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SAT 3 OCT 2026
Newstro
DevelopingSAT., OCT. 3, 2026 • VIDEO REPORT

Flydubai Attack Suspect Was Removed From Earlier Job Over Extremist Views

The pilot suspected of attacking another pilot aboard a Tel Aviv-bound Flydubai flight had been pulled from a previous job at Oman Air, sources told CNN. Israel and the UAE are investigating.

Based on reporting by CNN

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Video thumbnail: Flydubai Attack Suspect Was Removed From Earlier Job Over Extremist Views 3:13
7 YRSAt Oman Air, per LinkedIn
8 MOSAt Flydubai, per Israel
4Israeli agencies investigating

What we know

The pilot suspected of having attacked another pilot aboard a Tel Aviv-bound Flydubai flight on Wednesday was removed from a previous job at Oman’s national airline last year following concerns about his extremist views, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN. The plane was diverted to Saudi Arabia.

The two sources and an Israeli official identified the pilot as Hamam al-Hammami, an Omani citizen. Saudi state media also identified him. One source said he was born in the United Arab Emirates to an Omani father and a Syrian mother.

A diplomat from the region told CNN he was removed from flight training at Oman Air because of concerns over his radical views and was given another role. An Israeli official said he had worked for Flydubai for only eight months.

Israeli agencies and the UAE attorney general are investigating. Flydubai said it could not comment while the incident remained under investigation. CNN has reached out to Oman Air, Royal Air Maroc and the Dubai government’s media office for comment.

This is a developing story. Newstro reports facts and attributes every statement. Photos marked “file photo” are not from the events described, and Newstro does not show the extremist images described in the suspect’s posts.

The Newstro report

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Read the transcript click a paragraph to jump to it in the video

How it unfolded

  1. A LinkedIn profile in his name said he worked at Oman Air for seven years. A diplomat from the region told CNN he was removed from flight training there over concerns about his radical views and given another role.

  2. The same profile said he joined Royal Air Maroc in June 2025 and left in January 2026. It made no mention of Flydubai. The profile has since been deleted.

  3. An Israeli official told CNN that al-Hammami had worked for Flydubai for only eight months.

  4. He is suspected of attacking another pilot aboard the Flydubai flight, a Boeing 737 Max 8, which diverted to Saudi Arabia. About nine hours later, two posts appeared on the LinkedIn profile. It is unclear who published them or whether they were scheduled in advance.

  5. The UAE attorney general opened an investigation into whether the attack was linked to “terrorist activity,” state news agency WAM reported. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the suspect was believed to have undergone “Islamist radical indoctrination.”

His airline career, as reported

Questions are mounting over how a citizen of Oman, which does not recognize Israel, was permitted to serve as a pilot on a flight to Tel Aviv.

An Oman Air Boeing 737 in flight
Oman Air • 7 years
A Royal Air Maroc Boeing 737 on a runway
Royal Air Maroc
A Flydubai Boeing 737 MAX 8 at an airport
Flydubai • 8 months
The cockpit of a Boeing 737 MAX

The LinkedIn posts

The first post featured clips filmed in Boeing 737 Max cockpits. In one, which CNN geolocated to Dubai International Airport, the person filming zooms in on a plane belonging to the Israeli airline El Al.

Newstro graphic summarizing the suspect's LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter accounts

Deleted accounts

The profile and an Instagram account with the same videos were deleted. CNN’s analysis of his deleted Twitter posts shows him as deeply religious and misogynistic.

What officials said

“Islamist radical indoctrination”

Benjamin Netanyahu, on what the suspect was believed to have undergone

He agreed that Israel would join the interrogations.

Netanyahu, on UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed, to CNN’s Jim Sciutto

Could not provide comment while the incident remained under investigation.

Flydubai (paraphrased)

Quotes as reported by CNN.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, February 2023
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU (FILE PHOTO)

The investigations

An Israeli official told CNN that Shin Bet, Mossad, the military and the Transportation Ministry are investigating how the Omani pilot came to be part of the flight crew.

The UAE attorney general is investigating whether the attack was linked to terrorist activity and involved any prior planning or direction. UAE authorities have jurisdiction because the aircraft is registered in the country, WAM said.

Netanyahu said the suspect was interrogated in Saudi Arabia, where the plane was diverted, with Israel involved in the investigation.

4Israeli agencies investigating
UAEAttorney general probe

Sources and credits

Reporting

CNN — “Terrorist images found on Flydubai suspect’s social media” (Abbas Al Lawati, Tal Shalev, Kylie Atwood, Isaac Yee, Avery Schmitz, Thomas Bordeaux and Teele Rebane, Oct. 2, 2026).

Photos (Wikimedia Commons)

  • Flydubai Boeing 737 MAX 8 — Bahnfrend (CC BY-SA 4.0)
  • Oman Air Boeing 737 — Aeroprints.com (CC BY-SA 3.0)
  • Royal Air Maroc Boeing 737 — Julian Herzog (CC BY 4.0)
  • Boeing 737 MAX cockpit — GeoMancer448 (CC BY 4.0)
  • Benjamin Netanyahu, February 2023 — Avi Ohayon (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Graphics and layout: Newstro. All photos are file images from other dates and events; none show Wednesday’s incident.