UAE Prosecutor's Office: Flydubai pilot planned to crash the plane into the airport terminal
The co-pilot of a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv planned to crash the airliner into the passenger terminal of Ben Gurion Airport. UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif Al-Shamsi stated this, citing investigation data.
UAE Prosecution: Flydubai pilot planned to crash plane into airport terminal
According to DW, the Attorney General stated on October 9 that the suspect — a 29-year-old Omani citizen — intended to carry out a terrorist attack.
According to AFP, the detained pilot told investigators that he prepared the attack alone and aimed to kill as many people as possible.
Al-Shamsi noted that the suspect had passed all necessary security checks before joining Flydubai. He had submitted a pilot license and a criminal record clearance certificate. However, the background checks did not reveal his extremist views or intention to commit a terrorist act.
The incident occurred on September 30 on a Dubai–Tel Aviv flight. Following a signal regarding an attempted hijacking, the Boeing 737 MAX 8 made an emergency landing at the airport in the city of Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
There were 174 people on board the airliner, including 27 children. Most of the passengers were reported to be Israeli citizens.
During the struggle in the cockpit, the aircraft lost 4,305 meters of altitude — dropping from 9,410 meters to 5,105 meters — in 29 seconds.
Some passengers said that shouts were heard from the cockpit at first. Then the door opened, and it became known that one of the pilots was injured. Crew members and passengers managed to neutralize the attacker.
The plane's commander, Indian citizen Smith Machchar, was seriously injured in the attack and hospitalized in Saudi Arabia.
In a video call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said that after realizing the plane was rapidly losing altitude, he gathered all his strength to open the cockpit door.
"I was lying on the floor, injured. But I made a final effort and told myself I had to open the door from the inside. I tried to crawl. The door was very close. I managed to open it, and the others entered," The Telegraph quoted him as saying.
Modi praised the pilot's actions as an example of courage, resilience, and quick decision-making that saved many lives.
One of the passengers, dentist Shota Musayev, provided assistance to the injured commander.