Co-pilot accused of trying to hijack Flydubai plane probably acted alone, Israeli sources say

Tel Aviv —  The co-pilot accused of attacking his colleague on board the Flydubai flight to Israel and trying to seize the controls probably acted alone, Israeli sources told CNN.

International investigators are still working to determine a motive but an Israeli official said information from the inquiry suggested the suspect acted alone.

Another Israeli source said that, at the moment, Israel does not know of any link to a group or government. Both stressed this was their understanding so far.

In the aftermath of the attack, US President Donald Trump said that the suspect could be linked to Iran “based on what I’m hearing.” But he gave no other details.

Flydubai flight FZ1073 narrowly avoided disaster on its journey from Dubai, plummeting thousands of feet and passengers and crew bravely rushing into the cockpit to regain control of the aircraft.

Sources told CNN the suspect, named as Hamam al-Hammami, is an Omani national who had been removed from a previous job at Oman’s national airline last year following concerns about his extremist views. A post on one of his social media accounts included a photo of a photo of Ayman al-Zawahiri, who led al Qaeda after the death of Osama Bin Laden.