The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Prosecutorʼs Office has called an incident on board a “Flydubai” plane flying from the UAE to Israel an attempted terrorist act.
This was stated by the Attorney General of the UAE Hamad al-Shamsi, Reuters reports.
The incident occurred on Wednesday, September 30, on flight FZ1073. There were more than 170 people on board, most of the passengers were Israeli citizens.
According to the UAE Public Prosecutorʼs Office, the flightʼs co-pilot attacked his colleague with a crash axe and tried to take control of the plane. Passengers and crew members were able to stop him.
A backup pilot, who was among the passengers, landed the plane in the city of Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia. The attacker was detained there and handed over to UAE authorities the next day.
The UAE Attorney General said that the investigation has determined that the co-pilot attempted to carry out a terrorist attack. His motives are still being investigated. The countryʼs authorities have stressed "zero tolerance" for such incidents.
Reuters reports that the attacker is Omani citizen Hamam al-Hammami. This information is also confirmed by Israeli officials. The issue of the co-pilotʼs nationality is in the spotlight because Oman and Israel do not have formal diplomatic relations.
Flydubai said the investigation was ongoing and could not comment on the circumstances of the incident at this time. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country was investigating whether the pilot acted alone or under orders.
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