1 hr ago
Israel investigates flydubai cockpit incident as suspected jihadist attack
Israel is investigating a serious incident on a flydubai airplane.
An Israeli official said the second pilot may have tried to crash the plane.
Investigators do not yet know whether the pilot was part of a larger group.
They also said there is no information so far that the plane was being hijacked to another place.
Captain Smit Machchhar opened the cockpit door even though he was hurt.
Three passengers then entered and helped restrain the second pilot.
Relief crew members landed the plane in Saudi Arabia.
The aircraft later continued to Tel Aviv, and flydubai flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv were cancelled.
The investigation is still underway, so the exact motive has not been confirmed.
Israel is investigating the flydubai cockpit incident as a suspected jihadist terrorist attack.
An Israeli official said the second pilot may have tried to crash the aircraft, but no hijack plot has been identified.
Captain Smit Machchhar and passengers restrained the second pilot, allowing relief crew to land in Saudi Arabia.
More than 120 Israeli passengers were aboard the Emirati-owned aircraft, which later reached Tel Aviv.
Flydubai flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv remain cancelled while Israeli and Emirati investigations continue.
- Who
- Israeli and Emirati authorities are investigating the incident; the flight involved Captain Smit Machchhar, the second pilot and passengers.
- What
- A flydubai cockpit incident is being investigated as a possible jihadist terrorist attack, although no hijack plot has been identified so far.
- Where
- The aircraft was Emirati-owned, landed in Saudi Arabia after the incident and eventually reached Tel Aviv.
- When
- The investigation was publicly described on Thursday, shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the UAE.
- Why
- The initial Israeli assessment is that the incident was intended to disrupt Israel-UAE ties and the Abraham Accords, but the motive remains under investigation.
Israeli preliminary assessment
Unconfirmed elements
Nature of the incident
Israeli preliminary assessment
Israeli officials are treating the event as a possible jihadist terrorist attack targeting Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
Unconfirmed elements
The investigation is preliminary, and officials have not confirmed the final motive or whether the second pilot acted alone.
Possible objective
Israeli preliminary assessment
The initial Israeli reading is that the incident sought to disrupt the Abraham Accords and Israel’s normalization process with neighboring countries, particularly the UAE.
Unconfirmed elements
No independently confirmed evidence of that objective or of a wider network was provided.
Hijacking theory
Israeli preliminary assessment
The second pilot’s actions are being examined as a possible attempt to crash the aircraft with its passengers aboard.
Unconfirmed elements
The official said there was no information so far that the plane was being hijacked or taken elsewhere.
Key facts
- Investigation status
- Israeli and Emirati authorities are investigating the incident.
- Israeli assessment
- Officials are examining it as a suspected jihadist terrorist attack against Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
- Hijacking evidence
- Officials said there was no information so far that the aircraft was being hijacked to another destination.
- Passengers
- More than 120 passengers were from Israel.
- Aircraft ownership
- The plane was owned by the United Arab Emirates-based airline flydubai.
- Emergency landing
- Relief crew helped land the aircraft in Saudi Arabia before it eventually reached Tel Aviv.
- Flight cancellations
- flydubai flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv remain cancelled.
- Captain’s condition
- Captain Smit Machchhar was reported to be stable after treatment in Saudi Arabia and transfer to Abu Dhabi.
Quotes
Senior Israeli government official
Israeli official discussing the preliminary assessment of the flydubai incident
“The initial assessment is that the second pilot wanted to crash this aircraft with all passengers on board. There has been no information so far that the plane was being hijacked and being taken to another place.”
theprint.in
“We want to ensure that any information released is accurate, with preliminary investigations still on”
theprint.in
Sources
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