The Omani co-pilot who attacked his captain aboard a flydubai flight had been barred from flying by his own country's authorities, who suspected he had been radicalized, several international media outlets reported Saturday.
An Oman Air plane. Al-Hammami, the flydubai attack suspect, was formerly a pilot with the carrier © Mena Today
The Omani co-pilot who attacked his captain aboard a flydubai flight had been barred from flying by his own country's authorities, who suspected he had been radicalized, several international media outlets reported Saturday.
According to Al-Arabiya, CNN, ABC and the Wall Street Journal, Hammam Al-Hammami, whose father is Omani and whose mother is Syrian, was grounded by Omani authorities for security reasons.
They reportedly believed he had been influenced by radical Islamist groups during a stay in Syria. The outlets said he later left his employer Oman Air, applied unsuccessfully for a job at Emirates, and then joined flydubai.
The UAE prosecutor general said Saturday that the co-pilot used a crash axe, not a knife as first reported. He described the incident as an attempted "terrorist" attack. Both pilots were transferred to the UAE, where the investigation continues. The attacker's motives remain unclear.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the assailant "underwent Islamist radicalization" and "intended to crash the plane with its passengers."
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