It has been revealed that the co-pilot who allegedly attempted to hijack a plane en route to Tel Aviv from Dubai on Wednesday, named as Omani national Hamam al Hammami, completed remote learning at a UK university. Follow the latest.
Plane dropped ‘like a rollercoaster’, flydubai passenger says
A number of passengers aboard the flydubai flight have shared their experiences since Wednesday’s incident.
On Thursday, Almog Itali told Mornings With Ridge and Frost about the moment the plane nosedived and felt like a “rollercoaster”.
But, despite the chaotic situation, he said he managed to remain calm as other passengers took control of the cockpit and steadied the aircraft.
‘Dual target’ intended for flydubai incident, former US ambassador says
As we’ve been reporting, the co-pilot at the centre of the incident was named as Omani national Hamam al Hammami.
The former US ambassador to Oman has said there may also have been geopolitical motives behind the alleged attempted plane hijack.
“I think there was a dual target behind this attempted act of terrorism,” Marc Sievers wrote on X.
“The investigation will soon reveal whether the co-pilot had a specific target to crash into.
“But it’s likely this was also intended to undermine the vital relationship between the UAE and Israel.”
Sievers said the journey the flydubai plane was making from Dubai to Tel Aviv was a “vital commercial air link” between the two countries, with no other international airlines offering flights for the route.
How events unfolded – and how plane dropped 14,000ft in 30 seconds
A clear timeline of how events unfolded in Wednesday’s flydubai incident can be seen in the flight’s recorded altitude.
The timeline below shows the key events for flight FZ1073 in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), which is one hour behind UK time.
It includes changes to the plane’s “squawk” – a four-digit code assigned to an aircraft at the start of a flight to help air traffic control identify it.
Timeline:
- 03:05: Take off from Dubai International Airport
- 05:21: Altitude fluctuations begin
- 05:22: Aircraft drops more than 14,000 ft in under 30 seconds
- 05:31: Squawk changed to 7700 (general emergency)
- 05:38: Squawk changed to 7500 (unlawful interference)
- 06:11: Aircraft left Flightradar24 ground-based coverage
- 06:28: Squawk 7700 received via satellite
- 06:58: Last signal received via satellite, at Tabuk Regional Airport, Saudi Arabia. Then the graph below demonstrates the sudden loss of altitude:
This chart illustrates the sudden loss of altitude:
Why did the plane have an axe on board?
You may be wondering why Hamam al Hammami was able to allegedly use a crash axe as part of his reported hijack attempt (see 12:03 post).
As strange as it may seem, every standard commercial aircraft must carry one for safety reasons.
“By law, the aircraft has to have it on board,” Andrew Nicholson, chief executive of Osprey Flight Solutions, told Sky News.
“Any aircraft over 5,700 kg with more than nine passengers has to have, under EU regulations, either an axe or a crowbar, and under the FAA regulations an axe, to allow the crew to react in the case of a fire or accident.
“If they have to escape from the cockpit or have to be able to break through bulkheads to put a fire out, that’s what that bit of equipment is there, by law, to do.”
UAE deputy leader visits attacked flydubai pilot in hospital
The deputy leader of the UAE has praised the flydubai pilot attacked during Wednesday’s incident with a hospital visit.
Smit Machchhar has been recovering from his injuries in Saudi Arabia after being attacked with a crash axe on the flight, according to prosecutors.
Hamdan bin Mohammed posted a series of pictures on X of him embracing and chatting with the pilot as he lay in his hospital bed.
Machchhar’s actions “embodied the highest degrees of courage, responsibility, and care for human life”, Mohammed said, adding the pilot was “part of the story of our nation… and part of what the UAE stands for”.
On Thursday, the Indian embassy in the UAE said Machchhar was in good health and recovering well,
Speaking to reporters yesterday about his efforts to help passengers aboard Wednesday’s flight, he said: “I could not let people die.”
Co-pilot may have been placed on ‘no hire list’ and not suspended, former official says
As we’ve been reporting, Hamam al Hammami was previously suspended from his duties as a co-pilot by Oman Air due to his extremist views.
However, an aviation official has said the type of sanction he received may have allowed him to carry on flying.
Gideon Ewers, former director of the International Federation of Airline Pilots’ Associations, said vetting processes in the industry are very much down to the individual airline or their employer.
“I think ‘barred’ is a word that covers a number of bases,” he told Sky News.
“It’s not entirely clear now. It could be that they just put him on a ‘no hire’ list for Oman Air, or something like that.”
Co-pilot completed remote learning course at UK university
A UK university has confirmed the co-pilot at the centre of the alleged hijack attempt was enrolled on one of its remote courses.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Buckinghamshire New University said:
“Our thoughts are with the injured pilot, crew and passengers involved in this incident.
“Hamam al Hammami previously completed a distance-learning course in aviation management.
“He did not undertake any pilot training at the University.”
‘A dangerous terrorist act’: What different countries have said about incident
Leading political figures from the Middle East and beyond have shared their own information on Wednesday’s incident.
UAE
The UAE’s prosecutor general said co-pilot Hamam al Hammami attacked his colleague, Indian pilot Smit Machchhar, with a crash axe before trying to take control of the plane.
The axe is typically kept in the cockpit for use in emergencies such as crashes.
Separately, UAE senior diplomatic adviser Anwar Gargash called the incident a “dangerous terrorist act” in an X post yesterday, crediting the flight captain for preventing a catastrophe.
Israel
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said al Hammami had undergone “Islamist radical indoctrination” and it appeared “very likely” that he was going to crash the plane.
“We are now investigating whether he was sent, and whoever sent him will pay a very heavy price,” he said in a video message shared yesterday.
US
Donald Trump told reporters that early information he had received suggested links between the attack and Iran.
The US president warned that if Iranian agents were to blame, Washington would “hit them very hard”.
New details emerge – but some of bigger questions remain unanswered
Our international correspondent Alex Rossi has been reacting to the latest developments in the plane hijack incident.
While we are getting a much clearer picture of how events unfolded on Wednesday, some of the bigger questions about this incident still remain unanswered, he says.
One of those is how the co-pilot was recruited by flydubai when he had previously been suspended from duties due to his extremist views.
Another “central” element of the investigation will be trying to figure out the individual’s motives, Rossi says.
“Was he a radicalised, lone wolf attacker acting alone, or was this part of a wider plot?
“Did he have links to extremist groups, or perhaps even a foreign state?”
Flydubai co-pilot who ‘attacked pilot with axe in suspected terrorist attack’ pictured
A co-pilot who allegedly attempted to hijack a plane en route to Tel Aviv from Dubai has been named as Omani national Hamam al Hammami.
The 29-year-old attacked the pilot with an axe inside the cockpit and tried to take control of the aircraft during the flight early on Wednesday, according to UAE prosecutors.
Passengers and crew subdued the alleged attacker as the plane dropped from 33,000 feet to 17,000 feet in about a minute.
Two off-duty pilots then managed to make an emergency landing at a regional airport in Saudi Arabia, before the co-pilot was detained.
Hammami, who has a Syrian mother and was born in the UAE, had been banned from flying by Oman over fears he had adopted extremist views before he was hired by the UAE-based airline, sources told the Associated Press (AP).
A flydubai spokesperson has said the circumstances surrounding the incident are still under investigation.
Source: SkyNews
Stay ahead with the latest updates!
Join The Podium Media on WhatsApp for real-time news alerts, breaking stories, and exclusive content delivered straight to your phone. Don’t miss a headline — subscribe now!
Chat with Us on WhatsApp
