Australia Probes Flydubai Co-Pilot's Student Years After Attack

Australian security agencies are investigating the years an Omani co-pilot accused of trying to seize an Israel-bound flydubai flight spent as a student in Australia.

The Australian Federal Police said on Sunday that multiple agencies, including the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (Australia's domestic intelligence service), were examining the man's connections to Australia. The Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team, which brings together the AFP, Victoria Police and ASIO, confirmed it is investigating the man's links to Australia, according to The Guardian.

The inquiry follows Wednesday's disruption aboard flydubai flight FZ1073, operating from Dubai to Tel Aviv. Passengers and crew intervened to stop the co-pilot's attempt to take control of the aircraft. The flight, with 182 people onboard, plunged 16,625 feet (5,067 metres) in just over 30 seconds before making an emergency landing in Tabuk.

The United Arab Emirates' prosecutor general said the co-pilot used a crash axe, a safety tool kept in the cockpit, in the attempted "terrorist attack" in which the pilot was stabbed mid-air. Media outlets have named the co-pilot as Hammam al-Hammami, an Omani national. The flight's Indian captain, Smit Machchhar, and the co-pilot were taken to hospital following the emergency landing and were subsequently taken to the UAE as it leads the investigation.

Australian records trace the man to a student visa granted in 2014. He arrived in Australia the following year to commence a university course, left Australia in 2017, and his visa was cancelled in 2019 after authorities confirmed he was no longer enrolled in the course.

Two separate education histories have surfaced. US media including CNN reported that a now-deleted LinkedIn profile said al-Hammami had studied engineering at an Australian university. Separately, Buckinghamshire New University said a student named Hamam al-Hammami had previously completed a distance-learning course in aviation management at the institution. The university said he did not undertake any pilot training there.

The criminal investigation is now multinational. Officials have said a number of countries including Israel are participating in the investigation led by the UAE. A source said Israeli officials were to question the co-pilot, according to Reuters. Israeli officials said the motive of the attacker remained under investigation, as reported by Reuters. Israel's prime minister said the co-pilot was suicidal, while U.S. President Donald Trump said the pilot who allegedly attacked his captain could be linked to Iran, according to CNN.

Flydubai has suspended its flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv until further notice after the attack. The co-pilot was previously suspended by Oman Air, according to ABC News.

The broader context here is jurisdictional complexity layered over insider-threat risk, or danger coming from a trusted insider. The UAE holds primary jurisdiction, the main legal authority, as the operator's state and custodian of both crew members, while Israel is an interested party as the destination state and Australia as a prior residence state. Think of it as separate teams each holding a different piece of the timeline. ASIO and the Joint Counter Terrorism Team will likely focus on travel, contacts and radicalization timelines during 2015 to 2017, and Gulf investigators will focus on rostering, vetting and cockpit access.

Looking at what this means for operators, the case touches two pressure points at once. One is crew vetting, or background checks, across successive employers and regulators, given the reported prior suspension and movement between Oman Air, UK distance learning and flydubai's flight deck. The other is continuity on a politically sensitive sector. Dubai-Tel Aviv service operates under close governmental scrutiny, and a suspension pending a terrorism inquiry shows how aviation security decisions quickly acquire diplomatic weight.