Co-pilot in FlyDubai incident is identified as Omani national Hamam al-Hammami

CAIRO (AP) — The co-pilot suspected of stabbing the captain of an Israel-bound FlyDubai flight before passengers and others stopped the attack is an Omani national named Hamam al-Hammami, three people with knowledge of the situation, including a Gulf and Western diplomat, said on Saturday.

All spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The Gulf diplomat said investigations are underway to establish whether he acted as a “lone wolf or has any connection with any extremist groups.”

The co-pilot, who officials said nearly crashed the flight with 182 people aboard, was barred from flying by Oman over concerns he had adopted extremist views, a person familiar with the matter said.

The co-pilot was then hired by the United Arab Emirates-based airline FlyDubai, the person said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation. It was not immediately clear to what extent he was vetted when he was hired. Oman’s barring of him was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

How the co-pilot managed to be working in the cockpit on Wednesday morning is a central question for investigators.

Israel says has it has long-standing agreements with foreign carriers to keep pilots from flying into the country if they are citizens of nations that don’t maintain diplomatic relations with Israel. Israel and Oman do not have formal diplomatic relations.

There was no immediate comment from FlyDubai, the UAE government or Oman Air. Oman’s government has said nothing publicly in response to repeated questions since the incident.

Mednick reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. AP writer Anna Johnson contributed to this report from Washington.