Copilot wanted to crash aeroplane in Tel Aviv
A Flydubai copilot attacked the captain with an emergency axe during a flight. According to insiders, he was pursuing a long-term plan to crash the aeroplane.
Terror attack on Flydubai flight prevented
According to n-tv, the copilot of Flydubai flight FZ1073 had planned to crash an aeroplane before his hiring. The arrested Omani man told interrogators in the United Arab Emirates that he had applied to the state airline because it flies to Tel Aviv, according to two Israeli government officials familiar with the investigation. A third insider said the copilot wanted to crash the aeroplane into Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.
Last Wednesday, the copilot attacked the captain with an emergency axe on the flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv. The UAE's Attorney General described the incident as a terror attack. According to the third insider, the man had already planned a crash on an earlier flight to Tel Aviv this year, but desisted.
A catastrophe on the flight carrying over 170 people on board was prevented because passengers and crew members overpowered the attacker. A standby pilot who happened to be travelling on the flight landed the aircraft safely in Saudi Arabia. The Indian captain suffered serious injuries, but managed to open the cockpit door and call for help.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a review of foreign airlines. Pilots from countries with no diplomatic relations with Israel – such as Oman – are normally not permitted to operate flights there. Australian counter-terrorism investigators are now examining the background of the copilot, who had studied in Melbourne about ten years ago.
Source: n-tv