Chilling revelations are coming to fore about the flydubai co-pilot, who is accused of attacking his Indian colleague inside the cockpit with a crash axe, while trying to crash the plane with nearly 170 people onboard. The suspect, an Omani national named Hammam al-Hammami, told the investigators that he wanted to intentionally crash the plane and that he 'wasn't afraid of death', the Wall Street Journal reported.
This confession stands in stark contrast with his love for flying which is evident from one of his social media posts shared in June 2022.
“What makes aviation and flight training so beautiful is that it’s anything but routine. There are moments you never forget—like your very first solo flight, or your first time landing an aircraft with passengers on board," the post, written in Arabic, said, according to the WSJ.
Deep Dive
What were the co-pilot's confessions regarding the crash attempt on flydubai flight?
What information is being investigated about the co-pilot's radicalization and past employment?
How did the other pilot respond during the cockpit attack by the co-pilot?
al-Hammami is currently being investigated in the United Arab Emirates after a security team brought him in on Thursday morning following the crash scare on flydubai flight a day earlier. He was also questioned by the Saudi authorities after the flight made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.
Fired from Oman national carrier over extremist views
Earlier reports indicated that al-Hammami was radicalised and held extremist views which is why he was allegedly fired from Oman's national airline last year. His social media handles, which are now deleted, revealed his radical views, according to a CNN report.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier reports indicated that al-Hammami was radicalised and held extremist views which is why he was allegedly fired from Oman's national airline last year. His social media handles, which are now deleted, revealed his radical views, according to a CNN report.
{{/usCountry}}The accused pilot, whom Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called ‘radicalised’, allegedly posted about mixed-gender workplaces having a corrupting effect on women.
“How many respectable, religious girls have been ruined in mixed-gender work environments and manipulated?” a post from January 2022 said, CNN reported.
He also discussed the difficulties his mother faced in finding him prospective bride willing to accept his conditions, including wearing a niqab and not working after marriage.
Also read: 'We are not an intel body': Israel as flydubai co-pilot's 'crash' bid puts focus on screening
“They all refused. Then my mother told them, ‘My son is a pilot,’ and they all suddenly agreed,” al-Hamammi reportedly said in post in February 2022.
Syria link and 'radicalisation'
Twenty-nine-year-old al-Hamammi was born to an Omani father and Syrian mother and has lived in Dubai, according to officials.
As the investigators are trying to piece together the information about him and trying to understand how he became radicalised, his Syria connection is under focus. al-Hammami reportedly spent some time in the conflict-torn country during its long civil war. Investigators are reportedly looking into the possibility he may have started to get radicalised in Syria when Islamist rebels fought against the ruling Assad regime.