The UAE prosecutor general said the co-pilot of flydubai flight FZ1073 used a cockpit crash axe in what investigators called an attempted terrorist attack on a flight bound for Israel.
The United Arab Emirates prosecutor general said on Saturday that the co-pilot of flydubai flight FZ1073 had attempted a terrorist attack during a flight bound for Israel. Prosecutor General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi, quoted by state news agency WAM and Reuters, said the co-pilot attacked the captain inside the cockpit with a crash axe and tried to take control of the aircraft.
A crash axe is normally stored in the cockpit for emergencies, so investigators said it did not have to be smuggled aboard. Reuters reported that more than 170 passengers and crew were on the flight, most of them Israeli. The incident itself occurred on Wednesday; passengers and crew subdued the co-pilot.
Sources with knowledge of the investigation told Reuters the co-pilot was Hammam al-Hammami, an Omani national. UAE authorities had not immediately confirmed that name, and Oman had not commented, Reuters said. The Guardian reported the aircraft plunged 16,625 feet in just over 30 seconds and that part of the rudder was ripped off.
The captain has been identified in reporting as Indian pilot Smit Machchhar. Israeli officials were expected to question the co-pilot, according to a source briefed on the investigation cited by Reuters.
The prosecutor said the inquiry, including motive, is continuing and that findings will be released once required procedures are finished.
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- UAE prosecutor general Hamad Saif Al Shamsi described the cockpit attack as an attempted terrorist attack.
- UAE authorities had not immediately confirmed the co-pilot's name to Reuters.
- Oman had not commented on the incident, Reuters reported.