Hamam al-Hammami, identified as the Omani terrorist who attacked Indian Captain Smit Machchhar and attempted to crash a Flydubai aircraft, had previously faced concerns over his terrorist views while working with Oman Air, CNN reported. The incident took place aboard a Tel Aviv-bound Flydubai flight on Wednesday, September 30, when the aircraft was forced to divert to Saudi Arabia after a violent confrontation inside the cockpit.
Hamam al-Hammami’s previous aviation job
According to two sources cited by CNN, al-Hammami had worked for Oman Air for around seven years and left the airline in February 2025. One source said he was removed from flight training because of concerns about his radical & terror views and was moved to another role at the airline.
His LinkedIn profile, which has since been deleted, said he later joined Royal Air Maroc in June 2025 and left the airline in January 2026. He then worked for Flydubai for about eight months, according to an Israeli official cited by CNN. The same profile listed a degree in aviation management from Buckinghamshire New University, where a university source confirmed that a man with the same name completed a three-year distance-learning course in 2023.
Al-Hammami was born in the UAE to an Omani father and Syrian mother and spent several years in the UAE, according to one source cited by CNN.
The earlier concerns about him have now raised questions over aviation background checks and how he was able to move between airlines despite the security concerns reported during his time at Oman Air.
Deleted Instagram account had terrorist images
Investigators and news organisations have also examined al-Hammami’s deleted social-media accounts. His Instagram account was removed after the incident. Before it disappeared, the account carried the same name and photographs as his LinkedIn profile.
The account featured the same videos that had appeared on his LinkedIn page. One video showed footage from the cockpit of a Boeing 737 MAX aircraft and planes belonging to Israeli airlines, including El Al and Arkia.
The video ended with photographs of former al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri and Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, the suicide bomber who killed nine people, including seven US CIA officers and contractors, in Afghanistan in 2009.
Another post showed an AI-generated image connecting Islam’s three holiest sites in Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem with a glowing trail. A poem playing with the image spoke about rejecting humiliation, not fearing death and defending one’s dignity.
The posts appeared online after Wednesday’s incident, although it remains unclear who uploaded them or whether they had been scheduled earlier.
Old posts showed extreme views on women
CNN also examined thousands of deleted posts from al-Hammami’s former Twitter account. The posts, written mainly between 2021 and 2022, showed strong religious views and hostile views towards mixed-gender workplaces.
In one post, he wrote about looking for a wife who would agree to wear a niqab and stop working after marriage. Other posts criticised women working alongside men and described mixed-gender workplaces as harmful to women.
His social-media activity is now being examined along with his previous employment history as investigators try to establish what motivated the cockpit attack.
Terror investigation underway
The UAE Attorney General has ordered an investigation into whether the Flydubai incident was connected to terrorist activity and whether it involved prior planning or direction. The UAE has jurisdiction because the aircraft is registered there and UAE law covers crimes committed aboard its aircraft, including outside the country’s territory.
Israeli agencies, including Shin Bet, Mossad, the military and the Transportation Ministry, are also investigating how an Omani national with the reported background was able to serve as a pilot on a flight to Tel Aviv.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the suspect was believed to have undergone Islamist radical indoctrination. The investigation is also examining his previous employment, social-media activity and possible links to terror ideology.
