British-trained co-pilot accused of hijacking had extremist trail

A co-pilot accused of attempting to hijack a flight that investigators say targeted Ben Gurion Airport or a Tel Aviv high-rise trained at a UK facility with ties to Prince Charles’s 2019 official opening. On July 10, 2019, Charles opened Acron Aviation’s £75 million pilot-training centre a few miles south of Gatwick, where its six simulators train commercial pilots from around the world. According to the company, trainees can progress from little experience to a fully qualified airline pilot in about 70 weeks, with course costs around £94,500. Investigators say Hamam al-Hammami, described as a former overseas trainee, joined the academy when it was operated by L3Harris and now faces allegations of a jihadist-style attack using a crash axe.