"The golden years of my religious commitment": The terrorist pilot learned to fly at a prestigious academy in Britain
The Omani terrorist pilot Mammam al-Hamami, who attempted to crash Flydubai flight FZ1023 with its passengers at Ben Gurion Airport, studied at one of the largest flight schools in Britain, L3 Airline Academy, between 2018 and 2019. According to the Telegraph, his training also included studies in New Zealand. His X account documented his study period, which he called "the golden years of my religious commitment."
The Omani terrorist pilot Mammam al-Hamami, who attempted to crash Flydubai flight FZ1023 with its passengers at Ben Gurion Airport, studied at one of the largest flight schools in Britain. This was revealed by the British Telegraph. According to the report, al-Hamami received professional training at the prestigious L3 Airline Academy to become a pilot between 2018 and 2019. The company operated centers in England and has since become part of Acron Aviation. The studies also led him to New Zealand, where he received a student visa for six months for additional flight training between November 2018 and May 2019. Al-Hamami's X account, which has been deleted, documented his training period and his life in Britain. In a post from 2022, he described his years of study abroad as "the golden years of my religious commitment," and claimed he became less religiously devout after returning to Oman. According to the report, the account also showed that he lived in London for about five months. The company where he studied in Britain had business ties with Oman Air, where al-Hamami worked until "extremist materials" were found in his possession and it was decided to terminate his employment as a pilot, although he continued in an administrative role until 2025. Shin Bet personnel are participating in his interrogation in the UAE. In the interrogation, he said he was motivated by a desire to take revenge on Israel for its actions in the Gaza Strip. He planned to crash the plane at Ben Gurion Airport and cause mass casualties, and if unsuccessful, to crash into a US military base in Jordan. His plan was thwarted thanks to the struggle of the Indian pilot Smith Machher.