Flydubai Pilot Accused.. Sources Reveal to Ufaq News What Was Found on His Social Media Pages

- Two informed sources told Afaq News Network that the pilot suspected of assaulting another pilot on a Fly Dubai flight heading to Tel Aviv on Wednesday had been dismissed from a previous job at Oman Air last year due to concerns over his extremist views. According to the sources and an Israeli official, the pilot is an Omani citizen named Hamam Al-Hamami; a name also confirmed by official Saudi media.

One of the sources added that Al-Hamami was born in the UAE to an Omani father and a Syrian mother, and spent many years of his life in the UAE. His LinkedIn profile under the name 'Hamam Al-Hamami' indicated that he worked for Oman Air for seven years, leaving in February 2025, before joining Royal Air Maroc in June 2025 and leaving in January 2026; the profile did not mention any work with Fly Dubai.

One source confirmed that this LinkedIn profile belongs to the Fly Dubai pilot involved in the incident on Wednesday, but this profile was later deleted. Afaq News Network contacted LinkedIn for a comment, and a second source - a diplomat from the region - stated to Afaq News Network that the suspect had been removed from the flight training program at Oman Air due to concerns over his extremist views, and was assigned other duties at the national carrier. The threats of mutilation and murder were only posted in two posts on the personal account on LinkedIn, which were posted successively with a short time gap on Wednesday, about nine hours after the incident occurred.

It is unclear who posted these posts or whether they were scheduled in advance. The first post included a series of video clips inside the cockpit of a Boeing 737 Max; notably, the aircraft that was diverted to Saudi Arabia during the incident on Wednesday was also operated by Fly Dubai and of the same model (737 Max 8).

In one of the clips - which Afaq News Network identified the geographical location of at Dubai International Airport - the person filming the video zooms in on an aircraft belonging to the Israeli airline El Al. The cockpit screen in the video showed the flight number (OMA624) and the date: October 11, 2023.

This flight number corresponds to a flight that usually departs from Dubai to Muscat, and the date matches the period during which he worked for Oman Air. Other footage in the video shows additional planes belonging to El Al and Arkia - another Israeli airline.

The video concludes with an image of Ayman al-Zawahiri, who took over the leadership of al-Qaeda after the death of Osama bin Laden, and an image of Hamam Khalil Abu Malal al-Balawi, who was loyal to al-Qaeda and killed nine people, including seven officers and contractors affiliated with the CIA, in a suicide attack in Afghanistan in 2009. The second post includes an AI-generated image showing the three holiest sites in Islam - Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem - connected by a glowing and continuous path. In the background, a poem is heard that has a tone of defiance and speaks of rejecting humiliation, not fearing death, and defending dignity.

Al-Hamami's LinkedIn page indicated that he studied at the University of New Buckinghamshire in England. A source at the university confirmed to Afaaq News Network that a man by this name completed a three-year distance learning program and graduated with a degree in aviation management in 2023.

The source added that Al-Hamami did not receive any training in piloting as part of his study program. Instagram: The same two clips were posted almost simultaneously on an Instagram account bearing the same name and images, before that account was also deleted.

Afaaq News Network contacted Meta for a comment. X (formerly Twitter) shows an analysis conducted by Afaaq News Network of Al-Hamami's deleted Twitter account indicating that he was highly religious and harbored hatred towards women.

In deleted posts, Al-Hamami talked about the difficulties his mother faced in finding a future wife for him who would accept his conditions of wearing the niqab (face veil) and stopping work after marriage. A post from February 2022 stated: "They all refused."

Then his mother told them: 'My son is a pilot,' and they all suddenly agreed." The posts also harshly criticized mixed workplaces, considering that they have a corrupting effect on women.

A post from January 2022 questioned: "How many respectable and religious girls have had their conditions corrupted and been manipulated in mixed work environments?" Nearly 3,000 deleted tweets - published between 2021 and 2022 - were analyzed and classified using a semantic search model based on artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, there is increasing confusion in Israel about how a citizen from Oman - a country that does not recognize Israel - was allowed to work as a pilot on a flight to Tel Aviv, despite the strict security measures imposed by Israel on aviation.

Israeli authorities confirmed that the names of all passengers and crew members were in the possession of Israeli authorities before the flight took off, but indicated that questions regarding the security screening procedures for crew members should be directed to the Ministry of Transport. The Shin Bet (Israel's internal security service, akin to the American FBI) referred the Afaq News network to the Ministry of Transport, clarifying that it is the body "responsible for all security matters related to foreign airlines."

However, a spokesperson for the Israeli Ministry of Transport stated during a press briefing late Saturday evening that the ministry's protocols do not include verifying the names of flight crew members. The spokesperson said, "The Ministry of Transport's procedures do not address the threat that the pilot may pose."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Thursday that there is a belief that the suspect underwent a process of "Islamic extremist ideological indoctrination." The Israeli official mentioned to Ofoq News that the Hamami had only worked for Flydubai for eight months, while a fourth source reported that the alleged attacker had previously worked for Royal Air Maroc.

In a statement to the Associated Press, Royal Air Maroc clarified that the suspect received training with the company for three months in 2025 as part of pre-employment procedures, but was not selected for employment. This information could raise concerns about the importance of conducting background checks and screenings when hiring in the aviation sector.

Ofoq News contacted both Oman Air and the media office of the Dubai government for comments. Flydubai stated that it could not comment as the incident is still under investigation.

Without disclosing the name of the suspect, the Attorney General of the United Arab Emirates stated that the co-pilot on the mentioned flight assaulted his colleague with an axe and then attempted to take control of the aircraft in an attempt to carry out a "terrorist act." It is noted that the presence of emergency axes (designated for aircraft crash situations) is a mandatory requirement on most passenger planes.