Flight from Flydubai: Co-pilot was probably planning a terrorist attack

afp | According to the Emirati authorities, the co-pilot of the Flydubai plane was planning an “act of terrorism”. The man from Oman attacked the pilot with the emergency ax in the cockpit on the flight from Dubai to Israel on Wednesday, the state news agency WAM quoted the public prosecutor's office as saying on Saturday. The co-pilot seriously injured the pilot, but was able to be overcome by passengers, so that the plane later landed safely with more than 170 people on board.

Several media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, had previously reported that the man was no longer allowed to fly in Oman due to extremist views. According to CNN, the co-pilot lost his job at Oman Air, Oman's national airline, last year due to concerns about extremist views.

Saudi news channel Al-Arabiya reported, citing an informed source, that authorities in Oman had determined that the co-pilot held extremist views. The man also spent some time in Syria, which raised concerns that he could have been influenced by radical groups there.

ABC News, citing senior intelligence and law enforcement officials, reported that the suspect was in possession of extremist materials during his training.

According to the Israeli government, the Flydubai airline plane narrowly escaped a terrorist attack on Wednesday. The plane was en route from Dubai to Tel Aviv when it lost altitude massively. According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the co-pilot stabbed the pilot to cause the plane to crash. According to eyewitnesses, several passengers forced their way into the cockpit and overpowered the co-pilot.