UAE: The co-pilot of the Flydubai plane planned to carry out a “terrorist act”

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The UAE Attorney General stated, on Saturday, that investigations into the Fly Dubai flight incident revealed that the plane’s co-pilot attempted to carry out a terrorist operation, and that the co-pilot assaulted the plane’s pilot inside the cockpit using an emergency ax and tried to control the plane’s controls, according to what was reported by the official WAM news agency.

In detail, Counselor Dr. Hamad Saif Al Shamsi, Attorney General of the Emirates, announced that investigations into the Flydubai flight incident (FZ1073) revealed that the plane’s co-pilot had attempted to carry out a terrorist operation.

He explained that the plane's co-pilot began implementing his plan during the flight, as he assaulted the plane's pilot inside the cockpit using the emergency axe, and tried to control the plane's controls.

The Public Prosecutor confirmed that investigations are still underway to uncover all the circumstances of the incident, its motives, and the connections associated with it, in addition to completing technical examinations and examining physical and digital evidence, with the final results being announced as soon as the necessary procedures are completed.

An informed source told the director of the Al Arabiya and Al Hadath office in Washington that the co-pilot of Flydubai, who carried out an attack during a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, was influenced by extremist ideas during his previous presence in Syria.

The sources added that the co-pilot at Flydubai was banned from flying by Oman because the Omani authorities realized that he had extremist ideas.

The sources indicated that the Omani co-pilot is called Humam Al-Hammami, and he left the Sultanate of Oman to prevent him from flying before he went to the Emirates.

Flydubai flight FZ1073 escaped disaster on Wednesday after passengers and crew subdued the co-pilot who stabbed the plane's captain, in what Israeli officials said was an apparent attempt to bring down the plane, which was carrying 174 passengers and crew.

A reserve pilot from Flydubai, who was traveling on the flight, landed by plane at Tabuk Airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia, where the Kingdom's authorities detained the co-pilot, before transporting him on Thursday to the Emirates.

Yesterday, Friday, Advisor to the President of the Emirates, Anwar Gargash, praised the Indian pilot, Smit Machar, who was attacked during the plane incident, considering that, while confronting what he described as a “dangerous terrorist act,” he embodied the meanings of courage and responsibility and demonstrated professionalism and a moral sense in the face of a potential disaster.

Gargash called for not rushing to summarize the circumstances of the incident or adopt conspiracy theories about it, stressing at the same time the importance of vigilance and precaution in confronting the dangers of extremism and terrorism.