Flydubai Co-Pilot Attacked Captain with Axe Mid-Flight — SkimNews
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- UAE prosecutors confirmed the co-pilot used a crash axe to attack the captain on a Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight carrying 170+ people, which plunged 17,000ft two and a half hours into the journey
- Hamam al-Hammami, identified by multiple outlets as an Omani national, had previously been removed from Oman Air's flight training over "radical views" concerns before completing an aviation management degree at Buckinghamshire New University in 2023
- Captain Smit Machchhar, an Indian national, was stabbed but crawled from the floor to open the cockpit door, letting passengers rush in to subdue the attacker
- Yaniv Hayun put the attacker in a chokehold and pulled him out of the cockpit, then momentarily pulled the plane's controls to level it out before two reserve pilots took over
- Netanyahu described the attacker as "suicidal" with "Islamist radical indoctrination"; the UAE is investigating whether the attack was a terrorist act
- The aircraft transmitted squawk 7700 (general emergency) before switching to squawk 7500 (hijacking code); Machchhar is now recovering in stable condition in Abu Dhabi
Why it matters: The attacker had been removed from Oman Air's flight training over "radical views" yet ended up in a Flydubai cockpit carrying 170 passengers to Israel. The UAE's terrorism investigation will now scrutinize how a prior extremism flag failed to block his hiring, exposing a vetting gap across Gulf carriers.
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