecting humiliation, not fearing death and defending one's dignity.
The same two videos were also posted at around the same time on an Instagram account bearing the same name and photographs before that account was deleted.
Deleted X account
CNN reported that it also reviewed content from al-Hammami's deleted X account, describing him as deeply religious and misogynistic.
In deleted posts, al-Hammami wrote about difficulties his mother encountered while trying to find a "suitable" wife for her son who would accept his conditions of wearing a niqab and stopping work after marriage.
"All of them refused. Then my mother told them: 'My son is a pilot' and suddenly they all agreed," a post from February 2022 said.
Other posts criticised mixed-gender workplaces, saying they had corrupted women.
"How many respectable, religious girls have been ruined in mixed-gender work environments and have been manipulated?" a post from January 2022 said.
How tragedy was averted
The co-pilot of Flydubai flight FZ1073 attempted to carry out a "terrorist" attack during a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said on Saturday, according to state news agency WAM.
The co-pilot attacked the captain inside the cockpit with an axe and attempted to take control of the aircraft, the attorney general added.
Investigations are ongoing to determine the circumstances of the incident, the suspect's motives and any possible connections, as well as to examine physical and digital evidence, he said.
A spokesperson for the UAE airline said the circumstances surrounding the incident remained under investigation and declined further comment.
Source: AMNA
