Probe into accused hijack co-pilot’s ‘concerning’ links to Victorian university

ASIO and federal police are investigating the Victorian connections of the flydubai co-pilot who allegedly tried to hijack the aircraft using an axe while flying to Israel.

The co-pilot of the aircraft, identified by media as Omani nation Hammam al-Hammami, allegedly brandished an axe towards the lead pilot in a horrifying mid-air clash aboard flydubai’s Flight FZ1073.

The attempted attack came close to killing all 174 passengers and crew, according to witness accounts, and was only prevented because passengers seized al-Hammami while two off-duty pilots stabilised the Boeing 737, landing at a regional airport in Saudi Arabia.

According to a now-deleted LinkedIn profile publicised by American newsagencies ABC News and CNN, al-Hammami had posted that he studied engineering at a Victorian university.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) confirmed that the Victorian joint counterterrorism team, which includes ASIO and Victoria Police, were investigating al-Hammami’s links to Australia.

An AFP spokeswoman said a further update would be provided at an appropriate time.

A source with knowledge of the inquiry, not authorised to speak on the record, said the suspect was granted a visa to study in Australia in 2014, and was in Melbourne from 2015 to 2017 before leaving. His visa expired in 2019. There was no inference that the visa should not have been granted, the source said.

The university al-Hammami included on his LinkedIn profile has been approached for comment.

When asked about the investigation on Sunday morning, Victorian Premier Ben Carroll said he had not been briefed on al-Hammami’s potential connections to Victoria.

“It’s concerning, and I will follow that up as a matter of priority,” he said. “I met with the prime minister last week, and will always continue to work with our law enforcement agencies to keep Victoria safe.”

The lead prosecutor in the United Arab Emirates investigation in to the incident, Hamad Saif al-Shamsi, confirmed the co-pilot had allegedly attacked the lead pilot inside the ​cockpit with a crash axe that was fitted on board. A crash axe is typically kept in the cockpit for use during emergencies such as crashes.

“Investigations into the incident involving flydubai flight FZ1073 found that the co-pilot had attempted ⁠to carry out a terrorist attack,” the prosecutor general said in a statement carried by the UAE’s state news agency.

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