Washington: Saudi Arabian authorities have handed over the flydubai co-pilot accused of stabbing the flight’s captain during a midair attack to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Fox News reported on Thursday (local time).
The transfer comes as investigators race to establish the motive behind the terrifying midair assault aboard the commercial airliner, which was bound for Israel.
According to Fox News, the aircraft plunged thousands of feet following the stabbing of the captain before passengers stepped in to subdue the suspect. Other pilots onboard subsequently managed to regain control of the aircraft.
All 174 people on board survived the harrowing ordeal, while UAE authorities are actively investigating the incident, including examining whether the midair assault was linked to terrorism, Fox News reported.The development follows remarks by United States President Donald Trump earlier today, who said that based on preliminary information available to him, the flydubai co-pilot is linked to Iran, though officials are still actively investigating the matter, Fox News reported.
Speaking to a Fox News reporter while boarding Marine One, Trump was asked whether he had been briefed on a potential Iranian connection to the co-pilot.
“I would say the answer, based on what I’m hearing, is yes, but we’re working on it right now,” Trump said.
When specifically asked whether Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had placed the co-pilot there or if the individual had been radicalised through another route, Trump remarked, “It could have been,” as reported by Fox News.
His remarks come after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had earlier noted that it was too early to definitively confirm whether the co-pilot was linked to Iran.
Earlier, Michal Maayan, spokesperson for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, addressed questions regarding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statements on the co-pilot’s “Islamist radical indoctrination,” confirming that investigators are actively examining ideological motives, potential accomplices, and prior planning, though the inquiry remains in its initial stages.
“Earlier today, Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke about the Islamist radical indoctrination of the Omani pilot, and it’s absolutely an avenue we’re investigating. However, everything is still open and closely examined.
Unfortunately, we have a history of terrorist attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets for many years, so we are really looking into everything and trying to get to the bottom of what happened. It is still in the initial stages. The Prime Minister did mention that we have learned some information from the investigation, but I don’t have more I can share with you at this stage,” Maayan noted.
Previously in the day, Netanyahu confirmed that the co-pilot who attacked Captain Smit Machchhar on board the flydubai flight underwent radical Islamist indoctrination.
Speaking to Fox News, the Israeli PM said that the Pilot was currently being interrogated. Israeli investigators have joined the interrogation.
“The attacker, the co-pilot who attacked the captain, is now being interrogated. What we know so far is that he underwent Islamist radical indoctrination,” the Israeli Prime Minister said.
Netanyahu further revealed that from the initial investigation, it appeared that the Co-pilot was suicidal and was attempting to crash the plane.
“They had to use earphone cords to tie his hands and then used plastic cuffs. He is lying on the floor and he calls out to the crew, ‘kill me, kill me’. So, it is clear that he was suicidal and was going to down the plane,” Netanyahu told Fox and Friends.
The flight Flydubai FZ1073 was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv when the mid-air incident occurred. The pilot of the flight, Captain Smit Machchhar, was attacked by his co-pilot, who stabbed him and attempted to take control of the aircraft. Despite his injuries, Machchhar managed to unlock the cockpit door, enabling passengers and crew to intervene. The aircraft subsequently diverted and landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. The captain is now out of danger and is under medical observation in Abu Dhabi.
