Australia Opens Inquiry Into Flydubai Co-Pilot Accused in Flight Attack
Australian federal police have opened an inquiry into the Australian links of a Flydubai co-pilot accused of trying to seize a Dubai to Tel Aviv passenger flight.
The Australian Federal Police confirmed to the BBC it is investigating "the man's links to Australia" and said an update would be "provided at the appropriate time" BBC. State police and the country's security agency are also involved in the inquiry.
The case centres on flight FZ1073 on 30 September, flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv with more than 170 passengers on board BBC. The passengers and crew were mostly Israelis, according to Reuters Reuters. Two and a half hours into the journey, the aircraft plunged 17,000ft (5,200m).
Investigators allege the co-pilot attacked the captain with a crash axe, a tool kept in the cockpit for emergencies, in an attempt to take control. Passengers then overpowered the co-pilot. Two reserve pilots, extra pilots carried to allow crew rotation, landed the aircraft safely in an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia CNN.
The captain was identified as Capt Smit Machchhar, an Indian national. He was taken to a nearby hospital after the diversion before being airlifted to Abu Dhabi, where he is reported to be in stable condition. Both the captain and the co-pilot were first taken to hospital after the emergency landing.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu identified the co-pilot as an Omani national. Reuters, CNN and The New York Times have named him as Hamam al-Hammami. Israel's initial assessment found the co-pilot likely acted alone Reuters. Israeli officials were expected to question the co-pilot, and Netanyahu said Israel will get to the 'root' of the foiled bid to crash the flight.
Criminal jurisdiction, meaning which country has the legal power to prosecute, sits primarily with the United Arab Emirates as the flag and operator state, the country where the airline is registered and based. UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said investigations were under way to establish the circumstances, motives and any links related to the incident. UAE investigators later found the co-pilot attempted to carry out a "terrorist act," according to the country's state news agency.
The Australian strand concerns residence and education history. Sources familiar with the case said the co-pilot was issued an Australian student visa in 2014 and studied in Australia between 2015 and 2017 before leaving the country. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported the visa was cancelled in 2019 because he was no longer enrolled in a course. From 2020, he studied on a distance-learning course run by Buckinghamshire New University in the UK and graduated with a degree in aviation management in 2023.
The surviving passengers reached Israel safely on Wednesday after crew and passengers foiled the attempt to crash the aircraft. The injured pilot and co-pilot were taken to the UAE.
The broader context here is a multi-state investigation with overlapping interests and no single forum for resolution. The UAE leads on criminal liability and motive. Saudi Arabia holds the diversion site and initial forensic evidence. Israel is the destination state with the largest victim group and a stated intent to pursue its own inquiries. India, Oman, Australia and the United Kingdom are drawn in through nationality, residence and training records. For aviation security specialists, the central questions will be cockpit access discipline, carriage and stowage of the crash axe, crew incapacitation procedures, and how a long-haul carrier vets flight crew with fragmented international histories.
