Flydubai cockpit attack: Co-pilot identified as Omani citizen

NEW YORK: (Oct 3) An Omani citizen, Hamam al-Hammami, has been identified as the flydubai co-pilot who attacked Indian Captain Smit Machchhar and allegedly attempted to sabotage a Dubai-Tel Aviv flight on Wednesday, according to a US media report.

Al-Hammami was reportedly barred from flying previously by Omani authorities for his radical ideological views, the Wall Street Journal reported, quoting people familiar with the matter.

On the flydubai flight FZ1073, he stabbed and seriously injured Machchhar, who fought back and managed to open the cockpit door, enabling passengers to overpower the attacker.