The United Arab Emirates prosecutor general has said the Omani co-pilot of flydubai flight FZ1073 used a cockpit crash axe to attack Indian captain Smit Machchhar and tried to take control of the Israel-bound plane, describing the Wednesday incident as a terrorist attack.
According to the state news agency, the co-pilot’s actions sent the aircraft into a sharp plunge with 182 people on board. Machchhar opened the cockpit door so passengers and crew could help subdue the attacker and stabilise the flight, which diverted to Tabuk in Saudi Arabia.
The co-pilot has been identified as Hamam al-Hammami. A Wall Street Journal report said Oman had previously barred him from flying over concerns about radical ideologies, yet he was later hired by Dubai-based flydubai. UAE and Israeli authorities are continuing to investigate how he reached the flight deck.
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