"There Was Big Mistake": What Oman Sources Told NDTV About flydubai Co-Pilot

Senior Omani government sources have told NDTV that the flydubai pilot who attacked Captain Smit Machchhar had previously been prevented from pursuing a career in aviation in Oman after authorities detected signs of his interest in extremist websites and content related to terrorism.

The man has been identified as Hamam al-Hammami, an Omani national, by several media reports. His identity has not, however, been publicly confirmed by UAE authorities or flydubai. 

The Omani account comes as the United Arab Emirates continues to investigate the incident aboard flydubai flight FZ1073, which was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv when the co-pilot allegedly attacked Machchhar inside the cockpit. UAE authorities and the Israeli government have described the incident as an attempted "terrorist act". 

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According to senior Omani government sources, al-Hammami is an Omani citizen but spent much of his life outside the country, including in the United Arab Emirates, Syria and other countries. His mother is Syrian, the sources said, and the family had lived outside Oman for a long period.

The sources told NDTV that al-Hammami did, at one stage, work as a trainee for a limited period with an Omani airline. It was during this period, according to the Omani account, that authorities monitoring his activities on the internet detected his interest in extremist content. The authorities subsequently did not allow him to pursue a career in aviation, the sources said.

According to reports, al-Hammami had previously been removed from flying-related training or duties in Oman because of concerns over his ideological views. The Wall Street Journal and other publications have reported similar concerns about his earlier aviation career. 

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Omani sources also told NDTV that Oman was not approached for security verification before al-Hammami was subsequently employed elsewhere.

"If the information was formally sought from Oman, all the facts available to us would have been shared with the parties concerned," sources told NDTV. 

The Omani sources did not identify a particular airline or government agency as having failed to conduct the appropriate checks. Omani officials have also raised another question concerning the flight itself. The issue relates to aviation arrangements between Israel and the UAE.

According to the Omani sources, under publicly known rules governing the relevant aviation arrangements, flights covered by the agreement can be operated by UAE citizens or citizens of countries that have diplomatic relations with Israel. Oman does not have diplomatic relations with Israel. The Omani authorities therefore believe it is possible that al-Hammami may also have held citizenship of another country.

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There is no official confirmation of this, however. The question of how an Omani national came to serve as co-pilot on a Dubai-Tel Aviv flight is already being examined by investigators.

Reuters has also reported that it was not immediately clear how al-Hammami came to be assigned to the Israel-bound flight. 

"There was a big mistake somewhere," Omani sources told NDTV. "This case indicates a lack of adherence to the established procedures between the two countries. This may include aspects such as negligence, lapse of supervision or willful neglect by some parties."

Oman has not publicly named a particular airline, government department, regulatory authority or country as being responsible for such a failure.