Flydubai co-pilot 'attacked pilot with axe in suspected terrorist attack', UAE says

A Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was diverted to Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia for an emergency landing after the co-pilot attacked the captain. The co-pilot, identified as Omani national Hamam al-Hammami, used an axe to stab the captain, according to Sky News. The captain, an Indian national named Smit Machchhar, was seriously injured but managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to overpower the attacker.

The United Arab Emirates prosecutor general described the incident as a terrorist attack. According to The Korea Times, al-Hammami had been barred from flying in Oman over concerns he had adopted extremist views. He had also been removed from a job at Oman’s national airline, and had spent time in Syria, raising concerns he may have been radicalized.

The flight, carrying 182 people, narrowly avoided catastrophe. Captain Machchhar, who is from Mumbai, has been hailed as a hero for his role in averting a disaster. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the suspect had undergone “Islamist radical indoctrination” and had attempted to crash the plane, as reported by Malay Mail.

Brief written by urgent.news from Sky News, The Korea Times, France 24, The Mainichi, Malay Mail — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.