"Big Mistake": Oman Sources Raise Questions Over Flydubai Co-Pilot's Aviation Career and Security Checks

Yugcharan News / 06-10-2026

Senior Omani government sources have raised serious questions over the aviation background and security screening of the flydubai co-pilot accused of attacking Captain Smit Machchhar during a Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight, saying there had been an earlier decision in Oman to prevent the man from pursuing a career in aviation after authorities detected what they described as an interest in extremist websites and terrorism-related content.

The development comes as authorities in the United Arab Emirates continue investigating the incident aboard flydubai flight FZ1073. The flight was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv when the co-pilot allegedly attacked Machchhar inside the cockpit. UAE authorities and the Israeli government have described the incident as an attempted "terrorist act".

The man has been identified by several media reports as Hamam al-Hammami, an Omani national. However, his identity has not been publicly confirmed by either UAE authorities or flydubai, according to the material available in the report. This distinction remains important as the investigation into the incident continues.

Earlier Concerns Over Aviation Career

According to senior Omani government sources cited by NDTV, al-Hammami had at one stage worked for a limited period as a trainee with an Omani airline. It was reportedly during this period that authorities monitoring his online activities detected his interest in extremist content.

The Omani sources said authorities subsequently did not allow him to continue pursuing a career in aviation. Reports cited in the source material also indicate that he had previously been removed from flying-related training or duties in Oman because of concerns about his ideological views. The Wall Street Journal and other publications were reported to have carried similar accounts regarding his earlier aviation career.

However, the available information does not establish all the details surrounding the earlier decision or the precise procedures followed by the authorities at that time. The claims attributed to Omani officials form part of the broader information now being examined following the flydubai incident.

Omani Sources Question Later Security Verification

The Omani sources also raised questions about the subsequent employment of al-Hammami outside Oman. They told NDTV that Oman had not been approached for security verification before he was later employed elsewhere.

According to the sources, had the relevant information been formally requested from Oman, the authorities would have shared the facts available to them with the concerned parties. "If the information was formally sought from Oman, all the facts available to us would have been shared with the parties concerned," the sources were quoted as saying.

The Omani officials did not identify a particular airline, government agency or regulatory authority as having failed to conduct the required checks. They also did not publicly assign responsibility to a specific country or organisation for any alleged security lapse.

This means that while the sources have raised concerns over possible shortcomings in the screening process, the available information does not establish that any particular organisation deliberately ignored security information or violated a specific procedure.

Questions Over Dubai-Tel Aviv Flight

Another issue raised by the Omani sources concerns how an Omani national came to serve as co-pilot on a flight operating between Dubai and Tel Aviv.

According to the sources, publicly known rules governing the relevant aviation arrangements allow flights covered by the agreement to be operated by UAE citizens or citizens of countries that have diplomatic relations with Israel. Oman does not have diplomatic relations with Israel.

On that basis, the Omani authorities believe it is possible that al-Hammami may also have held citizenship of another country. However, there is no official confirmation of this possibility. The question of how an Omani national came to be assigned as co-pilot on the Israel-bound flight is reportedly already being examined by investigators.

Reuters has also reported that it was not immediately clear how al-Hammami came to be assigned to the flight.

"There Was a Big Mistake"

Omani sources described the situation as evidence that established procedures may not have been properly followed.

"There was a big mistake somewhere," the sources told NDTV, while suggesting that the case could point to a lack of adherence to established procedures between the two countries. They said possible issues could include negligence, a lapse in supervision or what they described as willful neglect by some parties.

At the same time, Oman has not publicly named any particular airline, government department, aviation regulator or country as being responsible for such a failure. The remarks therefore represent concerns raised by Omani sources rather than a formal finding assigning responsibility.

Investigation Into the Flydubai Incident

The allegations regarding al-Hammami's earlier aviation history and the questions surrounding his recruitment and assignment have emerged as investigators continue to examine the circumstances of the flight.

The central incident involved an alleged attack on Captain Smit Machchhar inside the cockpit of flydubai flight FZ1073 while the aircraft was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv. UAE authorities and the Israeli government have characterised the incident as an attempted terrorist act.

The information currently available does not establish the complete sequence of events that led to al-Hammami's employment in aviation after his reported earlier removal from aviation-related training in Oman. It also does not establish whether any other nationality was held by him or whether such a nationality played a role in his assignment to the flight.

The questions raised by the Omani sources are therefore expected to remain part of the wider investigation, particularly concerning security checks, information-sharing procedures and the processes used before personnel are assigned to international passenger flights.

For now, the available account points to several unresolved issues: the reported earlier concerns about al-Hammami's online activities, the decision in Oman that prevented him from continuing an aviation career at that stage, the absence of a reported request to Oman for security verification before his later employment, and the circumstances under which he was assigned to a Dubai-Tel Aviv service.

No Omani authority has publicly identified a specific organisation as responsible for a security failure, and the identity of the alleged co-pilot has not been officially confirmed by UAE authorities or flydubai. Further findings from the ongoing investigation will be required to establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident and determine whether established aviation and security procedures were breached.