No vetting, threat alerts ignored: How Omani pilot got into flydubai cockpit

Missed threat warnings, inadequate vetting and gaps in aviation security across Oman, the UAE and Israel allowed flydubai co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami, who attacked Captain Smit Machchhar in the Dubai-Tel Aviv flight cockpit and tried to hijack the plane, to continue flying, according to The Wall Street Journal.Before al-Hammami carried out the attempted 9/11-style attack on Flight 1073 on September 30, Omani authorities had already identified concerns about his behaviour. They had scrutinised the 29-year-old's online activity and concluded that he had shown too much interest in radical ideology to continue flying for Oman Air, where he worked earlier, the WSJ reported.Following that, al-Hammami was banned from flying, sent through a deradicalisation programme and moved to a desk job. However, people familiar with the matter told the newspaper that Oman did not share those concerns more broadly with other authorities or airlines.FLYDUBAI DIDN'T CHECK CO-PILOT'S HISTORY WITH OMANWhen flydubai hired al-Hammami in February this year, the airline apparently did not contact Oman to vet his previous employment, according to people familiar with the hiring process cited by the WSJ. The airline did conduct a criminal background check, one person familiar with the process told the newspaper. al-Hammami, who is in UAE custody, was later assigned to the Dubai-Tel Aviv route and flew it several times.Emirati authorities are now investigating flydubai employees involved in the hiring process, the WSJ reported. The airline declined to comment while the investigation is ongoing.ISRAEL'S MISSED OPPORTUNITY Israel had another opportunity to prevent Hammami from operating the flight, according to the WSJ investigation.Pilots from countries such as Oman, which does not have diplomatic relations with Israel, are barred from flying into the country. Yet al-Hammami, an Omani national, was allowed to operate the Dubai-Tel Aviv route with flydubai.Foreign airlines are required to submit passenger and crew lists to Israel before arrival. flydubai submitted the manifest for Flight 1073, according to Israel's Tax Authority, which maintains the country's passenger-information database.But Israel's Transportation Ministry said it did not believe it had the authority or expertise to vet foreign-airline crews, the WSJ reported. The ministry had never requested passenger or crew lists since the database was established in 2023 and said it did not know it could access the information.Instead, the ministry said flydubai had agreed in writing to check the backgrounds and nationalities of its pilots.The lapse came despite a classified Israeli report from 2024 that had warned of deficiencies in security measures for foreign carriers operating flights into the country, according to the WSJ.Security experts told the newspaper that the failures were particularly striking given the intelligence and surveillance capabilities of Israel and the UAE, as well as the security sensitivity of the Dubai-Tel Aviv route.The flydubai attack has exposed how warnings identified in one country, gaps in an airline's vetting process and shortcomings in another country's aviation-security system combined to allow al-Hammami to reach the cockpit despite multiple opportunities to stop him.WHAT HAPPENED ON FLYDUBAI FLIGHT?flyydubai Flight FZ1073 was flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv on September 30 when al-Hammami attacked Machchhar inside the cockpit. Israeli and UAE authorities later described the incident as an attempted terrorist attack, and said the co-pilot used the cockpit's emergency crash axe in an attempt to seize control of the aircraft.During the struggle, the Boeing 737 MAX 8 went into a dramatic descent, losing more than 16,000 feet in just over 30 seconds before recovering. The aircraft transmitted emergency signals indicating a general emergency and unlawful interference. The flight was carrying 174 people, most of them Israeli passengers.Despite being wounded, Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers to rush in and overpower al-Hammami. Two off-duty flydubai pilots travelling on the flight then took control of the aircraft and landed it safely at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia.The passengers were later flown to Israel on a replacement aircraft. al-Hammami was detained in Saudi Arabia before being transferred to the UAE, where the investigation into the attack and his motive is continuing. On the other hand, Machchhar is being praised as a hero globally for his heroics and is recovering in a Dubai hospital.- Ends