Emirati authorities claim that the co-pilot who allegedly attempted to hijack a flydubai flight to Tel Aviv showed signs of extremist leanings while studying in Australia nearly 10 years ago. The man attacked his co-pilot with an axe during the flight but was stopped by passengers and crew. UAE officials say he planned to crash the plane into Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport as a suicide attack, inspired by Al Qaeda’s September 11 attacks. Australian Federal Police are now investigating his time in Australia for any connections to extremism.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-10,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
In early 2023, Emirati investigators revealed that a co-pilot on a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv attempted to hijack the plane with an axe in mid-air over Saudi Arabia, allegedly planning to crash it into Ben Gurion Airport. The attacker is widely reported as Omani national Al-Hammami, who had more than 170 passengers onboard at the time of the incident. His Indian co-pilot, Smit Machchhar, managed to unlock and open the cockpit door during the violent assault, allowing passengers to intervene and regain control.
According to investigators, signs of Al-Hammami's "drift towards extremism and terrorism" began nearly a decade ago when he was studying in Australia, specifically at RMIT University in Melbourne. The Australian Federal Police are now investigating his time in Australia for any potential links to extremist activities. Al-Hammami reportedly intensified his exposure to material promoting terrorism and received boxing training from a private coach, as stated by an official report. This case highlights the ongoing concern about radicalization among young people abroad and its potential impact on aviation safety.
Written for “Pilot Radicalization OriginAustralia” on 2026-10-10,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it +0.35, but all 2 of its quote(s) are attributed speech - words the article quotes from someone, not the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 69718: attributed speech only · logged 2026-10-10
In short:
The co-pilot who allegedly tried to hijack a flydubai flight to Tel Aviv began showing signs of a "drift towards extremism and terrorism" in Australia nearly 10 years ago, investigators say.
uncertain
investigators → try → Australia
United Arab Emirates authorities say the man was trying to take control of the plane to crash it into Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport.
asserted
man → say → Airport
The Australian Federal Police is investigating his time in Australia and any links to extremism.
asserted
Police → investigate → extremism
Emirati investigators have revealed the pilot who allegedly attempted to hijack a plane from Dubai to Tel Aviv started to "drift towards extremism and terrorism" while studying in Australia.
uncertain
who → reveal → Australia
The man, widely reported as Omani national Al-Hammami, is accused of attacking his co-pilot with an axe in the skies over Saudi Arabia, as they were flying a flydubai plane with more than 170 passengers.
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they → report → passengers
The Indian co-pilot, Smit Machchhar, managed to unlock the cockpit door during the violent attack, which allowed passengers to storm in and wrest back control.
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passengers → manage → control
A LinkedIn profile seen by multiple media outlets, since deleted, showed Al-Hammami said he studied at Melbourne's RMIT.
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he → see → RMIT
The Attorney-General of the United Arab Emirates, Hamad Saif Al Shamsi, alleged Al-Hammami was trying to take control of the plane to crash it into Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport in a "suicide attack".
asserted
Hammami → allege → attack
Mr Al Shamsi said the pilot had been inspired by Al Qaeda's September 11 attacks in New York, learning of his leanings during interrogations of the 29-year-old.
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pilot → say → old
"The findings indicated that signs of his drift towards extremism and terrorism first emerged in 2017, while he was studying in Australia," the UAE's state news agency reported, in comments attributed to the attorney-general.
"
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agency → indicate → general
During that period, he was influenced by takfiri [radical] ideology through reading extremist literature and following online content glorifying terrorist organisations and suicide attacks."
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he → influence → organisations
It said Al-Hammami had "regularly attended" a mosque during his time studying in Melbourne, and "became acquainted" with an organisation linked to the Muslim Brotherhood.
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Hammami → say → Brotherhood
Known as "My Centre," the news agency reported it was managed by a Lebanese man known as "Abu Hamza".
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it → know → Hamza
"[Al-Hammami] also said that he had prepared himself both psychologically and physically to carry out the plot by intensifying his exposure to material promoting terrorism and training in boxing under a private coach," the news agency reported.
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agency → say → coach
Last week, the Australian Federal Police confirmed it had launched an investigation into Al-Hammami's time in Australia and any links to extremism.
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it → confirm → extremism
Scrutiny on why co-pilot was allowed to fly
The pilot is accused of using the crash axe, stored in the cockpit, to attack his co-pilot during the attack in early October.
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pilot → allow → October
"In the presence of his lawyer and with all legally prescribed safeguards ensured, the suspect provided a detailed confession outlining his motives and the stages of planning and execution," the Emirati news agency said.
"
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agency → prescribe → planning
He admitted that he had acted alone, without the involvement of others, although investigations are continuing to verify this claim."
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investigations → admit → claim
The plane plummeted during the incident, before passengers managed to take back control and a pilot, travelling on the flight, managed to execute an emergency landing in northern Saudi Arabia.
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pilot → plummet → Arabia
Questions have been raised as to how Al-Hammami was allowed to fly the plane to Tel Aviv, given he had reportedly been sacked by his country's national carrier due to his extremist views.
uncertain
he → raise → views
Israel also has rules banning flight crews from countries that do not have diplomatic relations with it from operating planes in and out of Tel Aviv.
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that → have → Aviv
Oman falls into that category.
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Oman → fall → category
There have been demands in Israel for the country's transport minister to resign, given her department is meant to flag security risks among flight crews.
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department → resign → crews
The Aporia
