The co-pilot is alleged to have attacked the captain with a crash axe during a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv before passengers managed to overpower him and successfully take control of the plane. The Australian authorities have not identified the co-pilot, who has been named by multiple media outlets including Reuters, CNN and The New York Times as Hamam al-Hammami. The prosecutor in the UAE has said it is investigating the incident and any possible motives.

In a statement to the BBC, the Australian Federal Police  confirmed its investigation into "the man's links to Australia". The investigation involves state police and the country's security agency, it said, adding that an update would be "provided at the appropriate time". Sources familiar with the case, who have spoken to Australian media, have said the co-pilot was issued a student visa in 2014, and studied in Australia between 2015 and 2017, until he left the country. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) said the co-pilot's student visa was cancelled in 2019 as he was no longer enrolled in a course, making him ineligible for it. Counter-terrorism officials will look at whether the man was radicalised in Australia, the ABC reported. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he was an Omani national. The flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv on 30 September was carrying more than 170 passengers to Israel. Two and a half hours into its journey, the plane plunged 17,000 feet (5,200 meters) when the Omani co-pilot attacked the pilot with a crash axe, the United Arab Emirates prosecutor general has said. (BBC)