The Flydubai co-pilot who allegedly attempted to hijack and crash an aircraft carrying mostly Israeli passengers last week completed part of his flight training in New Zealand, according to police officials.
The co-pilot of Flydubai Flight FZ 1073, identified by senior Israeli security officials as Hammam al-Hammami, an Omani national, was in New Zealand on a six-month student visa from November 2018 to May 2019, the New Zealand Police said on Oct. 6.
On Sept. 30, the aircraft dropped almost 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds after the Omani co-pilot allegedly stabbed Capt. Smit Machchhar, an Indian national, in the cockpit as the flight was en route from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport. Passengers and crew members subdued the co-pilot, and after reserve pilots took the controls, the plane made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
Officials have launched investigations into the incident, treating it as a possible act of terrorism.
While New Zealand Assistant Police Commissioner Michael Johnson did not name al-Hammami as the suspect behind the alleged airplane hijacking, he said in a statement on Tuesday that the co-pilot had been in New Zealand for part of his flight training.
“Immigration records show he arrived in New Zealand on 30 November 2018 and departed 23 May 2019,” Johnson said.
“Police can confirm the co-pilot was in New Zealand to complete a portion of his flight training for a UK-based company, no longer operating in New Zealand.”
New Zealand Police officials are reviewing records related to the time the co-pilot spent in the country.
The Epoch Times reached out to the New Zealand Police for comment but did not receive a response before publication time.
In addition to investigating the co-pilot’s training in New Zealand, Australia’s Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team is looking into his connections to Australia, according to the Australian Federal Police.
In a statement on Monday, Australia’s RMIT University confirmed that the co-pilot had been enrolled at the university but had not completed an engineering qualification.
The Epoch Times reached out to RMIT University but did not receive a response before publication time.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News last week that the co-pilot underwent “Islamist radical indoctrination.” Netanyahu said that while he could not make final conclusions on the co-pilot’s plans and motives, it was “very likely” that the Omani national intended to crash the plane with all of the passengers and crew members on board.
Netanyahu also told Fox News that the co-pilot shouted “Kill me” after he was subdued by passengers and crew members, adding that it was “clear he was suicidal.”
On Saturday, Emirati Attorney General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said the co-pilot “attempted to carry out a terrorist attack” on Flydubai Flight FZ 1073 after attacking the captain with a crash axe.
Israeli officials told Epoch Magazine Israel that al-Hammami intended to fly the Boeing 737 Max 8 toward Israel as if it were a normal flight before crashing the aircraft into Ben Gurion Airport. Al-Hammami’s backup plan, according to officials, was to crash the aircraft into a U.S. military base in Jordan if he was not able to reach Israel.
Prior to the alleged hijacking attempt, al-Hammami visited Israel in June with plans to carry out a suicide attack, according to senior Israeli security officials. The officials added that al-Hammami planned the airplane hijacking attack a month after visiting Israel, but delayed it because he felt sorry for a crew member he knew personally.
It was not immediately clear whether al-Hammami had legal representatives authorized to comment on his behalf.
Reuters contributed to this report.
English (US) · 
Turkish (TR) · 