Co-pilot who attacked captain 'with axe' during attempted flight hijacking studied at UK university
Omani national Hamam al Hammami, 29, took an aviation management course at Buckinghamshire New University.
The co-pilot accused of attempting a terror attack on an Israel-bound flight studied at a UK university, the institution has said.
Listen to this article
Omani national Hamam al Hammami who is accused of attacking his captain with an axe onboard flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv, completed a distance-learning course in aviation management at Buckinghamshire New University.
The university stressed that he “did not undertake any pilot training at the University.”
Al Hammami was reportedly barred from flying for Oman’s national airline, Oman Air, due to concerns that he was developing extremist views, prior to working for the UAE-based airline.
“Our thoughts are with the injured pilot, crew and passengers involved in this incident,” said a spokesperson for Buckinghamshire New University.
Read more: Flydubai co-pilot attacked captain 'with axe' in cockpit in hijack 'terror' bid, UAE claims
Read more: Co-pilot accused of stabbing captain had been barred from flying by Oman, sources claim
According to the university’s website, its aviation management courses “look into the background operations, logistics, security and management of the aviation industry”.
Al Hammami was co-piloting a flight with 182 people on-board when he reportedly started stabbing pilot Captain Smit Machchhar.
Machchhar has been hailed as a hero for managing to open the cockpit door despite the ongoing attack and alerting the crew to the situation.
The passengers and crew were able to subdue al Hammami whilst the plane plummeted from 33,000 feet to 17,000 feet (10,000 metres to 5,100 metres) in about a minute.
The aircraft was then able to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
Investigators are working to establish whether al Hammami acted alone, or whether he has connections with any extremist groups.
In a post on X, United Arab Emirates (UAE) senior adviser Anwar Gargash branded Wednesday’s attack “a dangerous terrorist act”.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously said al Hammami had undergone “Islamist radicalisation”, but did not give evidence.