FlyDubai co-pilot stabbed captain and tried to crash plane bound for Israel
Israeli PM Netanyahu says the FlyDubai co-pilot had undergone "Islamist radical indoctrination." The UAE has launched a terror investigation after passengers overpowered him mid-flight.
Netanyahu: FlyDubai co-pilot 'radically indoctrinated' as UAE opens terror probe
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that the co-pilot who allegedly attacked a FlyDubai flight bound for Israel had undergone "Islamist radical indoctrination", while the United Arab Emirates announced it had launched an investigation into a possible terror link, the Jamaica Observer reports.
The incident unfolded Wednesday when the co-pilot, reportedly an Omani national, stabbed the captain and attempted to crash the aircraft. Passengers rushed the cockpit, overpowered the co-pilot, and the plane made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Of the 174 passengers on board, 166 were Israeli nationals, according to media reports. All were reported safe.
"We know that he underwent Islamist radical indoctrination," Netanyahu told the Fox & Friends television programme, adding that the co-pilot was being interrogated. He said the attacker had shouted to the crew, "Kill me, kill me," which Netanyahu described as making it "clear he was suicidal."
The UAE chief prosecutor announced Thursday that an investigation had been launched, including the examination of "terrorist activity or intent."
Pilot hailed as hero
The captain, Indian national Smit Machchhar, was hospitalised in Saudi Arabia after being stabbed. Netanyahu credited Machchhar and the passengers with averting catastrophe, saying Machchhar had shown "extraordinary bravery" in preventing a "catastrophic mid-air disaster."
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Machchhar a "HERO", stating: "His valour helped save hundreds of lives." India's embassy in Saudi Arabia confirmed he was receiving treatment at a hospital in the country.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Thursday he would present "heroism" awards to five Israelis who helped overpower the co-pilot during the incident.
Flightradar24 data showed the aircraft lost approximately 17,000 feet of altitude in under a minute before another crew member travelling on board as a passenger took control and landed the plane safely. FlyDubai said the aircraft was diverted and landed by an "on-duty flydubai crew travelling on the flight."
Passengers describe chaos over Jordan
Passenger Miryam Shira Ohayon said the plane was "pretty much out of control" as the incident unfolded over Jordanian airspace. "The co-pilot tried to murder the pilot and basically carry out a suicide attack on the plane," she told reporters via speakerphone at Ben Gurion Airport. "It was really on the way to crashing, and it was simply the resourcefulness of many people who took control of the co-pilot and neutralised him."
Footage released by Netanyahu's office showed the prime minister meeting passengers after their arrival in Tel Aviv, embracing a man in a bloodied shirt. A separate FlyDubai aircraft had transported the passengers from Tabuk back to Israel.
Political response
Israel's far-right national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir labelled the attack "jihadist", and Defence Minister Israel Katz described it as "an attempted jihadist terror attack." Israeli officials broadly characterised the incident as "an attempted terrorist attack."
In an earlier interview with CBS News, Netanyahu had not excluded the possibility that mental health was a factor, but said he expected the UAE to lead the investigation, with Israel participating. "He'll be, I assume, moved very quickly to Dubai," Netanyahu said of the suspect, who remained in Saudi custody.
The director general of Israel's foreign ministry framed the incident as "an attempted terrorist attack against Israelis, the United Arab Emirates, and the Abraham Accords" — the 2020 normalisation agreement between the two countries. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said he had spoken with UAE counterpart Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and agreed "to collaborate against extremist elements seeking to harm security and undermine stability."
US President Donald Trump, after speaking with Netanyahu, said: "It seems as though the co-pilot was perhaps a terrorist or perhaps a whack-job."
FlyDubai confirmed it had suspended all flights to Israel while the investigation proceeds.
Source: Jamaica Observer