Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Thursday that the co-pilot behind an attack on a flight to Israel had undergone Islamist radical indoctrination. This comes as the United Arab Emirates announced that it was probing a possible terror link. The incident occurred on a flydubai flight that was rerouted to Saudi Arabia after the co-pilot allegedly stabbed the captain and tried to crash the plane.
The dramatic events on Wednesday saw passengers reroute the flydubai plane to stop it from crashing, making an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia before the flight's mostly Israeli passengers were flown home to a hero's welcome. Netanyahu told the "Fox & Friends" TV show that the co-pilot was being interrogated. He added that the attacker had called out to the aircrew, "Kill me, kill me", making it clear he was suicidal.
Netanyahu credited the flydubai pilot, Indian national Smit Machchhar, as well as passengers, with averting catastrophe. The co-pilot allegedly stabbed Machchhar and tried to crash the plane. Saudi Arabia's interior ministry said the co-pilot had been transferred from the kingdom to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday morning accompanied by an Emirati security team. Their initial investigation showed he had attacked the plane's captain.
Passengers described rushing the cockpit and a fight for control after the plane suddenly plummeted, losing around 17,000 feet of altitude in the span of a minute. Israeli officials have called the incident "an attempted terrorist attack". Netanyahu had not ruled out the possibility that mental health was to blame in an earlier interview with CBS News.
Netanyahu said a disaster similar to the September 11, 2001 attacks "with bodies scattered in the desert" had been averted. He expected the United Arab Emirates to take the lead in the investigation, but that Israel would join the probe. The co-pilot was an Omani national and Israel would look at how he was able to work on a flight to the country.
Israel's far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, called it a "jihadist" attack, while Defence Minister Israel Katz also described the incident as "an attempted jihadist terror attack". flydubai has said all the passengers - 166 out of 174 were Israeli - were safe, but that the reasons for the altercation were unknown.
The incident is being investigated, with Netanyahu hailing Machchhar "for his extraordinary bravery". The Indian ambassador to the United Arab Emirates met with the wounded captain, with the embassy saying he was in "good health and recovering well". Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he would present "heroism" awards to five Israelis who helped overpower the co-pilot.
Key points
- The co-pilot was an Omani national who underwent Islamist radical indoctrination.
- The incident is being investigated as a possible terrorist attack.
- The passengers and pilot were hailed for their bravery in averting catastrophe.
