Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today.
Already a member?
Log in

Hamam al-Hammami, identified as the co-pilot who attacked a flight captain on a flight to Tel Aviv, studied at a UK university prior to the attack, it has emerged.
A spokesperson for Buckinghamshire New University told The Independent: “Our thoughts are with the injured pilot, crew and passengers involved in this incident.
“Hamam al Hammami previously completed a distance-learning course in aviation management. He did not undertake any pilot training at the University.”
The UAE’s prosecutor general said he intended to carry out a “terror attack” and that the man, who was identified on Saturday as Omani national al-Hammami, used a crash axe to stab the captain.
Investigations are ongoing to determine the circumstances of the incident, the motives and any related connections, as well as to examine physical and digital evidence, he added.
Hammami was born in the UAE to an Omani father and Syrian mother, CNN quoted sources and Israeli officials familiar with the matter as saying.
He was banned from flying last year over concerns that he had radical ideological views, according to Saudi state media.
FlyDubai has said that the incident is still under investigation.
Breaking: Israeli hijacking co-pilot completed course at UK university
Hamam al-Hammami, a co-pilot who attacked a flight captain on a flight to Tel Aviv, completed a course at Buckinghamshire New University it has emerged.
A spokesperson for Buckinghamshire New University told The Independent: “Our thoughts are with the injured pilot, crew and passengers involved in this incident.
“Hamam al Hammami previously completed a distance-learning course in aviation management. He did not undertake any pilot training at the University.”
Maira Butt3 October 2026 12:12
Polanski says Israel has ‘definitely’ operated false flag operations
Green Party leader Zack Polanski has said that Israel has “definitely” conducted false flag operations in the past.
“What I find really difficult to navigate is anti-Semitism on the Left,” he said in an episode of the Bold Politics podcast.
“Because, again, I want to be really clear: there are definitely examples of where the Israeli government [has] used false flags.”
It comes amid a row about anti-semitism in the party.
Maira Butt3 October 2026 11:57
How a six-year-old girl helped avert Israel flight disaster after pilot stabbed
Nina Manes happened to ask her mother Tali to take her to the lavatory on board the flight just as the man, who is an Omani national but has not been named, attacked Indian Cpt Smit Machchhar by stabbing him repeatedly.
Rituparna Chatterjee3 October 2026 11:30
Air travel expert gives verdict on three key issues of the Flydubai plane hijacking
The alleged hijacking of an Israel-bound flight has raised questions over how secure the vetting process is for one of aviation’s most skilled jobs.
Flydubai FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv rapidly descended during a terrifying ordeal as the co-pilot allegedly tried to take control of the plane after attacking his fellow pilot with an axe, or possibly stabbing him.
It is still unclear why the co-pilot to acted in this way. Yet the question remains: how was this person able to bypass rigorous background checks and be given the responsibility of flying planes?
“It’s very easy after every incident to say, what more can we do?” Phillip Baum, visiting professor of aviation security at Coventry University, said.
“Often, airline pilots are recruited from other states, so the degree of background checks is somewhat limited. They’ll certainly have their pilot training and licenses, but in terms of background checks from other states, it’s always a problem.”
Rituparna Chatterjee3 October 2026 10:30
Israeli officials expected to question co-pilot of FlyDubai flight
Israeli officials are expected to question the co-pilot who allegedly attempted to crash a commercial passenger flight from Dubai bound for Tel Aviv, according to a source briefed on the investigation.
Disaster was averted on FlyDubai flight FZ1073 on Wednesday after passengers and crew subdued the co-pilot, who had stabbed the captain in what Israeli officials have said was an apparent attempt to crash the plane carrying over 170 passengers and crew.
The co-pilot was transferred on Thursday to the UAE, where the source said Israeli officials were expected to question him.
The source declined to say which Israeli agency or authority would take part in the questioning.
Asked whether Israeli officials would question the co-pilot, an Israeli government official told Reuters that Israeli investigators would take part in the UAE-led investigation alongside Emirati authorities, seeking to determine what happened and examine the suspect’s motives and background.
Rituparna Chatterjee3 October 2026 09:30
Israel plane attacker was banned from flying by Oman over suspected radicalisation – report
However, the nature of his radicalisation has not been shared.
CNN reported that the pilot had been removed from a previous job at Oman’s national airline last year following concerns about his extremist views.
Maira Butt3 October 2026 09:00
Iran denies involvement in RAF Fairford air base security incidents
The leaders of Britain and the United States have suggested, without giving evidence, that Iran played a role in two major security incidents this week, the arrests near a US-run military base in England used in the war against Tehran and the attack in the cockpit of an Israel-bound plane.
As of Friday, no confirmed connection to the Islamic Republic had emerged.
Britain has not made public any evidence linking Iran to the air-base arrests on terrorism-related charges.
And an official who was not authorized to speak to the media said there is currently no evidence of a link between Iran and the cockpit attack.
The investigations are in the early stages.
If an Iranian link to the Britain arrests is confirmed, it would underline a strategy that Iran’s government has promoted for decades, using smaller, relatively low-cost attacks to needle and disrupt more powerful adversaries and their economies while causing friction among allies.
Iran has denied involvement in Sunday’s arrests close to the RAF Fairford air base, which has been used by US bombers to strike Iran.
Iranian leaders summoned Britain’s ambassador and called on the British government to provide an official explanation.
Police on Thursday arrested a 25-year-old dual UK-Iranian citizen on suspicion of plotting a terror attack, while five other suspects were released on bail.
Detectives said they found a quantity of an accelerant – gasoline – in vans near the air base, but no explosives.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said the UK sees “strong indications” that Iran played a part in the incident but did not provide details.
Rituparna Chatterjee3 October 2026 08:30
Flydubai co-pilot attacked pilot with axe in attempted ‘terrorist’ attack, UAE says
An Omani co-pilot on FlyDubai flight FZ1073 attempted to carry out a “terrorist” attack during the flight, the United Arab Emirates prosecutor general said on Saturday, according to the state news agency WAM.
The co-pilot attacked the pilot inside the cockpit with an axe and attempted to take control of the aircraft, the prosecutor general said.
Investigations are ongoing to determine the circumstances of the incident, the motives and any related connections, as well as to examine physical and digital evidence, he added.
Maira Butt3 October 2026 08:00
Boston native recalls moment plane started to plummet
Boston native Mika Bauman tells NBC News an 11-year-old girl who was sitting next to her grabbed her hand as the FlyDubai plane started to plummet.
“We just held hands, me and her, and her father next to her, and we all screamed,” she said.
“We didn’t let go until Saudi Arabia.”
Bauman is a dual US-Israeli citizen who was flying home to Tel Aviv.
Rituparna Chatterjee3 October 2026 07:30
