Co-pilot accused of attacking flydubai captain with axe spent time in New Zealand

New Zealand police are investigating the time spent here by the co-pilot accused of attacking a flydubai captain with an emergency axe in an attempt to seize control of the aircraft. 

Assistant Commissioner Michael Johnson confirmed to the Herald co-pilot Hammam al-Hammami had been in New Zealand, but would not reveal when he was here, for how long, or what he did while here. 

“Police are aware the co-pilot spent time in New Zealand, and we are looking into the time he spent here, alongside other agencies where appropriate,” Johnson said in a statement this evening. 

“We are unable to comment further at this time.” 

Last Wednesday (local time), the flight’s Indian captain Smit Machchhar was assaulted allegedly by al-Hammami but managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to overpower the attacker and force an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. 

“The co-pilot had attempted to carry out a terrorist act” and had “attacked the captain in the cockpit with the emergency axe and tried to take control of the aircraft”, WAM quoted UAE Attorney-General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi as saying, referring to initial findings of the investigation. 

Hammam al-Hammami, accused co-pilot, spent time in New Zealand. Photo / Supplied 

Passengers described rushing the cockpit and a fight for control after the plane plummeted, losing around 5180m (17,000ft) of altitude in the span of a minute, according to the Flightradar24 website. 

A number of Australian agencies are also probing al-Hammami’s connections to the country. 

He had been granted an Australian student visa in 2014, before arriving in the country to commence a university course the following year, the Guardian reported. 

Sydney Morning Herald reported he had been enrolled at RMIT University in Melbourne. CNN, reported his now-deleted LinkedIn profile said he had studied engineering. 

He reportedly left Australia in 2017, and his visa was cancelled in 2019. 

The Australian federal police said the Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team - which included the AFP, Victoria Police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation - were looking into al-Hammami’s links to the country. 

Captain trained in New Zealand 

It was revealed on Thursday, Captain Machchhar, who has been hailed as a hero for his actions, had also spent time in New Zealand, training with Mainland Air in Dunedin from 2008 to 2009. 

Mainland Air chief executive Philip Kean said Machchhar remained as a recruitment agent based in India. 

Kean described Machchhar as an “above average” pilot. 

“He was a bit of a livewire … it’s just horrific. The main thing is that he’s still alive. 

“It’s a long way to drop. It’s lucky it didn’t fall apart; those pilots did a great job at recovering the plane.” 

Machchhar has described how the attack unfolded, saying the assailant hit him in the back of the head after asking for time to pray, as devout Muslims do five times a day. 

“My first thought was that there was catastrophic damage to the aircraft and something is not right,” he said. 

“But then after that the blows kept coming one after the other. That’s when I realised that it’s not the aircraft, it’s the other guy who was in the cockpit with me.” 

While saying his memory was not entirely clear due to his injury, Machchhar said he managed to pull open the cockpit door “but I think he shut it back closed”. 

“I had that one last fight left in me,” Machchhar explained, saying he knew he faced certain death if not. 

“That’s when I pushed against everything.” 

Co-pilot in custody 

The co-pilot is in custody in the UAE. Multiple media outlets identified him as Hamam al-Hammami and said he had been banned from flying in Oman over concerns about his extremist views. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the suspect had undergone “Islamist radical indoctrination” and had attempted to crash the plane. 

The Wall Street Journal reported that Omani authorities had barred the pilot from flying over suspicions he had adopted radical ideological views, citing people familiar with the matter. 

CNN, citing two sources also familiar with the matter, reported that the pilot was removed from a job at Oman’s national airline last year. 

Al Arabiya, citing an informed source, also reported that Omani authorities had determined the co-pilot held extremist views. 

The broadcaster said he had spent time in Syria, raising concerns he may have been influenced by radical groups there. 

ABC News, citing senior intelligence and law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation, reported the suspect had allegedly been found in possession of extremist materials while a trainee. 

- NZ Herald with additional reporting AFP