Australia Examines Ties of Flydubai Co-Pilot Accused of Mid-Air Attack on Captain

Australian law enforcement and security agencies have opened an inquiry into the background of a Flydubai co-pilot accused of attempting to seize control of a passenger jet bound for Israel, focusing on the time he spent living and studying in the country.

The co-pilot allegedly assaulted the captain with a crash axe during a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv before travellers on board managed to subdue him and regain command of the aircraft. Australian officials have not formally named the man, though several international news organisations, including Reuters, CNN and The New York Times, have identified him as Hamam al-Hammami.

In a statement provided to the BBC, the Australian Federal Police confirmed it was examining "the man's links to Australia." The force said the inquiry was being conducted alongside state police and the nation's domestic security agency, and that further details would be released "at the appropriate time."

The case has drawn attention in Australia because of the suspect's past presence in the country. Sources with knowledge of the matter who have spoken to Australian media indicated that the co-pilot received a student visa in 2014 and remained in Australia between 2015 and 2017, completing his studies before departing.

According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, that student visa was revoked in 2019 because he was no longer enrolled in a course and therefore no longer met the conditions required to hold it. The broadcaster also reported that counter-terrorism investigators will examine whether the man was radicalised during his time in Australia — a line of inquiry that could prove significant given the transnational nature of the allegations.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the co-pilot was an Omani national. The flight on 30 September was carrying more than 170 passengers from Dubai to Tel Aviv when, roughly two and a half hours into the journey, the aircraft dropped about 17,000 feet (5,200 metres) after the co-pilot attacked the pilot with a crash axe, according to the United Arab Emirates prosecutor general.

The captain flying the plane, Smit Machchhar, has described how he was lying injured on the floor when he realised the aircraft was descending and that he had to act. He said he told himself to make one last effort to open the cockpit door from the inside, which allowed passengers to enter. Two reserve pilots subsequently landed the plane safely in Saudi Arabia.

Machchhar, an Indian national, was taken to a nearby hospital before being airlifted to Abu Dhabi, where he is reported to be in a stable condition. The co-pilot was arrested following the emergency landing and is being questioned by Saudi authorities, according to Netanyahu.

The UAE's attorney general, Hamad Saif Al Shamsi, said on Saturday that investigations were under way to establish the circumstances, motives and any connections related to the incident. He said the inquiry had revealed that the co-pilot attempted to carry out a "terrorist act", according to the country's state news agency.

Since the attack, additional details have emerged about the co-pilot's employment history. While he was working at another airline, Oman Air, US media reported that he was removed from flight training over concerns about his radical views and was reassigned to a different role at Oman's national carrier.

It is also known that from 2020 he was enrolled in a distance-learning course run by Buckinghamshire New University in the United Kingdom. The university said he graduated with a degree in aviation management in 2023, and added that he did not undertake any pilot training at the institution.

The Australian investigation adds a further dimension to a case that already spans multiple jurisdictions, with authorities in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel, the UK and Oman all holding some degree of involvement or interest. Counter-terrorism specialists in Australia are likely to scrutinise the man's contacts, activities and any signs of extremist influence during his student years, as well as whether any warning signs were missed before his visa was cancelled.

Aviation safety experts note that the incident has renewed questions about cockpit security and the screening of flight crew, particularly on international routes where geopolitical tensions are already elevated. The fact that the alleged attacker was able to bring a crash axe into the cockpit and use it against the captain will inevitably prompt reviews of crew vetting procedures and in-flight security protocols.

The Australian Federal Police has not indicated how long its inquiry might take or what specific evidence it is pursuing. Its statement underscores the sensitivity of the matter, given the potential diplomatic and security implications for Australia's relationships with several countries in the Middle East.

For now, the focus remains on assembling a complete picture of the co-pilot's movements and associations across the countries where he lived, trained and worked, as investigators seek to determine what motivated the alleged attack and whether anyone else was involved.