A social media account linked to the Omani co-pilot accused of attempting to hijack a flydubai flight to Israel posted footage of Israeli aircraft and images of Al-Qaida figures shortly after Wednesday’s incident, CNN reported Saturday.
According to the report, a since-deleted LinkedIn profile bearing the name of 29-year-old Omani national Hamam al-Hammami uploaded two posts about nine hours after the attempted hijacking. A source familiar with the investigation confirmed to CNN that the profile belonged to the co-pilot. It remains unclear who published the posts or whether they had been scheduled in advance.
The first post featured a compilation of cockpit footage showing aircraft belonging to Israeli airlines El Al and Arkia. CNN geolocated one clip to Dubai International Airport and said the cockpit display showed it was filmed on October 11, 2023, four days after Hamas’ October 7 attack.
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The video ended with images of former Al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri and Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, who carried out a 2009 suicide bombing at a CIA facility in Afghanistan that killed nine people, including seven CIA officers and contractors.
A second post featured an AI-generated image of Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem, Islam’s three holiest sites, accompanied by a poem about rejecting humiliation, not fearing death and defending one’s dignity, CNN reported.
CNN also analyzed nearly 3,000 posts from a since-deleted X account bearing the same name. The posts reflected strongly religious and misogynistic views, including opposition to women working in mixed-gender workplaces. “How many respectable, religious girls have been ruined in mixed-gender work environments and manipulated?” one 2022 post said.
The LinkedIn profile said al-Hammami worked for Oman Air for seven years before leaving in February 2025, then flew for Royal Air Maroc for about seven months. An Israeli official told CNN he had worked for flydubai for about eight months.
Al-Hammami had previously been removed from flight training at Oman Air over concerns about extremist views, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN. ABC News separately reported Saturday that he had been suspended after “extremist materials” were found in his possession while he was a co-pilot trainee in 2024.
Al-Hammami, who was transferred from Saudi Arabia to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, is cooperating with investigators, and statements he has given indicate that he intended to crash the plane in Israel, ABC News and The Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing sources familiar with the investigation.
On Friday, Anwar Mohammed Gargash, a senior diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, became the first Emirati official to publicly describe the attempted hijacking as a “terrorist act.” On Saturday, the Emirati prosecutor general said al-Hammami had had attempted to take control of the aircraft and carry out a terrorist attack.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said al-Hammami had “undergone Islamist radicalization” and “came to crash the plane with its passengers.” He said Israel was investigating whether the co-pilot had acted on someone else’s orders.
The attack occurred aboard flydubai Flight 1073 as it flew from Dubai to Tel Aviv with 174 people on board. Al-Hammami allegedly stabbed Machhar and attempted to take control of the aircraft. Despite his injuries, Machhar managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers to intervene, while a reserve flight crew took control and diverted the plane to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. The Israeli passengers later returned to Israel aboard a replacement flydubai flight.
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נוסעים שהיו על טיסת פליי דובאי עם נחיתתם בנתב”ג, ביום רביעי Credit: תומר אפלבאום
נוסעים שהיו על טיסת פליי דובאי עם נחיתתם בנתב”ג, ביום רביעי Credit: תומר אפלבאום
Two repatriation flights operated by Israeli carriers Arkia and Israir have since landed at Ben-Gurion International Airport from Dubai, bringing home Israelis stranded after flydubai suspended its Israel service following the incident. Two additional repatriation flights were scheduled for Saturday, with passengers’ baggage being returned on separate aircraft at the UAE’s request.
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