The co-pilot on the FlyDubai flight accused of attacking the plane’s captain was an Omani national named Hamam al-Hammami, according to reports.

He was banned from flying last year over concerns that he had radical ideological views, according to Saudi state media.

The attacker is an Omani national, born in the United Arab Emirates to an Omani father and Syrian mother, CNN reported.

On Wednesday, the FlyDubai flight carrying 182 passengers plunged over 14,000ft in less than 30 seconds as it flew ⁠over Saudi Arabia on the journey from the United Arab Emirates to Israel.

It was diverted to Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia for an emergency landing after passengers wrestled and incapacitated a man who attacked his co-pilot with an axe in a suspected hijacking.

Israeli authorities told CNN that al-Hammami had been working for Flydubai only for eight months.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that the suspect was believed to have undergone “Islamist radical indoctrination”.

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