Flydubai Axe Attack Was Terror Bid: UAE
The UAE's Attorney General said on Saturday the co-pilot of flight FZ1073 attempted a terrorist act, attacking the captain with a crash axe and trying to take control of the plane.
The UAE's Attorney General said on Saturday the co-pilot of flight FZ1073 attempted a terrorist act, attacking the captain with a crash axe and trying to take control of the plane.
Reports identify the suspect as Omani national Hamam al-Hammami, 29. Reports say Oman had earlier barred him from flying over extremist concerns.
Arrested by Saudi authorities, the co-pilot has been handed to the UAE, which leads the probe. Israel says it is checking if anyone directed him. Flydubai has halted flights to Israel.
Speaking from his hospital bed on a video call with PM Modi on Friday, Captain Smit Machchhar broke down recalling how he lay wounded on the cockpit floor as the plane went down.
PM Modi said the captain's courage and presence of mind saved many lives and spoke to his parents and wife. Israeli PM Netanyahu called him a true hero.
Despite multiple wounds, Machchhar unlocked the cockpit door, letting passengers and crew overpower the attacker. Off-duty flydubai pilots on board took the controls and steadied the jet.
Passengers described screams, blood in the cockpit and a terrifying dive. A dentist on board treated the injured captain after the attacker was subdued.
The Mumbai pilot has 17 years in aviation, 11 of them as a captain. He flew for an Indian low-cost airline before joining flydubai and had logged nearly 10,000 flying hours.
On September 30, flydubai FZ1073, a Boeing 737 MAX carrying 174 people, sent out a hijack alert after a cockpit fight and diverted to Tabuk in Saudi Arabia, where it landed safely.