Australia investigates links to Flydubai co-pilot accused in hijack attempt

An Australian police spokesperson said on Sunday that a joint counterterrorism unit is investigating possible links between Australia and the Flydubai co-pilot who stabbed the captain of flight FZ 1073 before allegedly attempting to hijack the aircraft.

A spokesperson for the Australian Federal Police stated, "The Victoria Joint Counter Terrorism Team, which includes the federal police, Victoria Police, and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, is investigating this man's connections to Australia."

Two sources familiar with the matter said the co-pilot studied at a university in Melbourne, the capital of Victoria. A third source said he attended RMIT University about a decade ago.

The university confirmed in a brief statement that the co-pilot had been enrolled but did not complete an engineering qualification. The university did not name the co-pilot or specify when he studied there.

On Saturday, the UAE attorney general said the co-pilot of Flydubai flight FZ 1073, which was traveling from Dubai to Israel on Wednesday, attacked the captain with an emergency axe, describing the incident as a "terrorist act."

A flight instructor who simulated the landing told Reuters that flight FZ 1073 would have felt like a "vertical rollercoaster" as the plane dropped 16,000 feet in about 30 seconds before being stabilized and landed safely.

Co-pilot held in UAE custody

Two sources identified the co-pilot as Humam Al-Hamami, an Omani national. Israeli officials have not released the co-pilot's name but confirmed he is from Oman. Neither UAE authorities nor Flydubai have disclosed his identity.

Reuters was unable to independently contact Al-Hamami, who is currently detained in the UAE, for comment. The UAE has not announced any formal charges against him, and it remains unclear if he has legal representation. Oman has not commented on the incident.

A disaster was averted on flight FZ 1073 after passengers and crew subdued the co-pilot, who had attacked the captain in what Israeli officials described as an attempt to crash the plane, which was carrying more than 170 passengers and crew. The UAE public prosecution said the co-pilot tried to seize control of the aircraft.

Reports of radical mosques and extremist websites

Most of the passengers on the flight were Israeli nationals.

A reserve Flydubai pilot traveling as a passenger took control of the aircraft and landed it at Tabuk airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia, where Saudi authorities detained the co-pilot before transferring him to the UAE on Thursday.

The Financial Times reported on Sunday, citing two sources familiar with the investigation, that Al-Hamami allegedly visited what the newspaper described as radical mosques and extremist websites while in Australia. The report added that Australian intelligence agencies had a file on him.

Reuters has not independently verified the Financial Times report. The Australian government did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside normal working hours.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the co-pilot had undergone indoctrination in radical Islamic ideology and clearly had suicidal tendencies, but did not specify when or where this occurred.

Netanyahu on Sunday tasked the National Security Council with appointing an official to "conduct a comprehensive review of all security aspects related to foreign civil aviation bound for Israel."

Israel does not have formal diplomatic relations with Oman. Netanyahu also said that pilots from such countries are not permitted to operate flights to Israel. It remains unclear how the co-pilot was assigned to this flight to Tel Aviv.