Co-Pilot Used Crash Axe in Attempted Terrorist Attack on Israel-Bound Flight, UAE Says

The United Arab Emirates prosecutor general said Saturday that the co-pilot of Wednesday’s Israel-bound flydubai flight attacked the captain with a crash axe and tried to seize control of the aircraft in an attempted terrorist act.

Attorney General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said investigators had established that the co-pilot began executing his plan inside the flight deck of flight FZ1073, which made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Sept. 30 after passengers and crew intervened.

The findings, announced by Emirati state news agency WAM on Oct. 3, provided the clearest account yet from UAE prosecutors of the attack aboard the aircraft, which was carrying 172 passengers from Dubai to Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport.

Al Shamsi said investigators were working to establish the full circumstances, motives, and any links related to the incident, while completing technical examinations and analyzing physical and digital evidence.

The final results will be announced once all necessary procedures have been completed, he said.

‘The Last Push’

The aircraft plunged nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds during the struggle inside the cockpit before passengers and crew subdued the co-pilot. Two reserve pilots aboard the flight subsequently landed the plane safely in Tabuk, in northwestern Saudi Arabia.

The badly injured captain, Smit Machchhar, told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a video call on Friday that he used his remaining strength to unlock the cockpit door so others could intervene.

“When I was lying on the floor, I could feel that the aircraft was plunging, and I said to myself while I was getting beaten, ‘This is the last push Smit, do it, the door is right there.’ Somehow, I opened the door, and everyone came in,” Machchhar said.

“I was trying to save myself, but I also knew that I can’t let anyone die.”

Flydubai, a UAE-based carrier, confirmed in a statement Thursday that an altercation occurred on the flight deck and said on-duty crew members secured the aircraft, diverted it to Saudi Arabia, and landed safely.

‘New Warning’

Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, said Saturday that the attack was a sign that the region’s struggle with extremism remained unresolved.

“The latest terrorist operation is a new warning that the confrontation has not ended,” Gargash said in a post on X, in which he called for “no tolerance for extremism and no leniency toward its discourse.”

His remarks followed a Friday tribute to Machchhar, whom he praised for helping avert a catastrophe despite being seriously injured.

The captain “showed the meaning of courage when he confronted a dangerous and potentially catastrophic act of terrorism,” Gargash wrote on X.

“His professionalism and moral sense in the darkest of circumstances make him a true hero.”

Motives Under Investigation

The captain and co-pilot were transferred from Saudi Arabia to Abu Dhabi on Thursday after receiving medical clearance, accompanied by an Emirati security team, according to the Saudi Interior Ministry.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu identified the suspect as an Omani national during an Oct. 1 interview with Fox News, alleging he had undergone “Islamist radical indoctrination.”

Netanyahu said it appeared “very likely” that the co-pilot intended to crash the aircraft with everyone aboard, while cautioning that investigators had yet to reach final conclusions.

In a separate Fox News interview, Netanyahu said the inquiry would examine whether the suspect had accomplices and whether Iran was involved.

Asked by reporters on Thursday whether there was a possible Iranian link to the incident, U.S. President Donald Trump said: “I would say the answer, based on what I’m hearing, is yes, but we’re working on it right now.”

Trump separately told reporters on Wednesday that he had discussed the incident at length with Netanyahu and that it appeared the co-pilot was “perhaps a terrorist or perhaps a whack job.”