UAE Prosecutor: Co-pilot attacked captain with axe on Dubai-Israel flight
United Arab Emirates authorities accuse an Omani co-pilot of attempting a terror attack aboard a Flydubai flight bound for Israel.
UAE Prosecutor: Co-pilot attacked captain with axe on Dubai-Israel flight
The chief prosecutor in the United Arab Emirates says a co-pilot aboard a commercial flight from Dubai to Israel attempted to carry out a terror attack, according to the state-run news agency WAM as reported by Reuters on Saturday.
The prosecutor added that the co-pilot assaulted the captain inside the cockpit using an emergency axe. The incident took place last Wednesday on a Flydubai aircraft, which plunged thousands of meters within a very short span of time. Authorities say the case remains under active investigation.
Two unnamed sources familiar with the matter told CNN that the suspect is Hamam al-Hammami, an Omani national. Reuters published the same detail, citing a single anonymous source with direct knowledge.
The Indian pilot who was targeted, Smit Machchhar, gave his first public account from his hospital bed during a video call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He described a frantic fight to regain control of the aircraft.
"I had been injured so badly that I had collapsed. I could feel the plane was going down. I knew I had to push the door one last time to get it open," he said. "Even then I was struck, but I opened the door, and everyone came in."
Source: Politiken
Source: Politiken