UAE Attorney General Dr Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said on Saturday that investigations into the incident involving Flydubai flight FZ1073 had revealed that the co-pilot had begun carrying out a terrorist operation after assaulting the captain in the cockpit and attempting to seize control of the aircraft during the flight.
Al Shamsi said the co-pilot began carrying out his plan using the emergency axe, known as a “Crash Axe”, to attack the captain in the cockpit before attempting to take control of the aircraft. The Attorney General said investigations were continuing to establish all the circumstances of the incident, its motives and associated links.
Further examinations and evidence-gathering in the investigation
The ongoing procedures include completing technical examinations and reviewing physical and digital evidence. The final findings will be announced once the necessary procedures have been completed. An informed source previously said that the co-pilot, who carried out the attack during a flight travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv, had been influenced by extremist ideas while previously in Syria.
The source added that Oman had previously barred him from flying after its authorities realised, according to the source’s account, that he held extremist ideas. The source said the co-pilot was Omani and was named Humam Al Hammami, and that he left Oman after being barred from flying before travelling to the UAE. These details remain attributed to the informed source pending the completion of the official investigation and the announcement of its final findings.
Details of the attack and the number of passengers on the flight
The incident took place on Wednesday aboard flight FZ1073, which was carrying 174 passengers in addition to the crew. Passengers and crew members managed to restrain the co-pilot after he attacked the captain, while Israeli officials described the incident as an obvious attempt to bring down the aircraft.
A Flydubai reserve pilot who was travelling on the flight took control of the aircraft and landed it at Tabuk airport in north-western Saudi Arabia. Saudi authorities detained the co-pilot after the landing before transferring him to the UAE on Thursday to complete the procedures and investigations related to the incident. Anwar Gargash, adviser to the UAE President, praised the Indian pilot, Sumit Matchar, who was attacked during the incident.
He said that, in confronting what he described as a “serious terrorist act”, the pilot embodied courage and responsibility and demonstrated professionalism and a sense of ethics in the face of a potential disaster.
Gargash called for caution against rushing to simplify the circumstances of the incident or embracing conspiracy theories about it, while stressing the importance of vigilance and precaution in confronting the risks of extremism and terrorism. UAE authorities are continuing to examine the technical, physical and digital evidence linked to the flight.
