Flydubai co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami LinkedIn posts focused on El Al aircraft, al-Qaeda figures
By Anjali Sharma
WASHINGTON – According to media reports on Saturday a LinkedIn account identified as belonging to Hamam al-Hammami carried cockpit footage focused on an El Al aircraft and images of al-Qaeda figures, while his listed career history made no mention of Flydubai.
The fresh scrutiny has fallen on the background of Flydubai co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami after reports said he had been removed from flying duties in Oman over concerns about extremist activity, years before he allegedly attacked Indian Captain Smit Machchhar on a Tel Aviv-bound flight.
Al-Hammami was moved to an office role at Oman Air after Omani government surveillance detected visits to radical websites during his pilot training, media reported.
He later left the airline and eventually joined Flydubai, reportedly without formal background vetting through the Omani government.
The disclosures have added a new dimension to the investigation into the September 30 cockpit attack aboard Flydubai Flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv.
Authorities are examining whether the assault on Machchhar was a deliberate attempt to bring down the aircraft.
According to media reports it voiced concerns over al-Hammami surfaced while he was undergoing pilot training with Oman Air.
Government surveillance allegedly detected that he had visited radical websites.
Oman Air subsequently moved him away from active flying and assigned him an office position.
One source told the network that al-Hammami later resigned after being shifted to desk duties.
Media reported that he had been barred from flying in Oman because of concerns about extremist views. Those views were allegedly influenced by time he had earlier spent in Syria.
Reports also said al-Hammami had shared a video showing aircraft belonging to Israeli carrier El Al in Dubai.
The footage ended with an image of Ayman al-Zawahiri, the former al-Qaeda leader killed in a US drone strike in 2022.
Despite the reported concerns surrounding his past, al-Hammami subsequently moved to Dubai and was hired by Flydubai.
Sources cited in media said no formal background check involving the Omani government was carried out before his employment.
It has raised further questions over social-media activity linked to the accused co-pilot.
A LinkedIn account identified by sources as belonging to al-Hammami published two posts about nine hours after the September 30 incident.
Media reports said it could not establish who uploaded them or whether they had been scheduled in advance.
One post contained footage recorded from the cockpit of a Boeing 737 Max.
A portion of the video, geo located by media reports to Dubai International Airport, showed the camera zooming in on an El Al aircraft.
The cockpit display visible in the footage carried the flight number OMA624 and the date October 11, 2023.
The video ended with images of al-Zawahiri and Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi. Al-Balawi was an al-Qaeda loyalist who carried out a 2009 suicide bombing in which nine people were killed, including seven American CIA officers and contractors.
A second post contained an AI-generated image depicting Islam’s three holiest sites — in Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem — linked by an illuminated path. According to CNN, a poem heard in the background focused on defiance, death and the defence of dignity.
The LinkedIn account listed nearly seven years at Oman Air, followed by employment with Moroccan flag carrier Royal Air Maroc.
Media reports cited a source as saying al-Hammami had worked for Royal Air Maroc before joining Flydubai. An Israeli official told the network that he had been with Flydubai for about eight months before the September 30 incident.
His LinkedIn profile, however, did not mention Flydubai.
The account listed his Oman Air tenure as ending in February 2025 and a Royal Air Maroc stint from June 2025 until January 2026.
It also stated that he studied at Buckinghamshire New University in England.
The reports said al-Hammami has Omani citizenship and an Omani father, while his mother is of Syrian origin.
The attack took place on September 30 as the Flydubai Boeing 737 Max 8 was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv.
Al-Hammami is accused of attacking Machchhar inside the cockpit as the aircraft went into a steep descent and transmitted an emergency signal associated with unlawful interference.
Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door.
The crew members and passengers then entered and helped overpower the co-pilot.
Two off-duty pilots aboard the flight subsequently assisted in taking control of the aircraft.
The plane diverted to Tabuk in Saudi Arabia and landed safely.
The circumstances surrounded the attack, al-Hammami motive and his background remain under investigation.
