The FlyDubai co-pilot accused of attacking the captain and attempting to seize control of a flight bound for Israel had previously posted misogynistic and violent material online, including language associated with the so-called manosphere.
Hamam al Hamami’s X account, which has since been deleted, contained posts made between November 2021 and late October 2022. Several used derogatory descriptions of women and criticised men who, in his words, “grovel” to them.
In one post, al Hamami wrote: “No matter how much you grovel or ‘lick their feet,’ you can forget about ever being with them; you chose the cheap, easy route to approach the opposite sex instead of elevating your own value as a man.” The posts were written in Arabic.
Another message threatened to “stamp on your head, wipe the floor with you, make you an example to others, and then release you”. It is unclear whether the comment was directed at a particular person or women more generally.
People familiar with the investigation have identified al Hamami as the Omani national who allegedly attacked the aircraft’s captain with an emergency axe as the plane approached Israel on September 27.
Passengers and crew members reportedly subdued him before an off-duty flight crew member carried out an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. An Israeli security official said authorities were examining whether the incident could have been an attempted terror attack modelled on the September 11 hijackings.
Donald Trump suggested shortly afterwards that the co-pilot might have had links to Iran, saying it was “based on what I’m hearing”. No evidence supporting that claim is included in the investigation material.
Posts linked to FlyDubai co-pilot
A Financial Times investigation reported that it had identified about 3,000 misogynistic messages posted or shared by al Hamami. They included references to women as “rotten meat”, although not all of the messages cited by the newspaper have been independently reviewed.
His posts combined rhetoric associated with extremist interpretations of Islam with ideas promoted by online manosphere communities. He used the term “simp” for men he believed sought women’s approval, describing them as lacking dignity.
Al Hamami spoke positively about his mother, crediting her with raising him and his siblings “on religion, morals, and virtue”. In January 2022, he also wrote that he hoped to marry and leave his parents’ home as he approached the age of 25.
He said he was looking for a woman aged between 18 and 23 who was religious, Saudi and from a tribal background. The woman, according to posts reported by the Financial Times, would be expected to wear a face covering, not work outside the home and live abroad.
After what he described as an unsuccessful search, al Hamami concluded that most women “care primarily about money” and were “skilled at pretense”. Other posts reportedly claimed that a woman’s “only obligation is to lift her legs” and that women seeking divorce deserved “a good thrashing”.
Israeli investigators believe al Hamami acted alone in the alleged hijacking attempt. He is in the United Arab Emirates, where he is being questioned by Israeli and Emirati authorities.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he believed the co-pilot had undergone “Islamist radical indoctrination”, based on personal information gathered during questioning. He also described al Hamami as suicidal and said the man shouted “Kill me, kill me!” after being restrained.
Al Hamami had previously worked for Oman Air, where he began pilot training. Sources said Omani government surveillance found that he was visiting radical websites, after which he was moved to an office role. He later resigned and left the airline around 2024.
Sources also said he had at one point posted a video of aircraft belonging to Israel’s El Al airline in Dubai, ending with an image of Ayman al-Zawahiri, the al Qaida leader believed to have helped plan the September 11 attacks.
Al Hamami later moved to Dubai and was hired by FlyDubai. Questions remain over how he came to be employed as a pilot and allowed to operate flights to and from Tel Aviv despite the reported history of radical and misogynistic material.
