Reuters
source: Reuters
The co-pilot of a passenger jet who stabbed the captain in an apparent attempt to crash the plane as it flew to Israel had undergone radical Islamist indoctrination and was clearly suicidal, Israel’s prime minister said on Thursday.
Disaster was averted on Wednesday’s flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv after the wounded captain managed to unlock the cockpit door, allowing passengers to subdue the attacker. A reserve crew that had been aboard landed the plane, which had more than 170 people on board, at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia.
“We know that he underwent Islamist radical indoctrination. That appears to be something we are gathering from his personal information,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with Fox News.
Two Israeli security officials said Israel’s initial assessment was that the co-pilot, identified by Israel as an Omani national, was likely acting alone, though the investigation was still ongoing.
The flight plunged more than 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds during the incident as it flew over Saudi Arabia on the journey from the United Arab Emirates to Israel, according to the flight-tracking website Flightradar24.
