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The Flydubai co-pilot tried to carry out a terrorist attack during a flight to Tel Aviv that almost crashed, the United Arab Emirates said.
The co-pilot, identified as Omani national Hamam al Hammami, attacked the pilot with an ax in the cockpit and tried to take control of the plane, according to the UAE Attorney General.
Investigations are ongoing to determine the circumstances of the incident, the motives and any related connections, as well as to examine physical and digital evidence, he added.
The co-pilot – who has a Syrian mother and was born in the UAE – was banned from flying by Oman over fears he had adopted extremist views before being hired by the UAE-based airline, sources told The Associated Press (AP).
A Gulf diplomat told the news agency investigations are underway to determine whether he acted as a “lone wolf or has links to extremist groups”.
The Indian pilot, Smit Machchhar, was a hero’s welcome after struggling to open the cockpit door after being stabbed mid-air by his colleague.
Passengers and crew subdued the alleged attacker as the plane, with 182 people on board, descended from 33,000 feet to 17,000 feet (10,000 meters to 5,100 meters) in about a minute.
The plane, traveling from Dubai in Tel Aviv, was forced to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
UAE senior diplomatic adviser Anwar Gargash on Friday called the FlyDubai attack a “dangerous terrorist act” in a post on X, the flight captain to prevent a disaster.
Benjamin Netanyahu said the co-pilot had undergone “Islamist radical indoctrination” and it appeared “very likely that he would crash the plane”.
“We are now investigating whether he was sent, and whoever sent him will pay a very high price,” he said in a video message on Friday.
US President Donald Trump told reporters that early information he had received suggested links between the attack and Iran, adding that if Iranian agents were to blame, the US would “hit them very hard”.
Israeli investigators are involved in the investigation, but the Emiratis are in the lead, according to an official who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.
They said it is unclear whether the attacker was part of a group and there is currently no evidence of a link to Iran.
Pilot Smit Machhar. Photo: Israeli Foreign Minister / X
Speaking in an emotional video call from the hospital in Abu Dhabi, Mr. Machchhar told the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi he “couldn’t let people die” as he described how he struggled to open the cockpit door while still being attacked.
The pilot, who was seriously injured, described how he fell to the ground after the stabbing and was “fighting for my life”.
“When I was down, I could feel the plane going down, and I knew this was a last chance to do something. I knew the door was just there,” he said.
