The attacker on a recent Flydubai flight from Dubai to Israel received flight training in New Zealand after studying in Australia, according to authorities, as investigators rush to scrutinise his background.
Prosecutors in the United Arab Emirates have accused the man, who has been identified in media reports as Hamam al-Hammami, of using an axe to attack the captain of Flydubai flight 1073 as he “attempted to carry out a terrorist act” last week.
He was fought off by the captain before being overpowered by passengers. The plane landed safely in Saudi Arabia before the passengers were transferred to Israel.
Michael Johnson, assistant commissioner of New Zealand Police, said without naming Hammami that the suspect was in New Zealand “between November 2018 and May 2019 on a six-month student visa”.
“The co-pilot was in New Zealand to complete a portion of his flight training for a UK-based company no longer operating in New Zealand,” he said.
New Zealand police said they were “reviewing records and undertaking enquiries with regard to the time [Hammami] spent in New Zealand”.
The timing of Hammami’s flight training in New Zealand is likely to add to scrutiny over his time in Australia, where authorities over the weekend said they were investigating his links to the country.
RMIT University in Melbourne said on Monday that “a former student alleged to be involved in the Flydubai flight incident” was enrolled at the institution “between 2015 and 2017 but did not successfully complete an engineering qualification”.
It added it could not provide further comment during an ongoing investigation.
The FT previously reported that Hammami had allegedly visited radical mosques and extremist websites in Australia, citing two people familiar with the investigation. The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, the country’s intelligence service, held a “file” on him, the people added.
John Coyne, director of the national security programme at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, cautioned against drawing premature conclusions about potential intelligence failures and Hammami’s radicalisation.
“[Australian intelligence services] will be trying to make sure — did we miss something, if he was radicalised, and did he hold extremist beliefs?” Coyne said.
ASIO declined to comment, directing enquiries to the Home Affairs office. New Zealand Security Intelligence Service did not respond to request for comment.
Israeli officials have identified Hammami, who is being held in the UAE under an Emirati-led investigation into the alleged attempted hijacking, as an Omani national.
He was interrogated by Israel’s Shin Bet domestic intelligence directorate this week, according to a person familiar with the matter, who added that the two countries were co-ordinating closely on the investigation.
The Israeli intelligence operatives were probing whether Hammami acted alone or colluded with others, another person with knowledge of the matter said. Hammami has not yet been charged.
The UAE has asserted that the case falls under its jurisdiction because the flight was registered in Dubai. Airline Flydubai is also owned by the Dubai government.
Some terrorism offences are punishable by death under UAE law.
Few details have been confirmed about his identity, and his social media profiles have been deleted. He was previously banned from flying by Oman over concerns he had been radicalised, including an alleged social media history filled with anti-Israel texts and images, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Hammami was first named by Saudi state-owned media. Other reports have suggested his mother is a Syrian national.