Flydubai passengers react after realising there is commotion in the cockpit, September. Reaction of FlyDubai passengers after noticing commotion in the cockpit, on Sept. 30, 2026, in this screenshot taken from a video provided by the company. (Credit: Video provided by the company via Reuters)
BEIRUT — Israeli authorities received the crew list for the FlyDubai flight that nearly ended in tragedy on Wednesday but failed to flag the Omani co-pilot, whose mother was Syrian and who is suspected of trying to crash the plane after attacking his Indian captain, according to Haaretz on Sunday.
The Emirati airline's flight was scheduled to travel from Dubai to Tel Aviv with more than 150 Israelis on board. It made an emergency landing at a Saudi airport after the co-pilot reportedly attacked the captain with an ax. An official Emirati media outlet reported Saturday that an investigation into the incident had classified it as "a terrorist act." Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, had described the incident as a terrorist threat from the outset.
However, according to Haaretz, citing Israeli security sources on Sunday, Israeli authorities should have identified the potential threat through the crew list, which they had received before the flight. The two main institutions involved are Mossad and the Transportation Ministry, which has a security department.
The sharing of crew lists is standard procedure when there are Israeli passengers or when a flight involves an Israeli airport. A 2023 law stipulates that passenger and crew lists must be submitted to the Israeli Tax Authority 48 hours before a flight and passed on to the relevant institutions.
Haaretz reported, "Two security sources said that the responsibility lies with the Transportation Ministry 'on paper,' but they lack the actual capacity to handle the matter. 'The Transportation Ministry has no intelligence capabilities; these capabilities are only with the Mossad or the Shin Bet.'"
The pilot has been identified as "Hamam al-Hammami ... the son of a Syrian mother and an Omani father," the Israeli daily added. Israeli Tax Authority told Haaretz that it had "received the lists for the flydubai flight." The ministry did not respond to Haaretz's questions, but Transport Minister Miri Regev told another outlet that the intelligence services, rather than her ministry, should review the lists.
A former head of Civil Aviation confirmed to Haaretz, however, that the ministry is responsible for this verification, "with the help of Mossad and Shin Bet," and said it was regrettable that the Israeli government had so far failed to create a single service integrating all authorities responsible for aviation security.
According to several international media outlets, Hammami had been banned from flying by Omani authorities for security reasons. They believed he had been radicalized by Islamist groups during a stay in Syria. According to some outlets, he joined FlyDubai after leaving his employer, Oman Air, and unsuccessfully applying to Emirates Airline.
Benjamin Netanyahu claimed he had "undergone radical Islamist indoctrination" and "intended to crash the plane with its passengers."
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