Flydubai co-pilot planned attack on Tel Aviv airport, says UAE prosecutor

The UAE top prosecutor announced on Friday that the co-pilot of a Flydubai jet who crashed it into Tel Aviv's airport last week had intended to cause maximum casualties. According to the prosecutor's findings, the unnamed Omani co-pilot drew inspiration from Al-Qaeda's 9/11 attacks and carried out his plan with the goal of killing as many people as possible.

The co-pilot, who had made three previous trips to Tel Aviv, had used the earlier flights to plan the attack. During the incident, the pilot fought back when the suspect attacked him with an emergency axe and fought to regain control of the aircraft. Passengers and another pilot on board also helped rescue the injured captain and restrain the suspect.

The plane eventually landed safely at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia. Despite meeting all professional and security requirements, the co-pilot had not raised any red flags during routine checks, as he had passed all necessary background screenings. Israel and the UAE, which normalized their relations under the Abraham Accords in 2020, have stringent security checks for travelers to Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the passengers and the captain for their bravery in averting a potential catastrophe and ordered a review of all security aspects of foreign civil aviation to Israel in response to the incident.