Accused flydubai hijacker made violent social media posts before attempted attack

Hamam al-Hammami, 29, is accused of making a series of violent social media posts while studying aviation management remotely at Buckinghamshire New University (BNU) in the UK. Reports indicate that he expressed misogynistic views and hatred towards Jews and gay individuals in posts made between November 2021 and August 2022. In one exchange, he allegedly stated, "I’d stomp on your head, wipe the floor with you, make you an example to others, and then divorce you." He also compared men attacking women to geopolitical conflicts, suggesting that a man should "stomp on her head" if a woman "so much as breathed" around him. Al-Hammami reportedly described women as "cheap meat devoured by anyone and everyone" and called for severe punishments against Jews and homosexuals. On Wednesday, he allegedly attacked the flight's captain, Smit Machchhar, with a crash axe in an attempt to take control of the plane, which was carrying 182 passengers. Passengers intervened and subdued him. BNU stated that its license to sponsor international students was suspended for reasons unrelated to al-Hammami, and the college is reviewing his course. Al-Hammami was previously removed from his job at Oman’s national airline due to concerns about his extremist views. Following the attempted hijacking, posts were made on a LinkedIn profile matching al-Hammami, featuring videos and images related to extremist ideologies.