Flydubai Co-Pilot's Links to Australia Under Investigation Amid Alleged Terror Attack
An investigation by the Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team is underway into an incident involving a flydubai pilot who allegedly attacked his co-pilot in the cockpit of a plane bound for Tel Aviv.
The co-pilot, identified as Hamam al-Hammami, was issued a student visa in 2014 and studied in Australia between 2015 and 2017. His visa was cancelled in 2019 due to his lack of enrolment in a course, rendering him ineligible for a student visa.
The investigation will examine whether the co-pilot was radicalised while in Australia. The flight, carrying 174 people, was forced to divert to Tabuk in north-western Saudi Arabia for an emergency landing after the pilot, Smit Machcharr, was stabbed by his co-pilot.
Flydubai's vetting processes have come under scrutiny following the incident, with questions raised about how the co-pilot's presence on a flight filled with Israeli passengers got past Israel's strict security protocols.