Who is Hamam al-Hammami? Flydubai co-pilot, who stabbed India's Smit Machchhar

The Omani co-pilot accused of attacking Indian captain Smit Machchhar on a flydubai flight to Tel Aviv has been identified as Hamam al-Hammami, according to CNN. An Israeli official and Saudi state media have also confirmed his name, CNN says. He is now in the UAE, where he faces a terrorism investigation.

Several news outlets have since pieced together his background. The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported Oman had banned him from flying over concerns that he had adopted radical ideological views, and that flydubai hired him anyway. The Associated Press (AP) gives the same account of the ban and the hiring.

How did his Hamam al-Hammami's 'extremist ideals come to the fore?

Hamam al-Hammami worked at Oman Air for nearly seven years. However, his alleged radical ideology was revealed only after the airline found extremist material in his possession during his training as a co-pilot in 2024, reported ABC News, citing intelligence and law enforcement officials.

CNN traced his work history, his education and the social media accounts linked to him. Investigators are now trying to work out how he came to be in the cockpit of a plane bound for Israel, a country Oman does not recognise.

Who is Hamam al-Hammami?

CNN reported that al-Hammami is an Omani citizen who was born in the UAE to an Omani father and a Syrian mother. Al Arabiya English reported he spent a lot of time outside Oman, mainly in Syria, where he was influenced by extremist ideas before moving to the UAE.

A now-deleted LinkedIn profile in his name read he worked at Oman Air for seven years and left in February 2025. It said he then joined Royal Air Maroc in June 2025 and left in January 2026. CNN says one of its sources confirmed the profile is his. An Israeli official told CNN he had worked for flydubai for only eight months.

The profile also said he studied at Buckinghamshire New University in England. CNN says the university confirmed that a man of that name finished a three-year distance learning course and graduated in aviation management in 2023. The Jerusalem Post, citing sources close to the investigation, reported he holds no second nationality.

Why Oman barred him from flying

The outlets describe the move in slightly different terms.

AP's source said Oman Air barred him from flying because it feared he had adopted extremist views. AP adds that it is not clear how closely he was checked when flydubai hired him. Wall Street Journal was the first to report Oman Air's move.

WSJ further said that despite the ban, flydubai hired him. That let him fly the sensitive route between the UAE and Israel.

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ABC News reported that he was found with extremist material in 2024, while he was a trainee co-pilot at Oman Air. Despite that, the airline kept him in an administrative official's capacity.

CNN, too, said he was removed from flight training over concerns about his radical views.

None of these outlets describe the material recovered from him or what views he held. The year of the discovery also differs: ABC News says 2024, while CNN's account, and the dates on the LinkedIn profile, point to 2025.