Flydubai FZ1073: RMIT Confirms Link to Accused Co-Pilot as Four Countries Trace His Past
RMIT University has confirmed that the Omani national accused of attempting to seize Flydubai flight FZ1073 on 30 September was enrolled at the university but did not complete an engineering qualification. The Guardian
The university said it was aware of media reports linking a former student to the incident. It declined further comment because the matter is under active investigation.
The incident took place on Wednesday, 30 September, aboard FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv. Passengers and crew intervened to stop an alleged attempt to take control of the aircraft. There were 182 people on board. Media outlets identified the accused co-pilot as Hammam al-Hammami, an Omani national.
The UAE prosecutor general said the co-pilot allegedly used a crash axe, an emergency tool carried on aircraft, in an attempted terrorist attack in which the pilot was stabbed mid-air. The captain was identified as Smit Machchhar, an Indian national. Both men were taken to the UAE, which is leading the investigation.
Australian authorities are now examining the accused man’s past links to Australia. The Australian Federal Police said the Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team, comprising the AFP, Victoria Police and ASIO, Australia’s domestic security service, is investigating those links. A source familiar with the case said the man was granted an Australian student visa in 2014 and arrived in 2015 to begin a university course. The same source said he left Australia in 2017 and his visa was cancelled in 2019 after authorities confirmed he was no longer enrolled.
A second academic link has emerged in the United Kingdom. Buckinghamshire New University confirmed a student named Hamam al-Hammami, a slightly different spelling, completed a distance-learning course in aviation management and did not undertake pilot training at the university. On employment history, the Wall Street Journal reported the co-pilot had been barred from flying by Oman over concerns he had adopted extremist views and was moved to an administrative job at Oman Air. That account has not been independently confirmed by Omani authorities in the verified material.
Flydubai suspended flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv after the attack. A flydubai spokesperson said on Saturday that circumstances were still under investigation and the airline was not in a position to comment further. A source said Israeli officials were to question the co-pilot. Israel was the flight’s intended destination. Reuters
The broader context here is jurisdictional complexity on top of aviation security. The UAE has primacy as the investigating authority and has custody of both crew members. Israel has a parallel interest as the destination state. Australia and the UK are involved not as operators of the flight but as holders of school, visa and travel records. Past residence or online study does not show cause, but investigators will map timelines, contacts and travel to check whether warning signs were missed or not shared.
Looking at what this means for the inquiries ahead, three tracks are likely to run in parallel. Criminal liability will be tested under UAE law on the prosecutor general’s terrorism allegation. Intelligence liaison will focus on information flows between Oman, the UAE, Australia and potentially Israel about the alleged removal from flying duties and later employment. The immigration review will revisit the 2014-2019 Australian period, including the end of enrolment and the visa cancellation. None of those tracks presumes a finding. They show where the documents now sit.
