By The Straits Times | Created at 2026-10-06 05:41:56 | Updated at 2026-10-06 06:21:29
1 hour ago
WELLINGTON – The flydubai co-pilot who stabbed his captain in an alleged attempt to crash a plane last week was in New Zealand seven years ago to complete a portion of his flight training for a Britain-based company, New Zealand police said in a statement on Oct 6.
Police said the man was in New Zealand between November 2018 and May 2019 on a six-month student visa.
“Immigration records show he arrived in New Zealand on Nov 30, 2018, and departed on May 23, 2019,” New Zealand Assistant Commissioner Michael Johnson said in an e-mailed statement to Reuters.
The police are reviewing records and undertaking inquiries about the time he spent in New Zealand.
The co-pilot of flydubai flight FZ1073, which had been bound for Israel from Dubai, attacked the pilot with an emergency crash axe, the United Arab Emirates prosecutor-general has said, calling the incident a “terrorist attack”.
Two sources have said the co-pilot is an Omani national named Hamam al-Hammami.
Israeli officials have not named the co-pilot, but have said he is from Oman. UAE authorities and flydubai have not publicly disclosed the co-pilot’s identity.
Reuters has not been able to independently reach al-Hammami, who is in UAE custody, for comment.
A multi-agency Australian counterterrorism unit is also investigating the man’s links to Australia. REUTERS
