Revelations about terrorist pilot Hammam al-Hamami, whose attempt to crash a flydubai flight bound for Israel was thwarted at the last moment thanks to the quick thinking of Indian captain Smit Machchhar and Israeli passengers who rushed to subdue the attacker, are bringing the scale of the massive security failure into sharper focus.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had already acknowledged that there was a “loophole” al-Hamami managed to exploit — the fact that a citizen of a country with no official relations with Israel was allowed to fly there — and ynet learned Saturday that investigators are examining whether he had previously flown to Israel. That contradicts initial briefings in which Israeli officials rejected that possibility immediately after the attack Wednesday.According to reports in U.S. media Friday night, Oman Air, al-Hamami’s former employer, had already suspended him in 2024 following his religious and jihadist radicalization. The Wall Street Journal reported that it was unclear whether that information was subsequently passed on to flydubai before it hired him earlier this year.
The terrorist, Hammam al-Hamami, after stabbing people and being apprehended by passengers aboard the plane
According to reports in U.S. media Friday night, Oman Air, al-Hamami’s former employer, had already suspended him in 2024 following his religious and jihadist radicalization. The Wall Street Journal reported that it was unclear whether that information was subsequently passed on to flydubai before it hired him earlier this year.
The airline itself said that because of the ongoing investigation, it would not comment on the reports. A source familiar with the details told ynet: “Clearly, there was a security failure on the Emirati side. That’s the first thing. Nothing will be covered up. Nothing will slip through the cracks. There was also a failure on our side: An Omani entered Israel and you didn’t check him. Everyone will have to take a hard look at what went wrong.”
At this stage, it appears that the relevant Israeli authorities are trying to shift responsibility. The Shin Bet says it is responsible only for Israeli airlines, but that appears to be an overly narrow interpretation of its responsibility: What are the chances that an Israeli pilot would want to crash a plane carrying Israelis? There is a major failure here in cooperation among airlines worldwide.
If the pilot was disqualified from flying in Oman, why was no warning issued about him? Why is there no blacklist of pilots who have undergone radicalization? In 2023, the Knesset passed a law requiring all airlines to provide Israel with details of all their passengers and crew members as part of arrangements connected to Israel’s inclusion in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program. The database is transferred to the Israel Tax Authority to protect privacy, but the Mossad, Shin Bet and police insisted on receiving the information for counterterrorism purposes. Presumably they had passengers in mind — but what about pilots?
The case requires a comprehensive review of security arrangements for flights arriving in Israel, with the security establishment taking responsibility for the safety of Israeli passengers arriving in the country aboard foreign airlines as well. Israel has, after all, previously barred foreign airlines when it was dissatisfied with security arrangements in their home countries.
If Shin Bet chief David Zini warned that Israeli flights from the United Arab Emirates — for which the agency is responsible — had insufficient security protection, and all the more so foreign flights, why didn’t he demand that the flights be halted until the loophole was closed? The case also raises questions about flights from Muslim countries or countries with large Muslim populations, such as Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, India and, in the past, Turkey. Were background checks conducted on their pilots?
CNN reported Friday night, citing three sources, one of them Israeli, that al-Hamami was born in the United Arab Emirates to an Omani father and a Syrian mother and spent part of his life in the UAE. According to a LinkedIn account bearing his name, he worked for Oman’s national carrier, Oman Air, for seven years before leaving in February 2025. He joined Moroccan airline Royal Air Maroc in June 2025 but left six months later. The LinkedIn account did not mention his subsequent employment with flydubai, which began only this year.
Only two posts appeared on the LinkedIn profile, both posted Wednesday, nine hours after the attack, raising speculation that the posts had been scheduled ahead of time. The first featured a series of videos filmed in the cockpits of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. The flydubai plane that al-Hamami tried to crash was also a 737 MAX.
One of the videos was filmed at Dubai International Airport, with the person recording it zooming in on an El Al aircraft. The post included additional videos showing El Al planes as well as an Arkia aircraft and ended with an image of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden’s successor, who was also killed.
According to ABC News, in 2024, while al-Hamami was still a first officer at Oman Air, “extremist materials” were found in his possession, leading the airline to transfer him to an administrative position.
Saudi network Al Arabiya reported Friday that al-Hamami became radicalized during a stay in Syria: “He spent most of his time outside Oman, particularly in Syria.” A source quoted in the report said Omani authorities had determined that he held extremist views. The source added that al-Hamami had spent time in Syria, his mother’s native country.