Authorities in Oman, the UAE and Israel failed to share or act on warnings about a co-pilot previously barred from flying for Oman Air.
A Wall Street Journal investigation describes a chain of screening failures in Oman, the UAE and Israel that allowed flydubai co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami to enter the cockpit despite earlier concerns about his extremist views. Oman had barred him from flying for state carrier Oman Air after reviewing his online activity and sent him to a deradicalisation programme, the report says.
When al-Hammami joined flydubai in February, the airline ran a criminal-background check but did not ask Oman Air about the earlier concerns, according to the WSJ. He was later assigned repeatedly to the sensitive Tel Aviv route. The investigation says Oman did not widely communicate its concerns. A formal revocation of his pilot licence could have alerted the UAE.
Israel requires foreign airlines to submit crew and passenger manifests before arrival, but its transport ministry told the WSJ it did not believe it had the authority or expertise to vet foreign flight crews. The ministry also said it did not know a database created in 2023 for authorised screening was operational or available to it. Pilots from countries without diplomatic ties to Israel, including Oman, are barred from flying there, yet al-Hammami was allowed on the Tel Aviv-bound flight.
During Flight 1073, al-Hammami attacked Captain Smit Machchhar with an emergency axe after excusing himself to pray. The wounded captain opened the cockpit door, enabling passengers to overpower the co-pilot and help pull the aircraft out of a dangerous dive. The UAE attorney general called it an attempted terrorist act. Israel, the UAE and Saudi Arabia are investigating whether al-Hammami acted alone. Sources familiar with the matter told the WSJ investigators have not found links to a foreign power or major terrorist group. Israel has since begun reviewing security for foreign airline flights.