The vetting gap: How an Omani flagged for extremism ended up piloting a Tel Aviv-bound flydubai jet
Hamam al-Hammami, the Omani co-pilot accused of stabbing Captain Smit Machchhar and attempting to crash a flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv, had already come to the attention of authorities for his radical extremist tendencies. Despite this he was cleared to fly to Israel by flydubai.Investigators are trying to establish how an Omani pilot ended up as first officer on a flight to Israel, given that Israel and Oman do not have diplomatic relations.
Hamam al-Hammami’s background
Al-Hammami is a 29-year-old Omani national, according to US media reports. He entered pilot training with Oman Air and worked for the airline for several years. A LinkedIn profile bearing his name, which CNN said was verified by a source as belonging to him, showed a seven-year stint at Oman Air ending in February 2025. It also listed a subsequent job with Royal Air Maroc, from June 2025 to January 2026. The profile has since been deleted.Investigators are also examining social-media material attributed to al-Hammami.A deleted video showed Israeli aircraft in Dubai and ended with images of former al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri and al-Qaeda-linked suicide bomber Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi.Another post featured an AI-generated image of Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem accompanied by a poem about rejecting humiliation and not fearing death. CNN said it remained unclear who posted the material or whether the posts had been scheduled as they were posted after the flydubai incident.CNN also analysed thousands of deleted posts attributed to al-Hammami, including material expressing strongly misogynistic and conservative views.
How did he get into the cockpit?
The question about his presence on a flight headed towards Tel Aviv arose because Oman does not have diplomatic relations with Israel, yet al-Hammami was serving as a co-pilot on a Dubai-Tel Aviv flight operated by a UAE airline.Israeli authorities are investigating how he came to be assigned to the flight and whether aviation-security procedures were followed.CBS News reported that sources initially suggested al-Hammami could have held dual citizenship, which they said might explain how he was cleared to fly to Israel.He was born in the UAE to an Omani father and Syrian mother and spent much of his life outside Oman, according to sources cited by CNN.However, a later report by Jerusalem Post citing people familiar with the investigation said he did not have a second nationality, leaving the question of how he was cleared unresolved.According to sources cited by CBS News, Omani government surveillance found that al-Hammami was visiting radical websites while he was undergoing pilot training.Oman Air subsequently transferred him from flying duties to an administrative role.One source said he later resigned from the airline after being placed on desk duty and left around 2024.Other reports have described him as having been barred or suspended from flying in Oman over concerns about his extremist views.After leaving Oman Air, al-Hammami moved to Dubai and eventually joined flydubai.Sources told CBS News that flydubai hired him without vetting him through the Omani government.That has become one of the central questions in the investigation: whether information about his earlier removal from flying duties was passed on to his subsequent employers or relevant security authorities.It remains unclear what background checks were conducted when he joined flydubai.
What are investigators probing now?
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said investigators believe al-Hammami underwent Islamist radicalisation and was trying to crash the aircraft with its passengers. He has also said authorities are examining whether he was sent by someone else.US president Donald Trump separately suggested that al-Hammami could be linked to Iran, although Netanyahu has said it was too early to determine whether Iran was involved.The UAE has opened an investigation into whether the attack involved terrorist activity, prior planning or outside direction, while Israeli authorities are examining how al-Hammami came to be part of the flight crew.
