'Put You To Sleep With A Slap': flydubai Co-Pilot's Hate Posts Against Women

The Omani co-pilot accused of assaulting the commanding captain on the flydubai flight en route to Tel Aviv from Dubai is an advocate of violence against women and supported severe punishments justified by reference to Islamic law, homophobic abuse and sexual humiliation while studying aviation at a British university, according to a report by The Telegraph. 

Hamam al-Hammami, 29, has been accused of nearly crashing the sharply plummeting flight with 182 people aboard in a suspected hijacking attempt last week. He was arrested and is being held in Abu Dhabi after flight captain Smit Machchhar opened the cockpit door on time, allowing passengers and others to stop the attack and restrain him.

The Posts

Now, The Telegraph's investigation into his past social media activities found that al-Hammami has previously said women should be "stomped on" and called for giving a woman a "pre-emptive slap" while enrolled at Buckinghamshire New University (BNU) in High Wycombe. 

In an analysis of more than 2,000 posts from an X account that appears to be strongly linked to Hammami, The Telegraph found that he also praised Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The posts were published between Nov 28, 2021, and Aug 10, 2022, from an account with the username "Pilot Hamam al-Hammami" and handle @PilotHamam. The owner of the account describes themself as an Omani civilian pilot from Muscat, giving biographical details matching Hammami, including that his mother was Syrian.

In one of the exchanges, the account told a woman, "I'd stomp on your head, wipe the floor with you, make you an example to others, and then divorce you :)."

In another post, replying to a man who said he found his wife was talking "badly" about him to her boss and asked whether he could make a complaint, the account responded, "Yes, but first you have to stomp on her head, make her life miserable and make her taste the bitterness of what she did."

In a separate post, the account holder expressed support for Russia while endorsing violence against a woman. Replying to a thread about a man striking a woman, he wrote, "He gave her a preemptive slap so she would redefine her boundaries, just as Russia slapped Ukraine to adjust its borders :)."

The account also called a man a "coward and a scoundrel" for failing to violently assault his wife after catching her speaking to another man. "Anyone else would have stomped on her head and made her an example to others," he said. 

In an exchange in August 2022, the account told a woman to "shut up" and marry a Syrian if she disliked Saudi men. 

"Shut up and get lost. Marry a Syrian if the Saudi isn't good enough for you. Go try this talk on Gulf men. My maternal uncles are Syrian, and I lived in Syria for seven years. A Syrian gets you up with a slap and puts you to sleep with a slap, and if he asks for something and it isn't done immediately, he'll make you see stars in broad daylight and wipe the floor with you. And that is the appropriate way to deal with your type," the exchange in Arabic read.

The account also invoked Islamic law and called for severe criminal punishments. In one post, the account holder argued that a man accused of blackmailing women deserved execution rather than five years in prison. Quoting a passage from the Quran, he said offenders should be "killed or crucified" or have their hands and feet cut off on opposite sides.

He also reportedly described women he disapproved of as "cheap meat devoured by anyone and everyone".

The Jihadist Theory

The report came after The Times of Israel reported that al-Hammami had discussed killing Jews online. An Israeli official told the publication that "his social media accounts [say] clearly that he has been radicalised into jihadist ideology. He talks about killing Jews."

All these posts, The Telegraph found, were made from the account during the period when Hammami was studying remotely at BNU, where he studied aviation management in a three-year distance-learning programme before graduating in 2023. The Omani national is believed to have taken part in the course remotely from Muscat.

After the attack aboard the flydubai flight last week, BNU said its licence to sponsor international students had been suspended by the UK Home Office over concerns about its compliance with sponsorship duties. The university said, "Many of the issues raised by the Home Office relate to historic international student recruitment activity."

However, citing the UK Home Office and the university, The Telegraph reported that the suspension was not related to Hammami or the flydubai attack.

The Omani Concerns

Hamam al-Hammami was reportedly barred from flying by Oman over concerns he had adopted extremist views. The co-pilot was then hired by the United Arab Emirates-based airline flydubai, a source told the Associated Press. It was not immediately clear to what extent he was vetted when he was hired. Oman's barring of him was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

The co-pilot was born in the UAE, and his mother is Syrian, according to another regional official with knowledge of the investigation.

The official confirmed that the co-pilot worked with Oman's national airline but was removed from flying because of concerns that he showed signs of extremist views. He was later moved to an administrative job at Oman Air, the official said.

UAE senior diplomatic adviser Anwar Gargash on Friday called the attack a “dangerous terrorist act” in a post on X.