Israeli officials have alleged that the co-pilot accused of trying to crash a flight to Israel had undergone “Islamist radical indoctrination” before stabbing the captain and forcing the aircraft into a dive.
The Omani national, who has not been named, was arrested in Saudi Arabia after off-duty pilots landed flydubai Flight 1073 at Tabuk. Passengers stormed the cockpit and restrained him, preventing what Israeli officials believe may have been an attempt to bring down the aircraft with 174 passengers and crew on board.
Benjamin Netanyahu said investigators had found personal material indicating Islamist tendencies in the co-pilot’s background. Israeli officials have also claimed that he discussed killing Jews and displayed what they described as a jihadist ideology on social media.
“We know that he underwent Islamist radical indoctrination,” Mr Netanyahu told Fox News. He said the assessment was based on information gathered about the co-pilot, but added that he was not drawing any final conclusions.
The Israeli prime minister said passengers who entered the cockpit told him the co-pilot appeared suicidal after he was subdued and tied up using an earphone cord. “He calls out to the aircrew: ‘kill me, kill me’,” Mr Netanyahu said.
He added: “It was clear he was going to down that plane – Oh, it’s not clear, but it looks very likely that he was going to down the plane, and with all the passengers in there.”
Accounts of what happened during the flight differ. One witness in Tel Aviv said he heard the co-pilot shout “Allahu Akbar” as the aircraft plunged, while other passengers have not made the same claim. Asked whether the phrase had been shouted before the alleged attempt to crash the plane, Mr Netanyahu replied: “No, no, none of that.”
Passengers overpowered co-pilot during flight
Witnesses described a struggle lasting at least 20 minutes. Tali Niss alerted passengers to the danger, while Yaniv Hayoun, Tzvika Manes and Asaf Rajuan confronted and restrained the co-pilot.
The captain, Smit Machchhar, was stabbed during the incident. He later opened the cockpit door despite his injuries, allowing passengers to enter, while a dentist on board provided life-saving treatment. Five passengers involved in the response are being honoured with presidential awards for heroism.
Mr Netanyahu said Mr Hayoun, a plumber, told him that watching documentaries about aircraft disasters had helped him understand how to bring the plane out of its dive. “This is Hollywood on steroids. You can’t make this up,” the prime minister said.
Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, has described the incident as a “jihadist terrorist attack”. However, government investigators have not formally established the co-pilot’s motive, whether he had acted with others or whether he had links to a foreign state.
The investigation is expected to be led by the United Arab Emirates because the flight originated in Dubai and was operated by flydubai, which flies under the UAE flag. The UAE prosecutor-general has begun investigating and the co-pilot is expected to be transferred there.
The incident has also raised questions in Israel about how an Omani citizen came to be operating a flight to the country, given that Israel and Oman do not have diplomatic relations. Transport minister Miri Regev suspended flydubai operations to Israel while ordering an inquiry into possible breaches of aviation treaties.
A pilot who said he knew the co-pilot described him as a religious extremist and claimed he had joined flydubai eight months earlier. The colleague said the man prayed excessively during the day and refused to shake hands with women.
