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Flydubai co-pilot had no formal training? UK university says he did aviation management

Flydubai co-pilot had no formal training? UK university says he did aviation management

flydubai plane

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Notably, the co-pilot had been barred from flying by Oman over concerns he had adopted extremist views. He was then moved to an administrative job at Oman Air, before being hired by flydubai.

Several revelations have come to the fore about the flydubai co-pilot, who allegedly tried to hijack an Israel-bound flight and attacked a colleague in the cockpit. One among them is that he did a distance-learning course in aviation management from a university in UK and did not take any pilot training there.

According to a report in The Guardian, "A British university, Buckinghamshire New University, said a student named Hamam al-Hammami had previously completed a distance-learning course in aviation management at the institution but he did not undertake any pilot training at the university.”

A flydubai spokesperson on Saturday refused to comment on his association with the university and said the incident is under investigation and they are not in a position to say anything right now.

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Notably, the co-pilot had been barred from flying by Oman over concerns he had adopted extremist views, a report in the Wall Street Journal said. He was then moved to an administrative job at Oman Air, before being hired by the UAE-based budget airline flydubai, said the report further.

The flydubai plane hero, Smit Machchhar


Smit Machchhar, an Indian national, was flying a Boeing 737 to Israel on Wednesday (Oct 1) when his co-pilot attacked him. Despite multiple stab wounds, he opened the cockpit door and let in passengers, who subdued the co-pilot. This likely saved the 174 people on board. The flight, FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv, was diverted to Tabuk.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he wants Machchhar and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to light a flame at a national ceremony marking Israel's Independence Day next May, an honour he said is usually reserved for Israeli citizens. “All the citizens of Israel will embrace you,” he said.

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Aditya Shukla

Aditya Shukla has a vast experience of over 20 years in the field of journalism. During the years, he has worked in TV and digital, covering Indian politics and world news extensiv...Read More