Australia, New Zealand probe Flydubai pilot's time there
The Flydubai pilot from Oman suspected of trying to crash a plane in Israel spent time in Oceania as a young man. Police in both Australia and New Zealand said they would investigate his links to the countries.
Australian and New Zealand security agencies are probing the whereabouts of the co-pilot of Flydubai flight FZ1073 during his youth, according to reports. The Omani national is currently in custody in the United Arab Emirates, accused of assaulting his pilot, Smit Machchhar, with an emergency ax in the cockpit, attempting to hijack the plane, and crashing it intentionally in Israel.
Machchhar and the passengers managed to thwart his actions, leading to a near-vertical descent lasting around 30 seconds before the plane made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
RMIT University in Melbourne revealed that the suspect had enrolled at the institution in Victoria but did not complete an engineering qualification. The Australian Federal Police confirmed that the Victorian Counter Terrorism Team, comprising federal police, Victorian state police, and ASIO intelligence agency, is investigating the man's connections to Australia. The suspect reportedly arrived in Australia on a student visa in 2014, enrolled in 2015, left in 2017, and had his visa canceled in 2019.
New Zealand authorities also stated that the suspect spent time in the country, though they did not specify the location or timeframe. New Zealand Police Assistant Commissioner Michael Johnson informed the RNZ news outlet that the investigation is ongoing, alongside other relevant agencies. They declined to provide further details at this time.
Written by urgent.news from DW News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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