Visited Extremist Sites.. Australia Investigates Links of Flydubai Co-Pilot

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The Australian police announced that authorities are investigating the existence of "links to Australia" for the Flydubai co-pilot who assaulted the captain, Smit Machar, during a flight heading to Tel Aviv. A police spokesperson said today, Sunday, that "the joint counter-terrorism team in Victoria, which includes the Australian Federal Police, Victoria Police, and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, is investigating this man's connections to Australia, and an update will be provided in due course," referring to the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.

Meanwhile, two sources familiar with the investigation revealed that co-pilot Hamam Al-Hamami studied at a university in Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, Australia, according to Reuters.

Two other sources familiar with the investigation mentioned that Al-Hamami visited mosques that promote extremist rhetoric and extremist websites while he was in Australia, citing two individuals familiar with the investigation, according to the Financial Times.

They also indicated that Australian intelligence had maintained a file on him.

The Attorney General of the United Arab Emirates announced yesterday, Saturday, that investigations regarding the flight, which was headed to Israel coming from Dubai, revealed that the assistant pilot attacked the captain with an emergency axe, describing the incident as "an act of terrorism."

Meanwhile, some details have emerged in recent days about the background of Al-Hammami, who is 29 years old.

Royal Air Maroc confirmed that he underwent three months of training with the company in 2025, after leaving the Omani aviation police due to being suspended from work in the air, due to suspicions about his behavior, but his subsequent application to work with them was rejected.

Buckinghamshire New University in the UK stated that he enrolled in an online course in aviation management, but it did not include flight training.

Other sources mentioned that Al-Hammami, born to an Omani father and a Syrian mother, traveled during the civil war and revolution to Syria, suggesting that he may have been exposed to some extremist ideas there.