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Oman Flagged Flydubai Co-Pilot Over Extremist Web Searches Before Aviation Career
M
Moneycontrol•05-10-2026, 15:31
Oman Flagged Flydubai Co-Pilot Over Extremist Web Searches Before Aviation Career
- •The Omani national accused of attacking a flydubai captain and attempting to crash a flight to Tel Aviv was previously flagged by Oman for accessing extremist websites.
- •Omani authorities had barred him from the local aviation sector early on, but never received background check requests from other employers.
- •Investigators revealed the suspect planned the attack beforehand and intended to crash flydubai Flight FZ1073 into Ben Gurion Airport.
- •Passengers and crew subdued the attacker, and a reserve pilot safely landed the aircraft in northwestern Saudi Arabia.
- •Authorities in New Zealand and Australia are examining the suspect's background, including his past studies at RMIT University.
Key Questions Answered
Omani authorities had flagged the co-pilot at an early stage over his alleged interest in accessing extremist websites, which subsequently prevented him from working in Oman's aviation sector.
According to sources briefed on the investigation, the co-pilot allegedly attacked the captain and intended to crash the aircraft into Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv.
Passengers and crew intervened to bring the incident under control. Although injured, Captain Smit Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door, enabling a reserve flydubai pilot traveling on board to take control and land the plane in Saudi Arabia.
