The Guardian
· collected 2026-10-07 · by Eva Corlett in Auckland and Adeshola Ore in Melbourne
New Zealand police have begun investigating the flight training received by flydubai co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami, who allegedly attempted to hijack an Israeli-bound plane in September. Hammami was trained in New Zealand for about five months in 2018-2019 and previously studied engineering in Australia until 2017 without completing his degree. Authorities are examining his activities and associations in both countries as they try to determine the motivations behind the hijacking attempt, which involved stabbing the pilot mid-flight and using a crash axe.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-07,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
On September 30, 2026, a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv signaled an emergency over Jordanian airspace, prompting speculation of a hijacking threat. The plane diverted to land at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia rather than continuing its journey to Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held consultations and the Israeli air force scrambled jets as a precautionary measure. Flydubai flight FZ1073 was carrying approximately 150 passengers, mainly Israelis. Security officials reported that the incident stemmed from a physical altercation between two pilots in the cockpit rather than an actual hijacking threat. The plane transmitted multiple emergency signals before landing safely without further incident.
Written for “Israel Bound Flight Diverts To Saudi …” on 2026-10-07,
grounded in this article and the 334 other(s) covering the same event.
New Zealand authorities have launched their own investigation into the flydubai co-pilot who allegedly tried to hijack an Israel-bound plane, after police confirmed he underwent flight training there about a year after he abandoned a degree in Australia.
uncertain
he → launch → Australia
Disaster was narrowly averted on 30 September when passengers and crew intervened to stop the alleged attempt of the co-pilot, Hamam al-Hammami, 29, to take control of a flight to Tel Aviv with 182 people onboard.
asserted
passengers → avert → people
Hammami, an Omani national, had allegedly used a crash axe in the attempted “terrorist attack”, in which the pilot was stabbed mid-air, the United Arab Emirates’ prosecutor general said.
uncertain
general → use → which
Israeli and other officials in the region suspect he originally planned for such an attack in July, but postponed it.
asserted
he → suspect → it
The New Zealand police assistant commissioner, Michael Johnson, on Tuesday confirmed the man was in the country on a student visa for 175 days, from 30 November 2018 to 23 May 2019.
uncertain
man → confirm → May
“Police can confirm the co-pilot was in New Zealand to complete a portion of his flight training for a UK-based company, no longer operating in New Zealand,” Johnson said in a statement
The police are now investigating his time in the country, Johnson said.
asserted
Johnson → confirm → country
New Zealand joins multiple countries scrambling to piece together the background of Hammami and his intentions, as well as to establish if he acted alone.
asserted
he → join → Hammami
Over the weekend, Australian security agencies launched an investigation after it emerged Hammami spent about two years in the country as a student until 2017.
asserted
Hammami → launch → 2017
He left the country without completing his engineering degree, RMIT University in Melbourne confirmed.
asserted
University → leave → Melbourne
On a now deleted social media profile believed to belong to Hammami, the then student appears in a selfie with other teenagers in a shopping centre food court in Melbourne’s CBD.
asserted
student → delete → CBD
The UK’s Telegraph reported on a post on a now deleted X account that appears to be linked to Hammami that described his years studying overseas as “the golden years of my religious commitment”, and claimed he became less observant when he returned to Oman.
asserted
he → report → Oman
On Wednesday, Australia’s peak Jewish body, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, called for a thorough investigation of Hammami’s associations in the country.
asserted
body → call → country
“We have seen over the years the availability of extremist literature in religious bookstores, the presence of preachers of hate and violence and the capacity for those living in Australia to fall under the sway of recruiters and nefarious street preachers,” the council’s co-chief executive, Alex Ryvchin,
asserted
those → see → recruiters
“We have to understand who associated with this [alleged] terrorist, who influenced him and what vestiges of his murderous ideology remain.”
asserted
vestiges → have → ideology
The flight’s captain, Smit Machchhar, who also trained in New Zealand for a time, said on Saturday that shortly after Hammami had left his seat to pray, he felt a “big blow” to the back of his head.
asserted
he → train → head
In a phone call on Saturday with Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, Machchhar said: “The blows kept coming …
asserted
blows → say → minister
That’s when I realised that it’s not the aircraft, it’s the other guy who was in the cockpit with me.
asserted
who → ’ → me
Despite his injuries Machchhar was able to unlock the cockpit’s security door to allow passengers to overpower Hammami.
asserted
passengers → unlock → Hammami
A reserve flydubai pilot travelling on the flight took control of the aircraft and landed it at a regional airport in north-western Saudi Arabia, where the co-pilot was detained by Saudi authorities.
asserted
pilot → travel → authorities
The Aporia
