The co-pilot who attempted to hijack an Israel-bound flight learned to fly at a pilot-training company in Britain, according to reports.
Omani national Hamam Al Hammami, 29, severely wounded captain Smit Machchhar using the onboard crash axe as he tried to take control of the Flydubai plane on its way to Tel Aviv last week.
Passengers and crew grappled with Al Hammami to regain control of the plane, which had plummeted 14,000ft in just 29 seconds. It is believed a British off-duty pilot was among the heroes.
Al Hammami, who studied at a British university, had previously worked with Oman's national airline as a trainee in 2024 but was removed from flying because of concerns that he may have been influenced by radical groups from time spent in Syria, according to officials.
It has now been reported that Al Hammami undertook training with L3 Airline Academy, a pilot-training company in England that has since become part of Acron Aviation.
He is understood to have trained at one or more of the company's centres in England.
The company has major training facilities in Southampton, Bournemouth, as well as a simulator centre near Gatwick.
When approached, Acron Aviation declined to say whether Al Hammami had trained with the company.
The suspected attacker has been identified as Hamam Al Hammami, an Omani national
Footage filmed by passengers shows the wounded captain Smit Machchhar lying on the floor as others tend to him
Passengers file out of the rear of the plane, which appeared to show a section of the rudder missing, after it landed in Saudi Arabia
A spokesman told The Telegraph: 'We were saddened to hear of this incident, and our thoughts are with everyone affected. As a matter of policy, we do not publicly comment on whether any individual is or has been a student with us.
'We will, of course, assist the relevant authorities, if necessary, in any way we can as they investigate this incident.'
While enrolled at Buckinghamshire New University (BNU) – where he studied for a three-year, distance-learning degree in aviation before graduating in 2023 – Al Hammami seemingly encouraged violence towards women in a series of social media posts, praising giving them a 'pre-emptive slap'.
The university said that Al Hammami did not take any pilot training at the school.
According to the university's website, its aviation management courses 'look into the background operations, logistics, security and management of the aviation industry'.
It is understood he also studied engineering at a university in Australia.
Al Hammami was born in the UAE and his mother is Syrian. He obtained Omani nationality from his father.
US and Israeli intelligence believe the co-pilot planned to crash the plane into Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport or a tower block in the city.
Benjamin Netanyahu's government had been prepared to shoot the plane down to avoid an 'Israeli 9/11', sources told CBS News.
As part of long-standing procedure for this type of threat, the Israeli Air Force tried to contact the Flydubai cockpit without success before a command centre was put together and fighter jets scrambled.
Authorities closed Israel's airspace as the jets flew to investigate but called them back shortly afterwards after the plane, which had been around 400 miles from the Israeli border, turned toward Saudi Arabia.
Had flight 1073 continued on its path, the Israeli jets were set to fly into Jordan and come close enough to inspect the plane's cockpit and cabin.
If there had been panic on board, officials would have consulted with the defence minister and Mr Netanyahu to decide their next move.
Protocol demands rogue flights approaching Israel are shot out of the sky but only the prime minister could have made such a decision.
The Flydubai flight would have been labelled rogue had it continued on its path, maintained radio silence and indicated no demands from its hijacker.
However, after plunging 14,000ft in 29 seconds, the plane's captain fought the co-pilot long enough to unlock the cockpit door, after which passengers and staff overpowered the alleged attacker, allowing them to land safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
The sources said shooting the jet down would be preferable to hundreds dying in a plane crash at Israel's Azrieli buildings, Ben Gurion airport or another 'high-value target'.
Smit Machchhar has been hailed a hero for saving the lives of the 174 passengers on board
According to reports by CNN, two posts were made to a LinkedIn page matching Al Hammami's identity, just nine hours after the attack.
The first post reportedly featured a series of clips filmed in the cockpits of a Boeing 737 Max aircraft. One clip, geolocated to Dubai International Airport, zoomed in on the plane that belongs to the Israeli airline El Al.
The cockpit screen showed the flight number – OMA624 – and the date, October 11, 2023, which matches the time when Al Hammami worked at Oman Air. The flight number corresponds to a flight that usually travels from Dubai to Muscat.
Other clips showed more planes from El Al, and one from another Israeli airline, Arkia.
It ends with a photo of Ayman al-Zawahiri, who led Al Qaeda after Osama Bin Laden's death, and a photo of Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, who killed nine people in a 2009 suicide bombing.
The second post on the profile shows an AI-generated image of Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem – Islam's three holiest sites – linked by a glowing trail. In the background, a poem is being recited, speaking of rejecting humiliation, not fearing death and defending one's dignity.
On the day of the attack, BNU said its licence to sponsor international students had been suspended by the Home Office over fears regarding its compliance with sponsorship duties.
It said 'many of the issues raised by the Home Office relate to historic international student recruitment activity'.
The Home Office said the suspension had been unrelated to Al Hammami or the Flydubai attack.
The LinkedIn account linked to Al Hammami, which has now been deleted, showed he worked at Oman Air for seven years, leaving in February 2025, and joined Royal Air Maroc in June 2025 before departing in January 2026. It made no mention of Flydubai.
It was not immediately clear to what extent the co-pilot was vetted when he was hired by the UAE-based airline.
However, it was confirmed by a Gulf diplomat that he had undergone standard security checks before being hired – but it appears these checks focused on whether he had been convicted on criminal charges and didn't go deeper into examining his background for signs of radicalisation.
Royal Air Maroc confirmed that Al Hammami had completed three months of training with the airline in 2025, but his application to work there afterwards was rejected.