UAE prosecutors said the co-pilot of Israel-bound flydubai flight FZ1073 attacked the captain with a cockpit crash axe and tried to take control of the aircraft. Investigators called it an attempted terrorist attack; the co-pilot's identity has not been officially confirmed.
United Arab Emirates Prosecutor General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said on Saturday that the co-pilot of flydubai flight FZ1073 attempted a terrorist attack, according to a statement carried by the state news agency WAM and reported by Reuters. The flight was bound for Israel. Prosecutors said the co-pilot attacked the captain inside the cockpit with a crash axe, an emergency tool normally kept on the flight deck, and tried to take control of the aircraft.
Reuters reported that more than 170 passengers and crew were on board, most of them Israeli. Sources with knowledge of the inquiry told Reuters the co-pilot was Hammam al-Hammami, an Omani national. A second source briefed on the investigation confirmed that name. UAE authorities had not immediately confirmed the identity, and Oman had not commented, Reuters said.
The Guardian reported that passengers and crew intervened on Wednesday and that the aircraft descended sharply, with part of the rudder torn away. Investigators are still examining motive and any wider connections. The prosecutor general said findings would be released after required procedures.
The incident has drawn attention because the weapon described by prosecutors was a cockpit crash axe rather than an item brought through airport screening. Aviation-security officials and airline operators will be watching whether the inquiry leads to changes in cockpit-tool access or crew screening.
The investigation remains open. Reuters and the Guardian both reported that authorities have not published a final account of motive or of whether anyone else was involved.