Flydubai co-pilot: Australian links probed after 'axe attack' on captain

Australian authorities are investigating a flydubai co-pilot's "links to Australia" after he attacked the captain ​on a Tel Aviv-bound flight.

The co-pilot of the flydubai flight ‌1073, which had departed from Dubai, attacked the pilot with an emergency crash axe inside the cockpit and attempted to take control of the aircraft to commit a "terrorist attack", the United Arab Emirates prosecutor general said on Saturday.

The co-pilot of the flydubai jet was ​identified as Hamam al Hammami, an Omani national.

Flydubai said it had launched a full investigation.

Two sources briefed on the investigation said the ​co-pilot studied at a university in Melbourne. Local media reports said he studied at RMIT University.

Buckinghamshire New University in the UK has also confirmed that Al Hammami had previously completed a distance-learning course in aviation management at the institution.

"The Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team (VIC JCTT), comprising the AFP, Victoria Police and ASIO, can confirm it is investigating the man's links to Australia. An update will be provided at ​an appropriate time," ​an Australian ⁠Federal Police (AFP) spokesperson said, referring to the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.

Al Hammami had allegedly visited radical mosques and extremist websites ​while ⁠in Australia, the Financial Times reported on Sunday, citing two people familiar with the investigation.

Australian intelligence services held a file on him, according to the FT.

Passengers and crew subdued the alleged attacker on Wednesday as the plane, carrying 182 people, plummeted from 33,000ft to 17,000ft in around a minute.

The aircraft, travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv, was forced to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, where the co-pilot was detained.

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UAE senior diplomatic adviser Anwar Gargash on Friday called the flydubai incident a "dangerous terrorist act" in a post on X, commending the flight captain for preventing a catastrophe.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the co-pilot had undergone "Islamist radical indoctrination", and it appeared "very likely that he was going to down the plane".

Investigations are ongoing ⁠to determine ​the circumstances of the ​incident, the motives ​and any related ⁠connections, as well as to ⁠examine physical and ​digital evidence, UAE prosecutor general Hamad Saif ​al Shamsi said.

Al Hammami - who has a Syrian mother and was born in the UAE - had been banned from flying by Oman over fears he had adopted extremist views before he was hired by the UAE-based airline, sources told the Associated Press (AP).

A Gulf diplomat told the news agency that investigations were underway to establish whether he acted as a "lone wolf, or has any connection with any extremist groups".

Mr Machchhar, meanwhile, has been hailed a hero after fighting to open the cockpit door when he was stabbed by his colleague in mid-air.

The Indian pilot has been visited in hospital by the deputy leader of the UAE.

US President Donald Trump told reporters that early information he has received suggests links between the attack and Iran, adding that if Iranian agents were to blame, the US will "hit them very hard".

(c) Sky News 2026: Flydubai co-pilot: Australian links probed after 'axe attack' on captain