The Omani flydubai co-pilot, in custody and under interrogation following the attempted ‘terror attack’ in Israel, is now facing growing scrutiny over his social media activity following the September 30 incident in which he allegedly stabbed his colleague, Indian Captain Smit Machchhar, and attempted to crash the plane carrying 174 passengers.
The pilot, identified as 29-year-old Omani national Hamam al-Hammami, reportedly had a history of controversial, misogynistic views and was even fired by Oman’s national airline last year amid concerns over his alleged extremist views, CNN reported.
The accused has already been flagged by Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu as someone who underwent radical Islamist indoctrination as the UAE probes a terror angle into the incident.
Controversial views on women
Al-Hammami’s deleted X (formerly Twitter) account portrayed him as deeply religious and misogynistic, according to CNN.
In several deleted posts, al-Hammami discussed the difficulties his mother faced while looking for a prospective wife for him. He reportedly wanted his wife to wear a niqab, a face covering, and stop working after marriage.
“They all refused. Then my mother told them, ‘My son is a pilot,’ and they all suddenly agreed,” he wrote in a February 2022 post.
His posts also criticised mixed-gender workplaces, claiming they had a corrupting influence on women.
“How many respectable, religious girls have been ruined in mixed-gender work environments and manipulated?” a January 2022 post said.
LinkedIn posts hours after flydubai incident, how?
His LinkedIn profile, which has since been deleted, stated that he had worked with Oman Air for seven years before leaving the airline in February 2025. He subsequently worked with Royal Air Maroc from June 2025 to January 2026.
Notably, two posts appeared on his LinkedIn account just hours after Wednesday’s alleged attempt to crash the flydubai plane.
The first post featured a series of cockpit videos filmed aboard a Boeing 737 Max, similar to the aircraft involved in the incident. The video also showed aircraft operated by Israeli airlines El Al and Arkia.
According to the report, the video ended with a photograph of Ayman al-Zawahiri, who succeeded Osama bin Laden as al Qaeda’s leader.
It also featured images of Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, the al Qaeda-linked suicide bomber behind a 2009 attack that killed nine people, including seven CIA officers and contractors.
Also Read:
‘We are proud of you’: Dubai’s Crown Prince meets flydubai hero pilot Captain Smit Machchhar