Flydubai Copilot Accused in Cockpit Attack Had Been Rejected by Royal Air Maroc

In a statement sent to Associated Press, RAM said the man had completed three months of theoretical training as part of a pre-recruitment process. At the end of that period, his application was not accepted.

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This response corrects the initial reports about his career history. An Israeli source cited by CNN, whose comments were reported by EFE, described him as a former employee of the Moroccan airline. RAM confirms that he underwent training, but was not hired.

Identified as Hammam al-Hammami by sources interviewed by Reuters, the copilot is an Omani national. He later joined Flydubai, for which he was operating flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday, September 30.

An axe attack in the cockpit

On Saturday, October 3, the Emirati prosecution service described the incident as an attempted terrorist act. According to Prosecutor General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi, the copilot attacked the captain in the cockpit with an emergency axe, then tried to take control of the aircraft. The axe is part of the equipment available for use in an onboard emergency.

Passengers and crew members intervened to subdue the attacker. The aircraft was eventually landed in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, by another Flydubai pilot on board.

The suspect’s professional history is also under scrutiny. According to sources cited by EFE, he had been barred from flying duties at Oman Air over suspicions of extremism before joining Flydubai.

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The United Arab Emirates, where the aircraft is registered, is leading the investigation. The prosecution service is continuing its technical analyses and examination of physical and digital evidence to establish the copilot’s motives and any possible links to other people, the official news agency WAM reports.