Al-Qaida leader's pic, Syrian mother: What we know about flydubai's Omani co-pilot

Photo of al-Qaeda terrorists on social media, alleged visits to radical websites, deeply religious views, and a controversial stint at Oman Air - disturbing details emerging about the Omani co-pilot have raised serious questions about how he found his way into the cockpit of the Israel-bound flydubai flight. The co-pilot, identified as Hamam al-Hammami by Al Arabiya, attacked Indian captain Smit Machchhar aboard flight FZ1073 earlier this week in an apparent attempt to take over the aircraft and crash it.

Since the September 30 incident, scant details have emerged about the co-pilot, who is presently in UAE custody. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously said he "underwent Islamic radical indoctrination" without giving any details. He has now been identified as al-Hammami, born to an Omani father and Syrian mother.

WHO IS FLYDUBAI CO-PILOT AL-HAMMAMI?

However, al-Hammami spent most of his life in the UAE, according to reports in CBS News and CNN. The Omani government has not officially confirmed his nationality.

Reports indicated it was possible that al-Hamami held dual citizenship. If it is true, it will help explain how he was permitted to serve as a pilot on a flight to Israel.

Oman does not have diplomatic ties with Israel. The Abraham Accords, which normalised relations between Israel and the UAE in 2020, bar pilots from countries that do not have diplomatic ties with Israel from flying into Tel Aviv.

Before joining flydubai around eight months ago, al-Hammami worked for the state-run Oman Air and Royal Air Maroc, the Moroccan national carrier.

He came under scrutiny during his stint at Oman Air for his extremist views. He was also found visiting radical websites.

Amid concerns over his activities, al-Hammami was removed from flying duties and assigned an office job by Oman Air. Desk duty was not much to his liking. He eventually left Oman Air around 2025.

SOCIAL MEDIA PROFILE, AL-QAIDA VIDEO

A LinkedIn profile with the name Hamam al-Hammami mentions that he worked with Oman Air for seven years before joining Royal Air Maroc in June 2025. He left the Moroccan carrier in January 2026. However, the page had no mention of flydubai.

India Today, however, could not independently verify if the page belonged to the co-pilot behind the September 30 incident.

However, the timeline matches his stint with flydubai. One of al-Hammami's colleagues told Israel's Channel 16 that he joined flydubai around eight months ago. This means around February 2026.

The pilot further said he was "deeply religious", "prayed a lot" and would not shake hands with women. This was also reported by The Times of Israel.

The profile mentioned he studied at UK's Buckinghamshire New University. CNN reported that a source at the university confirmed that man named al-Hammami completed a three-year course in aviation management in 2023.

One of the most striking details to emerge concerns al-Hamami's alleged social media activity.

His LinkedIn profile, which has now been taken down, had only two posts, according to a report in CNN. Interestingly, the posts were published on Wednesday - the day of the horrific incident. The posts might have been scheduled in advance.

The first post had a series of clips. One showed the cockpit of a Boeing 737 Max aircraft. Another clip, likely filmed at Dubai International Airport, showed an aircraft of Israeli airline El Al.

Another clip, shot in a cockpit, shows flight number OMA624 and the date October 11, 2023. The date corresponds to the period he was working for Oman Air.

The video ends with a photo of Ayman al-Zawahiri, the al-Qaida terrorist who plotted the 9/11 attacks in the US along with Osama Bin Laden. Al-Zawahiri led the terror outfit after Laden's death. He was killed by the US in 2022 in a drone strike in Afghanistan.

The video also had a photo of Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, the notorious al-Qaida leader who was behind a 2009 suicide bombing that killed nine people, including seven American CIA officials.

The second video on his LinkedIn profile features an AI-generated image showing Islam's three holiest sites in Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem.

VIEWS ON WOMEN, MIXED-GENDER WORKPLACES

CNN also analysed al-Hammami's posts on X between 2021 and 2022 using an AI model. It revealed a mind with a deeply religious and misogynistic bent.

In one of the deleted posts, CNN reported that al-Hammami spoke of the difficulties his mother faced in finding a bride who would accept his conditions. Among those were wearing a niqab, a face covering, and no job after marriage.

"They all refused. Then my mother told them, 'My son is a pilot'. And they all suddenly agreed," the X post from February 2022 said.

In one post, al-Hammami spoke against mixed-gender workplaces, underlining that it had a "corrupting effect" on women.

"How many respectable, religious girls have been ruined in mixed-gender work environments and manipulated?" his post from January 2022 said.

On Friday, Israel's Netanyahu said the emerging picture suggested that the pilot underwent "Islamist radicalisation". "As time passes, the picture is becoming clearer. The attacker underwent Islamist radicalisation. He came to crash the plane with its passengers," Netanyahu said.

All eyes will now be on the multi-agency investigation involving Israel, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. It is expected to focus on not only how the Omani pilot came to be part of the flight crew to Israel, but also on his secretive past.