Muscat/Dubai: The flydubai co-pilot accused of attacking Indian Captain Smit Machchhar inside the cockpit and sending a Tel Aviv-bound flight into a sharp descent has been identified as Hamam Alhamami, according to a report by Al Arabiya.
It has also been reported that he was previously barred from flying by Oman over concerns that he had adopted radical ideological views. He is believed to have been influenced during an earlier stay in Syria, Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Alhamami was subsequently hired by UAE-based flydubai, the report said, raising questions about the checks carried out before he was allowed to fly the sensitive route connecting the United Arab Emirates and Israel.
The flight, with 182 people, was on its way to Tel Aviv on Wednesday when the co-pilot attacked Captain Machchhar. The Boeing 737 entered a steep descent before Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers to enter and restrain the attacker.
The reported history of the co-pilot has added another dimension to the investigation into the attack, with questions emerging over how he was able to obtain employment with flydubai after being allegedly barred from flying in Oman.
It was not immediately clear to what extent he was vetted when he was hired in the UAE.
The co-pilot underwent ‘Islamist radicalization’, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said. However, he has not provided evidence publicly to support the claim.
US president Donald Trump has also said preliminary information suggested a possible connection to Tehran, although he did not elaborate. An Israeli official involved in the investigation, however, said there was currently no evidence linking the attacker to Iran and that it remained unclear whether he was acting as part of a group.
Terming the incident as a ‘dangerous terrorist act’, UAE senior diplomatic adviser Anwar Gargash credited Captain Machchhar with preventing a catastrophe.
Meanwhile, the injured Indian pilot was flown from Saudi Arabia to the UAE. So has the co-pilot.
Capt Machchhar later spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a video call, describing the ordeal and saying he had sustained multiple wounds.
‘I had so many wounds. I had fallen down,’ Machchhar said during the interaction. ‘I was fighting for my life. At one point, I realized that if I didn’t get up … then passengers would lose their lives.’
The attack has also disrupted air travel between Israel and the UAE, with the UAE cancelling flights to Israel. Repatriation flights have since been arranged to bring stranded passengers back to Israel as authorities continue investigating the incident, as reported by abp LIVE.