A co-pilot on a flydubai flight is accused of attempting to crash his aircraft into Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport or a nearby residential tower block. Reports indicate the Omani national acted as a lone wolf extremist during the flight from Dubai to Israel last Wednesday. The United Arab Emirates’ attorney-general confirmed that an investigation is underway into the attempted terrorist act aboard flight FZ1073.
During the incident, the co-pilot allegedly used an emergency crash axe from the cockpit to attack and wound the captain. The flight was eventually secured after passengers and a second crew member, who was traveling on the plane, managed to overpower the suspect. This additional crew member subsequently landed the aircraft safely in Saudi Arabia, where a second flydubai plane was later dispatched to collect the stranded passengers.
Israel’s prime minister described the event as a averted disaster, stating the co-pilot had undergone Islamist radical indoctrination. He credited the quick actions of the captain, passengers, and the off-duty crew for preventing what he described as a 9/11-style catastrophe. The flight, which began as a routine journey, transformed into a critical struggle for safety within the cockpit.
