Key takeaways:
- The co-pilot attacked the captain with a cockpit emergency axe before passengers subdued him; another pilot helped land the plane in Saudi Arabia.
- NPR reported 172 people aboard, citing flydubai, while the BBC cited Israeli media reports describing more than 180 passengers.
- Israel has ordered a review of security for foreign civilian flights as its agencies dispute responsibility for vetting the flight.
The co-pilot accused of attacking a flydubai captain midflight intended to crash the plane into Israel’s Ben Gurion airport, according to a person familiar with the investigation who spoke to NPR. Israeli media reports cited by the BBC describe a second possible target: a tower block in central Tel Aviv.
The attack took place last Wednesday on flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv. The United Arab Emirates’ attorney-general has called it an attempted “terrorist act,” but investigators have not publicly established a motive. The co-pilot wounded the captain with an emergency crash axe kept in the cockpit before passengers overpowered him. Another pilot who was traveling on the plane helped land it in Saudi Arabia.
NPR, citing the airline, reported that 172 people were on board, most of them Israeli. The BBC, citing Israeli media reports, said the Boeing 737 MAX carried more than 180 passengers. NPR reported that all passengers and crew were safe and accounted for after the emergency landing and were flown to Tel Aviv late Wednesday.
The person who spoke to NPR said investigators believe the co-pilot likely acted alone. Israeli media cited sources familiar with the investigation as saying he planned to fly normally into Israeli airspace, obtain clearance to land at Ben Gurion, then crash into the airport or a Tel Aviv tower block. Those reports also said he told investigators he had abandoned a plan to hijack an earlier Tel Aviv flight because he knew someone aboard. Emirati and Israeli authorities did not immediately comment on those reported details, the BBC said.
Israeli officials have identified the co-pilot as an Omani national, NPR reported; Omani and Emirati officials have not publicly confirmed his nationality. Regional officials told the BBC that Oman Air had barred him from flying and moved him to an administrative job over concerns about his extremist views. They said flydubai later hired him after security checks that did not examine his background for signs of radicalisation.
The incident has prompted questions about flight vetting. Israeli rules do not permit pilots from countries without diplomatic relations with Israel, including Oman, to operate flights to the country. Regional officials told the Associated Press that the UAE had shared a passenger and crew list with Israel before departure. Israel’s Shin Bet security agency said the transport ministry was responsible for vetting such lists; Transport Minister Miri Regev said her ministry had not received them and that oversight of foreign-airline flights belonged to the Shin Bet and Mossad.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the captain, passengers and another pilot prevented “a 9/11 disaster.” He has ordered a review of security arrangements for foreign civilian flights to Israel. UAE Attorney-General Hamad al-Shamsi said investigators would establish the circumstances, motives and any links before announcing their findings. Australian authorities are also investigating the co-pilot’s links to Australia, where local media sources said he studied between 2015 and 2017, according to the BBC.
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