flydubai pilot who tried to crash plane stabbed captain underwent radical Islamist indoctrination: Israel PM Netanyahu

A day after a mid-air attack on a Tel Aviv-bound flydubai flight put the lives of around 180 passengers, most of them Israelis, at risk, Benjamin Netanyahu said the co-pilot who allegedly stabbed Indian captain Smit Machchhar had undergone Islamist radical indoctrination after Israel called the incident an attempted terror attack, with the UAE also probing this angle.

Speaking to Fox News, Netanyahu said the co-pilot was currently being interrogated and that investigators would determine within days whether he had any links to Iran.

“We know that he underwent Islamist radical indoctrination,” Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu added that authorities would investigate the attacker’s background, including whether he had any accomplices and whether Iran was involved.

“The attacker, the co-pilot who attacked the captain, is now being interrogated,” he said.

The identity of the co-pilot has not been officially disclosed. He is reportedly an Omani national and was arrested after flydubai flight FZ1073, travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv, made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

Asked about a possible Iran connection, Netanyahu said Israel would seek to establish whether the co-pilot had acted alone or had been supported by others.

“We’ll get to the root of this attacker, whether he had accomplices and whether Iran was behind it. I think we’ll find out very soon,” he said.

Colleague describes accused attacker co-pilot as ‘religious extremist’

According to  Israel’s Channel 16 news, a fellow flydubai pilot described the alleged attacker as a “religious extremist”.

The pilot reportedly claimed that the co-pilot had joined flydubai around eight months earlier, prayed excessively throughout the day and refused to shake hands with women. These claims are attributed to the fellow pilot and have not been independently established as the motive behind the incident.

Flydubai has said that the underlying reasons for the incident remain unknown and warned against premature speculation while the investigation continues. The Times of Israel reported that the airline suspended flights to and from Israel amid the probe.

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