UAE says FlyDubai co-pilot attacked captain with axe in “terrorist” act

The co-pilot accused of attacking the captain of an Israel-bound FlyDubai flight used a crash axe against the captain and “attempted to carry out a terrorist attack”, the United Arab Emirates’ prosecutor general said on Saturday. A crash axe is a tool in the cockpit for the pilots to use in an emergency.

Prosecutor general Hamad Saif al-Shamsi said the co-pilot of FlyDubai flight FZ1073 tried to take control of the aircraft and that the investigation continues “to uncover all the circumstances of the incident, its motives, and related connections, in addition to completing technical examinations and examining physical and digital evidence”, according to UAE state news agency WAM.

The co-pilot who nearly crashed the Tel-Aviv bound flight with 182 people aboard is an Omani national named Hamam al-Hammami, according to Associated Press’ sources who also reported, alongside the Wall Street Journal, that he was banned from flying by Oman over concerns that he held radical ideological views.

The co-pilot was then hired by UAE-based airline FlyDubai, a source told the Associated Press. It was not immediately clear to what extent the co-pilot was vetted when hired.

The co-pilot was born in the UAE and worked with Oman’s national airline but was removed from flying because of concerns that he showed signs of extremist views. He was moved to an administrative job at Oman Air, officials said. Little else was immediately known about the co-pilot’s background. His Instagram account was active until the day of the flight and then deleted.

How the co-pilot managed to be working in the cockpit on Wednesday morning is a central question for investigators. Israel says has it has agreements with foreign carriers to keep pilots from flying into the country if they are citizens of nations that don’t maintain diplomatic relations with it. Israel and Oman do not have formal diplomatic relations.

Security agencies from four regional countries were working to establish the co-pilot’s motives, aided by the United States and other Western governments, according to the AP.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday said the co-pilot had undergone “Islamist radicalization,” but provided no evidence. There was no immediate comment Saturday from Israel’s government.

The FlyDubai captain, Indian national Smit Machchhar told India’s Prime Ministe Narendra Modhi in an emotional video from his hospital bed in Saudi Arabia on Thursday that he used his remaining energy while being attacked to unlock the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to come in, subdue the co-pilot and stabilise the plane.

Hailed as a global hero for saving the passengers, Machchhar said "I was fighting for my life," adding that "when I was lying on the floor I could feel the aircraft was going down. I knew exactly that this would be the last push. I told myself that if I didn't get up, there would be a problem. I managed to open the door, and then everyone else came in."

UAE presidential advisor Anwar Gargash said “the Indian pilot at Flydubai, Smit Machchhar, deserves every bit of appreciation, for he embodied the meaning of courage and responsibility in the face of a dangerous terrorist act and a potential disaster. His professionalism and moral sense in the darkest of circumstances make him a true hero.”

“Far from the easy reduction of what happened or the adoption and promotion of conspiracy theories, vigilance and caution remain essential in confronting the risks of extremism and terrorism,“ Gargash added.

Amid shock and disbelief within the UAE’s sprawling pilots community, the attack left the region’s travel industry in crisis, raising questions about aviation security and further unsettling a Middle East already shaken by the US-Iran war.

The UAE cancelled all flights to Israel, while Israel’s El Al airline cancelled its scheduled flights to the UAE following the incident. Israel and the UAE agreed on repatriation flights to bring back passengers.