Australian university confirms alleged flydubai hijacker studied engineering before dropping out

On September 30th, a flydubai flight carrying 182 people toward Tel Aviv nearly became a catastrophe. The co-pilot, identified by media as Hammam al-Hammami, an Omani national, allegedly moved to seize control of the aircraft. He used a crash axe and stabbed the pilot, Smit Machchhar, mid-air. Passengers and crew intervened. The flight was saved. The incident was classified as a terrorist attack by the United Arab Emirates' prosecutor general.

Now, as investigators piece together how this man came to hold a position of trust in an international cockpit, a picture is emerging of years spent in Australia that authorities are only beginning to examine. RMIT University in Melbourne confirmed this week that al-Hammami had been enrolled there as a student. He studied engineering. He did not finish.

The timeline is precise. Al-Hammami received an Australian student visa in 2014 and arrived the following year to begin his university course. He remained in the country until 2017, when he departed. Three years later, in 2019, his visa was cancelled after authorities established he was no longer enrolled. During those years—2015 to 2017—he was physically present in Australia, a fact that has now drawn the attention of multiple government agencies. The Australian Federal Police, working alongside Victoria Police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, confirmed on Sunday that they are investigating his connections to the country. No timeline has been given for when that investigation might conclude or what it might reveal.

The university's statement was brief and guarded. RMIT said it was aware of the media reporting and confirmed the individual had been enrolled but "did not successfully complete an engineering qualification." The university declined to comment further, citing the ongoing investigation. Former RMIT engineering students contacted by The Guardian said they had no memory of al-Hammami. The university did not elaborate on why he left or under what circumstances his enrollment ended.

A separate thread in his educational history emerged from Britain. Buckinghamshire New University confirmed that a student named Hamam al-Hammami had completed a distance-learning course in aviation management through their program. The university was explicit about one detail: he did not undertake any pilot training there. How he eventually qualified as a pilot, and through which channels, remains unclear from the available reporting.

The backdrop to his hiring by flydubai is darker. According to reporting by the Wall Street Journal, Oman had barred al-Hammami from flying, citing concerns that he had adopted extremist views. Rather than dismiss him entirely, Oman Air moved him to an administrative role. From there, he was hired by flydubai, the UAE-based budget carrier. The airline has suspended its flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv pending the outcome of the investigation. A flydubai spokesperson said the circumstances were still under examination and declined further comment.

Court records show that several Australians have been charged with terrorism offences or suspected of Islamic extremism during roughly the same period al-Hammami was studying in Melbourne. There is no indication, according to available reporting, that he knew any of these individuals. The investigation is ongoing. Both al-Hammami and the pilot, Machchhar, have been taken to the UAE, where authorities are leading the inquiry. Israel and other nations are participating. What emerges from the investigation into his years in Australia—whether there were connections, warning signs, or simply an unremarkable student who later radicalized—remains to be seen.