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The co-pilot who tried to take control of a Flydubai plane traveling to Israel attacked the pilot with a crash axe, the United Arab Emirates’ attorney general said.
The flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv with more than 170 people on board plunged 17,000 ft (5,200m) two and a half hours into its journey before the passengers managed to overpower the attacker and successfully take control of the plane.
Captain Smit Machchhar said he was lying on the ground injured when he realized the plane was sinking and he had to act, explaining: “I told myself, I told myself to go for one last push to open the door from the inside,” which allowed the passengers.
Two reserve pilots then landed the plane safely in Saudi Arabia.
A crash ax is usually kept in the cockpit in case of emergency.
The weapon used was a key question for investigators, given the tight security at such a sensitive route. Early reports from passengers on board suggested it was a knife.
The UAE attorney general told state media that investigations are ongoing to determine the full circumstances and motives of the incident.
The co-pilot who launched the attack was an Omani national, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Multiple media outlets including Reuters, CNN and The New York Times named him as Hamam al-Hammami. There was no official confirmation of this.
While working at another airline, Oman Air, US media reported that Al-Hammami was removed from flight training due to concerns about his radical views, and given another role at Oman’s national airline.
He completed a three-year distance learning course at Buckinghamshire New University in Britain and graduated with a degree in aviation management in 2023, the university said. It added that he did not take pilot training at the school.
Speaking to Fox News, Netanyahu said that after the attacker was subdued on the flight, he shouted to the crew “Kill me, kill me!”
The Israeli prime minister added: “So, it is clear that he was suicidal… It looks very likely that he brought the plane down.”
He also said the attacker “undertook Islamist radical indoctrination”.
The UAE’s attorney general, Hamad Saif Al Shamsi, said investigations into the incident revealed that the co-pilot was attempting to carry out a “terrorist act”, according to the country’s state news agency.
He also said that investigations are underway to establish the circumstances, motives and any links related to the incident.
Machchhar, who was stabbed in the attack, was taken to a nearby hospital before being airlifted to Abu Dhabi, where he is reported to be in a stable condition.
The pilot, who is from India, was in “good health and recovering well”, the Indian embassy in the UAE said on Thursday.
“I am confident that the recovery will be there and I will get fit and healthy again,” said Machchhar.
