Flydubai co-pilot accused of attacking captain and trying to seize Israel-bound flight

A flydubai co-pilot attacked the captain with a cockpit crash axe and tried to seize control of an Israel-bound aircraft carrying 182 people, according to the United Arab Emirates, which described Wednesday’s incident as a terrorist attack. Passengers and others subdued the co-pilot as the plane was losing altitude, preventing a crash.

Three people familiar with the investigation identified the co-pilot as Hamam al-Hammami, an Omani national. A regional official and another person familiar with the case said Oman had previously barred him from flying for Oman Air because of concerns that he had adopted extremist views, moving him to an administrative role before he was later hired by flydubai. They did not specify the nature of those alleged views.

A Gulf diplomat said al-Hammami underwent standard security checks before his hiring, but those checks appeared to focus on criminal convictions rather than possible signs of radicalization. It remained unclear how extensively he was vetted.

Security agencies from four regional countries, assisted by the United States and other Western governments, were investigating his motive and whether he acted alone or had links to extremist organizations, according to officials cited by Fortune. NDTV reported that al-Qaeda subsequently praised the co-pilot and called for further attacks.