The United Arab Emirates (UAE) prosecution and Attorney-General have directly linked the detained Flydubai co-pilot to an association connected to the Muslim Brotherhood. Following his arrest for trying to crash Flydubai Flight FZ1073 on 30 September 2026, the co-pilot gave a detailed confession regarding his radicalization and organizational ties.
The suspect, an Omani national identified as Hamam al-Hammami, confessed during interrogation that he was connected to an organization called "My Centre". Al-Hammami stated that this center was run by a Lebanese man known as Abu Hamza (Samir Mohtadi) and that the organization received direct support from an association linked to the Muslim Brotherhood
While the suspect maintains that he acted alone in executing the cockpit attack, investigators from multiple international agencies are actively verifying his statements to determine if there was broader institutional orchestration or logistics provided by the network.
Official investigations have traced the co-pilot’s descent into extremism across several countries. Signs of his drift toward radicalism first emerged in 2017 while he was studying engineering in Melbourne. UAE authorities state he was influenced by takfiri (radical Islamist) ideology, online content glorifying suicide attacks, and his associations at the Melbourne Islamic center.
From 2020–2024 he worked for Oman Air but was eventually benched and banned from flying in Oman after local authorities flagged his extremist views.
Despite being flagged in Oman, he successfully gained employment at Royal Air Maroc in 2025 before being hired by Flydubai in January 2026. Investigations are heavily focusing on how he passed security vetting to fly the highly sensitive UAE–Israel route.
Two hours into Flydubai Flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv, al-Hammami used a cockpit crash axe to attack the captain, Indian national Smit Machchhar, sending the plane into a severe 17,000-foot plunge.
The wounded captain managed to unlock the flight deck door. The cabin crew and passengers rushed the cockpit, overpowering al-Hammami and retaking control of the aircraft.
UAE prosecutors revealed that al-Hammami had intentionally flown the Dubai–Tel Aviv route twice before the incident specifically to study the flight path and Ben Gurion Airport's layout. He later admitted to investigators that he drew direct inspiration from the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Flydubai has suspended all flights to Israel pending the final security conclusions.
