Hamam al-Hamami, the Omani pilot suspected of attempting to crash a Flydubai passenger flight at Ben Gurion Airport, trained at one of Britain’s largest flight schools, The Telegraph reported Tuesday.
According to the report, al-Hamami underwent professional training with the prestigious L3 Airline Academy between 2018 and 2019 as he worked toward becoming a commercial pilot. The company operated training centers in England and has since become part of Acron Aviation. Investigators believe the Omani first officer trained at one or more of the company’s British facilities. The company said it would cooperate with authorities investigating the case.
Report: flydubai pilot accused of terror plot studied at prestigious British flight school
(Photo: CNN)
His training also took him to New Zealand, where he received a six-month student visa for additional flight instruction between November 2018 and May 2019. At the time, L3 Airline Academy operated a program connecting its British centers with a flight school in Hamilton, New Zealand.
The Telegraph also reported that al-Hamami’s now-deleted X account, @PilotHamam, appeared to document his training and his life in Britain. Earlier reporting said the account included posts expressing support for violence against women.
In a 2022 post, al-Hamami wrote that he had “studied in Australia, Britain and New Zealand for five years” and described his years abroad as “the golden years of my religious commitment.” He said he became less religiously observant after returning to Oman. In other posts, he described encounters with women in Britain and expressed support for strict Islamic expectations regarding marriage and clothing.
The account also appeared to show that he lived in London for about five months, although it is unclear whether that period overlapped with his pilot training. The British academy had business ties with Oman Air, where al-Hamami later worked as a pilot until the airline allegedly found “extremist materials” in his possession and removed him from flying duties. He continued working in an administrative position at the airline until 2025.
The Telegraph noted that Oman Air had previously listed the academy as one of five internationally recognized institutions whose graduates would be considered for its pilot recruitment program. Acron Aviation declined to say whether al-Hamami had trained with the company, saying it does not publicly disclose whether specific individuals are current or former students.
Israeli Shin Bet security officials who traveled to the United Arab Emirates are taking part in the investigation of al-Hamami. During questioning, he said he had been motivated by a desire to take revenge on Israel for its actions in the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli officials.
The extremist posts he shared on social media
(Video: CNN)
Israeli officials said the investigation indicates that al-Hamami intended to crash the aircraft at Ben Gurion Airport. According to the findings so far, he waited until the flight was over Jordan before attempting to seize control because he wanted the aircraft to appear to be approaching Ben Gurion for a normal landing before crashing it into the airport and causing mass casualties.
Investigators say that if he had been unable to reach Ben Gurion, al-Hamami planned to crash the aircraft into a U.S. military base in Jordan. They also say he had originally intended to carry out the attack in July but postponed it because of a personal connection to one of the crew members, whom he said he had “spared.”
The investigation has also found that al-Hamami landed in Israel in June and had prepared himself to become a “martyr,” according to Israeli officials.
His alleged plan to crash Flydubai Flight FZ1023 was thwarted in part by the actions of Indian captain Smith Machar, as well as the other pilots and Israeli passengers aboard the aircraft.
Investigators say al-Hamami planned to strike Machar repeatedly with an emergency axe until he lost consciousness, then take control of the aircraft and crash it. After al-Hamami was subdued and the plane stabilized, replacement pilots requested permission to land in Jordan. Jordanian authorities refused once they understood that the aircraft was suspected of having been hijacked.
Channel 13 reported that the Omani pilot told investigators: “I searched and checked which airline flies to Tel Aviv, and that’s why I chose Flydubai. I tried to get accepted by all the airlines. I planned the operation before I was accepted by the company.”
According to an investigation by Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, al-Hamami disconnected the autopilot, seized the controls, shut down the engines in flight and pushed the control column forward with full force.