Omani authorities grounded flydubai hijacker pilot over radicalization concerns

The flydubai hijacker was previously banned from flying by Omani authorities over concerns regarding his radical ideological views, according to a Wall Street Journal report on Friday.

The report cited several people familiar with the matter, who told the WSJ that the Omani pilot was hired by UAE-based carrier flydubai despite the concerns, though it is unclear whether the airline knew about the issue.

It is further unclear exactly what sort of radicalism Omani authorities cited as their reason for grounding the pilot, who stabbed Capt. Smit Machchhar in a failed attempt to hijack flydubai flight FZ1073 on Wednesday.

The WSJ reached out to a UAE spokesperson, who declined to comment on the matter “to avoid prejudging the outcome of the investigation or interfering with its course.” 

The Omani government and flydubai did not respond to the WSJ’s requests for comment.

The report follows comments by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the attempted hijacking, saying that the hijacker underwent radical Islamist indoctrination and was clearly suicidal, but that so far a motive for his actions had not been established.

In addition, sources told The Jerusalem Post on Friday that the Omani pilot holds “no other nationality,” noting that pilots operating between the UAE and Israel are not required to be nationals of countries maintaining diplomatic relations with Jerusalem, according to the bilateral aviation agreement between the two countries.

The hijacker was detained by Saudi authorities following the incident aircraft’s emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, and was later transferred to the UAE.

Israeli officials are expected to question the hijacker in the UAE as part of an Emirati-led investigation seeking to examine the suspect’s motives and background.

Reuters, Zvika Klein, James Genn, Yonah Jeremy Bob, and Amichai Stein contributed to this report.