FlyDubai co-pilot named: Hamam al-Hammami, 29

The co-pilot accused of trying to crash FlyDubai flight FZ1073 has been named: Hamam al-Hammami, 29, an Omani citizen born in the UAE to an Omani father and Syrian mother. The UAE attorney general, Hamad Saif Al Shamsi, said Saturday that al-Hammami "tried to carry out a terrorist act" — attacking Captain Smit Machchhar with the cockpit's emergency crash axe after excusing himself to pray, then trying to seize the controls of the Dubai–Tel Aviv Boeing 737 MAX 8 carrying 182 people, including 166 Israelis.

The security failures are now the story: Oman Air grounded al-Hammami in 2024 over extremist browsing, moved him to a desk job after a deradicalization program, and he then hired on at FlyDubai. Australia is investigating his student years there. He was brought back to the UAE on Thursday; Netanyahu ordered a security review of foreign flights. No foreign-power links have been found.

Sources: Wall Street Journal, The Times