UAE attorney general says flydubai co-pilot planned ‘terrorist act’

The UAE’s attorney general has said the co-pilot of an Israel-bound flydubai flight attempted to carry out a “terrorist act” and attacked the captain in the cockpit with an emergency axe. The statement was reported on Saturday by the official UAE news agency WAM, which quoted Attorney General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi. He said the initial findings of the investigation indicated that the co-pilot had tried to take control of the aircraft.

The flight was diverted on Wednesday while travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv. Passenger Miryam Shira Ohayon told reporters that the aircraft was “pretty much out of control” when the attack took place over Jordan. Ohayon said the co-pilot tried to murder the pilot and carry out a suicide attack on the plane.

She said passengers took control of the co-pilot and restrained him, while a doctor provided first aid. She added that, apart from the pilot, there were no injuries, but that passengers feared the aircraft would crash. According to Ohayon, two other pilots on board took charge and diverted the flight to Saudi Arabia.

Her account was given by speakerphone through her mother, Yasmin Abukasis, who was waiting for the flight at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv. Abukasis said her daughter believed the passengers were going to die. She also said one woman entered the cockpit and saw a large amount of blood.

The passenger had been travelling to attend a service for her brother, who was killed in the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack. The attorney general’s account describes the co-pilot’s alleged actions as the subject of initial investigative findings. The supplied material does not provide further details about the investigation, the condition of the captain or the identity of the people who restrained the co-pilot.