UAE investigators have revealed that the co-pilot of a flydubai flight to Israel this week was planning a "terrorist act" and used the cockpit's emergency axe to attack the captain. The incident occurred on Wednesday, and the co-pilot, identified as an Omani national, was overpowered by passengers and crew after attempting to take control of the aircraft. The flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
According to initial findings from the UAE investigation, the co-pilot attacked the Indian captain in the cockpit with the emergency axe and tried to take control of the aircraft. The captain, Smit Machchhar, managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to overpower the attacker. The plane had plummeted, losing around 17,000 feet of altitude in just one minute, according to Flightradar24.
The co-pilot, identified as Hamam al-Hammami, had been barred from flying in Oman over concerns about his extremist views. Multiple media outlets reported that Omani authorities had determined he held radical ideological views and had spent time in Syria, raising concerns he may have been influenced by radical groups.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the suspect had undergone "Islamist radical indoctrination" and had attempted to crash the plane. Netanyahu invited Captain Machchhar to Israel as a guest of honour, hailing him as a hero. The captain told Netanyahu that the assailant hit him in the back of the head after asking for time to pray.
Captain Machchhar described the ordeal, saying he managed to pull open the cockpit door but the co-pilot shut it back closed. He said he knew he faced certain death if he didn't make one last fight, and that's when he pushed against everything to regain control. The wounded captain was visited by UAE Deputy Prime Minister Hamdan bin Mohammed at his hospital bedside.
The incident has raised concerns about airline security, with Netanyahu saying Israel would check how the co-pilot had been cleared to work on flights to the country. US President Donald Trump warned that if Iran was found to be linked to the attack, the country would be "hit very hard". The co-pilot is currently in custody in the UAE.
The first flight carrying Israelis home from the United Arab Emirates landed in Tel Aviv after services were suspended following the attack. The incident has highlighted the need for vigilance in airline security, and investigations are ongoing to determine the full extent of the co-pilot's plans and any potential connections to extremist groups.
Key points
- The co-pilot of a flydubai flight to Israel was planning a "terrorist act" and used the cockpit's emergency axe to attack the captain.
- The co-pilot, identified as an Omani national, had been barred from flying in Oman over concerns about his extremist views.
- The incident has raised concerns about airline security, with Israel and the US calling for increased vigilance.
