Co-pilot planned flydubai attack before joining airline, two Israeli officials say
BA•Two Israeli officials said a flydubai co-pilot told UAE interrogators he planned an alleged attempt to crash a flight before joining the airline. A third source said he had also considered hijacking and crashing an earlier flight to Tel Aviv.
1. Alleged attack plan
The co-pilot of flydubai flight FZ1073, bound for Israel from Dubai, attacked the captain with an emergency crash axe last Wednesday, according to the UAE prosecutor general, who called it a “terrorist attack.” Two Israeli officials said the co-pilot told UAE interrogators he applied to flydubai after searching for airlines that fly to Tel Aviv.
2. Flight was diverted
Passengers and crew subdued the co-pilot, averting a disaster aboard a plane carrying more than 170 passengers and crew, most of them Israeli. A reserve flydubai pilot took control and landed the aircraft in northwestern Saudi Arabia; the co-pilot was detained there and transferred to the UAE.
3. Earlier flight considered
A third source briefed on the UAE probe said the co-pilot had intended to hijack and crash an earlier flight to Tel Aviv but did not do so. The report said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a review of foreign airlines flying to Israel after saying pilots from countries without diplomatic relations with Israel, including Oman, are not permitted to operate flights there.
