Co-pilot stabbed pilot in cockpit

Hamam al-Hammami allegedly attacked pilot Smit Machcharr with a crash axe on Wednesday in an alleged attempt to crash the flydubai plane carrying one hundred seventy four people.

Plane plunged thousands of feet

The jet plunged nearly fourteen thousand feet, or four thousand two hundred sixty seven metres, in less than thirty seconds. The flight bound for Tel Aviv was forced to divert to Tabuk in north-western Saudi Arabia for an emergency landing.

Co-pilot studied in Australia

Hamam al-Hammami was issued a student visa in two thousand fourteen and studied in Australia between two thousand fifteen and two thousand seventeen. His visa was cancelled in two thousand nineteen due to lack of course enrolment.

AFP investigating radicalisation link

The Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team, comprising the Australian Federal Police, Victoria Police and ASIO, is investigating whether the co-pilot was radicalised while in Australia.

Co-pilot barred by Oman airline

Hamam al-Hammami was an Omani national barred from flying on his country's airline because of concerns about extremist views. The United Arab Emirates called the attack a terrorist attack.

Questions over vetting and security

The incident raised questions about how thoroughly flydubai vets employees and how the co-pilot got past Israel's strict security protocols. Israel and Oman do not have formal diplomatic relations.

Training rejected by Royal Air Maroc

Royal Air Maroc said the co-pilot completed a three-month theoretical training period in two thousand twenty five as part of pre-employment, but his application was not selected for employment.

Industry must rethink crew screening

Aviation expert Shannon Wandmaker says safety measures like storing the crash axe in the cockpit need review. The industry must think about how to screen people and support them to prevent such incidents.

“increasingly we have seen incidents where it's the flight crew themselves who are the threat”