UAE investigates Flydubai co-pilot attack as attempted terrorist act

A Flydubai co-pilot attacked the captain with a crash axe and tried to seize the controls of a flight carrying 174 people from Dubai to Tel Aviv, the United Arab Emirates’ attorney general said Saturday, describing the midair assault as an attempted terrorist act. Passengers and crew subdued the co-pilot, and the plane landed safely in Saudi Arabia.

“The co-pilot began executing his plan during the flight, attacking the captain inside the flight deck using a crash axe and attempting to take control of the aircraft’s flight controls,” Attorney-General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi said of Wednesday’s incident aboard Flight FZ1073.

Investigators have not publicly established a motive or said whether anyone else was involved. The accused co-pilot is an Omani citizen, but authorities have not officially released his name. The Associated Press reported, citing three people with knowledge of the matter, that he is Hamam al-Hammami. The Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed sources, that Oman had previously barred him from flying over concerns about his alleged extremist views. Those claims have not been officially confirmed.

The injured captain, Indian national Smit Machchhar, said from a hospital in Abu Dhabi that he had fallen to the cockpit floor and could feel the aircraft descending. “I was acting for my own life, but at the same time, I knew I couldn’t let all of them die,” he said during a video call released by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said he managed to open the cockpit door, allowing others to enter and overpower the co-pilot.

Flight-tracking data showed the aircraft dropping more than 17,000 feet in about two minutes before climbing and descending again, Al Jazeera reported. According to Al Jazeera, two reserve pilots aboard the flight took control and landed it in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Saudi authorities said both pilots were taken to hospital. The Saudi Interior Ministry said Thursday that the accused co-pilot had been transferred to Abu Dhabi and that his health had “improved.”

One passenger, Ayelet Epstein, told NBC News that her 14-year-old daughter asked whether they were going to die after they heard shouting and the plane began to fall. Epstein said she thanked Machchhar “from the bottom of my heart.” The Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi said Saturday that he was recovering under medical care.

Al-Shamsi said UAE investigators are examining physical and digital evidence to establish the circumstances, motive and any connections to others. Israeli government spokesman David Mencer said Israeli investigators would join the inquiry. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that he believed the attacker had undergone Islamist radicalization and intended to crash the plane, but he did not explain how he reached that conclusion.

Flydubai said the circumstances remained under investigation and that it could not comment beyond its published statements. Its flights to Israel remain suspended, Al Jazeera reported.

President Donald Trump said Thursday that Iran would face renewed strikes if it was behind the attack. A senior U.S. official briefed on the Israeli investigation told NBC News there was no indication that Iran directed or was involved in it.