Co-Pilot Moved To Morocco After Oman Grounding, But Still Not Cleared To Fly

The Omani co-pilot who allegedly tried to crash a flydubai aircraft in Israel last week had been grounded twice in his aviation career, in two different countries, NDTV has learnt, as a probe continues into what is being seen as a possible terror attack.

Widely identified as Hammam Al Hammami, the attacker had been grounded by Oman Air in 2025 for his obsession with extremist online content, it was earlier reported.

It has now emerged that he had then moved to Casablanca to train with the Moroccan airline Royal Air Maroc. However, three months after he underwent classroom training, he was blocked from the cockpit in January 2026, and he was held back from flying for similar concerns.

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Yet, only a month later, flydubai hired Hammami and approved him to fly as a co-pilot.

Senior Omani government sources confirmed he was a national of their country but has spent much of his life in the UAE, Syria, and other nations. At one point, he worked with an Oman airline but was removed from flying after authorities detected his extremist views, they said.

Air Maroc also confirmed the co-pilot's application was turned down after the training period but did not divulge details.

The co-pilot had undertaken a three-month theoretical training period in 2025 as part of the pre-employment process, but his application was not selected for employment after the training period, the airline said in a statement to The Associated Press.

In February, he joined flydubai as a co-pilot, indicating an apparent security failure and lack of background checks.

Merely seven months after the Air Maroc episode, he allegedly tried to hijack an aircraft flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv carrying mostly Israelis and crash it.

On September 30, 2026, Hammami attacked Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar with a cockpit axe to snatch control of the aircraft. Left with a fractured skull and blurry vision, Captain Machchhar fought back and helped passengers overpower the rogue pilot, saving the lives of the 174-odd individuals present on board. The plane went on a steep dive during the cockpit struggle and sent out emergency signals.

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

The aircraft was eventually stabilised and landed at a military and civilian airbase in Saudi Arabia by two passenger pilots, and the attacker was arrested.

Shota Musaev, an Israeli dentist who was the only doctor on board, emerged as one of the heroes who turned saviour for the Indian pilot, who stopped Hammami and averted a tragedy.

Captain Machchhar had very deep cuts, and every time I opened the t-shirt he bled more, recounted Musaev while speaking to the media.

"Smit saved our lives. Smit is a hero, and I thank him for everything he did to save my family and all the passengers. It's karma, he saved our lives, and we saved his life," the dentist said.