RMIT confirms Flydubai hijacking suspect was former student
Melbourne university RMIT has confirmed the man accused of stabbing his co-pilot and trying to crash a plane bound for Tel Aviv was previously enrolled there as a student.
The suspect, Omani citizen Hamam al-Hammami, is in custody in the United Arab Emirates, the country flydubai Flight FZ1073 departed from on its ill-fated trip last week.
Omani pilot Hamam al-Hammami is accused of attacking his colleage on a flydubai flight to Israel. 9News
Australian authorities previously confirmed an investigation into his possible links to Victoria.
RMIT said al-Hammami was enrolled at the university but did not successfully complete an engineering qualification.
“As this is an ongoing investigation, the university is unable to provide further comment.”
Al-Hammami is accused of attacking pilot Captain Smit Machchhar with a weapon believed to be a crash axe, before trying to take control of the flight and sending it into a steep fall.
The seriously wounded Machchhar was able to unlock the cabin door and passengers restrained al-Hammami, while two reserve pilots on board were able to stabilise the flight and land it safely in Saudi Arabia.
Israeli and UAE officials have called the incident a terrorist attack, with most of the passengers on board the flight being citizens of Israel.
It is believed at this stage that he acted alone, Israeli sources have said.
Israel is conducting its own investigation into how al-Hammami was able to gain a green light for flying into Israel, as well as assisting the UAE authorities.
Investigators are still working to determine a motive, but an Israeli official told CNN information from the inquiry suggested the suspect acted alone.
Another Israeli source told the US outlet that, at the moment, Israel does not know of any link to a group or government. Both stressed this was their understanding so far.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News last week that Israel understands the suspect “underwent Islamist radical indoctrination”, based on “personal information” collected during the suspect’s ongoing questioning.
Australian authorities previously confirmed an investigation into his possible links to Victoria.
Al-Hammami had been granted a visa to study in Australia in 2014, and had been in Melbourne from 2015 to 2017. His visa expired in 2019.
Passengers were reunited with families and loved ones in Israel. AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg
- Reported with CNN
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