FlyDubai co-pilot who used crash axe in 'terror incident' studied at UK university

Hamam al-Hammami, the Flydubai co-pilot accused of attempting to hijack a Tel Aviv-bound Boeing 737 MAX with a crash axe, studied at Buckinghamshire New University in the UK via distance learning. The 29-year-old earned an aviation management degree in 2023, and the university said the program involved no practical flight training. Al-Hammami, an Omani national, was reportedly banned from flying by Omani authorities last year due to radical views, and after his detention he allegedly told investigators he intended to crash the airliner in Israel. Israeli investigators arrived in the UAE to question him. The probe focuses on whether he acted as a “lone wolf” or with external extremist direction, after alleged extremist material was found on devices while he was at Oman Air.