What we know about the Flydubai suspect who allegedly ‘refused to shake hands with women’

The suspect accused of attempting to hijack a Flydubai flight to Israel talked about “killing Jews” on social media, “underwent Islamist radical indoctrination,” and “refused to shake hands with women,” according to multiple reports.

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The suspect, an Omani national, was the co-pilot on board the plane, flying from the United Arab Emirates to Israel, when he allegedly stabbed the pilot. He “underwent Islamist radical indoctrination,” according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The suspect, who has not been identified, also talked about “killing Jews” on social media, an Israeli official told the Times of Israel. He was “radicalized into jihadist ideology,” the official said.

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According to Israeli media outlet Channel 16, a colleague of the suspect said he would not shake hands with women, the New York Post reported. He displayed “strange behaviour, especially around religious observances that were out of step with his surroundings,” the colleague said.

He had reportedly worked at the airline for eight months, according to CNN.

The incident, which has been labelled as a thwarted terror attack by Israeli officials, occurred on the flight departing from Dubai in the UAE. It was expected to land in Tel Aviv on Sept. 30. However, as the plane neared Israel, a struggle ensued, causing the aircraft to descend suddenly — dropping 17,400 feet (5,300 metres) in just under two minutes, CNN reported.

Following the attack, the hero the pilot, identified as Indian national Captain Smit Machchhar, was seriously injured, he was able to open the cockpit door. “He was stabbed in the head and his arm was basically split in two. There was a lot of blood,” said Netanyahu.

Passengers and crew members scrambled to subdue the suspect. The plane landed in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

Machchhar is recovering in Tabuk and is in stable condition, according to the Indian Embassy in Riyadh.

Netanyahu revealed more details about the suspect while speaking on the Fox News show Fox & Friends. He said that the Omani national had been radicalized. It was too early to say whether he had ties to Iran or anywhere else, Netanyahu said.

After attacking Machchhar, the suspect was attempting to “jam the instruments” in the cockpit, Netanyahu said. While he was restrained, he yelled at the air crew, “Kill me. Kill me.”

“It is clear he was suicidal. That’s not a question,” said the prime minister.

The suspect is currently being interrogated and is expected to be moved to the UAE, although Israel will be part of the investigation.

Netanyahu said that there are constraints for pilots that come from countries that don’t have diplomatic relations with Israel. “He was able to get through that. There was a loophole there,” he said.

The suspect’s colleague reportedly told Channel 16 that the airline “hired the services of a terrorist and nearly caused the deaths of 180 people.” They added: “Usually only Emiratis fly to Israel. It is not clear how he got on this flight.”

When asked how he believed the suspect was able to get onto the plane with a weapon, Netanyahu said there were two possibilities. “He didn’t go through a metal detector,” he said, and may have been carrying a knife or an axe. Or, he said, he could have used an axe that may have been part of the airplane’s standard equipment.

Netanyahu said he believed the suspect wanted to “down” the plane with all 174 passengers inside.

“We can’t say for sure until the investigation’s over but it certainly seems like he was a suicide actor who was probably going to try to down that plane,” an Israeli official told the Times of Israel.

Netanyahu also commended the teamwork of the passengers who rushed to action to help the pilot and to subdue the attacker.

“We could be sitting today in a 9/11 tragedy with bodies scattered in the desert,” he said. It was avoided because of the “courage of these people.”

“They tell the world that you can fight terrorism,” he added.

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