Abu Dhabi: Omani co-pilot Hamam Al Hamami has stated that he had planned to crash the aircraft into the ground and destroy it.
On the 30th, co-pilot Hamam Al Hamami attempted to hijack a passenger plane carrying 180 people midair while it was flying from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Tel Aviv, Israel. Indian pilot Smith Machar thwarted this attempt, risking his own life. UAE police have arrested co-pilot Hamam Al Hamami and are conducting an investigation.
Several facts have come to light in this. The co-pilot Hamami, who tried to hijack the plane, was born in the UAE. His mother was originally from Syria. His father was from Oman. As a result, Hamami obtained Omani citizenship. But he spent most of his youth in Syria. There, he developed a strong attraction to the extremist ideologies of Al-Qaeda and ISIS.
After completing school, he completed an aviation management course through distance learning at Buckinghamshire New University in Britain. He then received pilot training in the United Arab Emirates. Later, he joined Oman Air, the airline of the Omani government, as a pilot. However, because he showed interest in extremist websites, he was barred from working as a pilot in 2024.
In June 2025, he joined Morocco’s Royal Air Maroc as a pilot. Last January, he joined the UAE government’s Fly Dubai as a pilot. His social media posts include photos of leaders of the al-Qaeda terrorist organization and suicide bomber terrorists.
UAE police are conducting an intensive investigation into whether there is a connection between al-Qaeda and Hamam al-Hamami. Regarding this, UAE police sources said, “While living in Syria, Hamam al-Hamami developed an attraction to extremism. He has stated in his confession that he had planned to crash and destroy a Flydubai aircraft on the ground. He also said that he was not afraid of loss of life,” they said.