Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has linked a deadly Flydubai incident to Islamist radicalisation.
In an interview with Fox News, Netanyahu said investigations suggest that the man – an Omani national – who stabbed a fellow pilot and attempted to seize control of a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv had undergone extremist indoctrination, potentially with a motive to bring the aircraft down.
The aircraft, FZ1073, plunged more than 17,000 feet two hours into the journey. Passengers and crew then overpowered the attacker and retook control, eventually landing safely at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia. The emergency landing followed a brief entry into Jordanian airspace and an emergency code logged by the flight deck.
Israel’s intelligence services, led by Mossad, are probing the incident, while the United Arab Emirates has begun investigations to determine whether a terrorist motive was involved. The attacker was taken into custody in Saudi Arabia and is expected to be transferred to the UAE for further questioning.
Both Netanyahu and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar as a hero. India’s ambassador to the UAE, Deepak Mittal, visited the pilot, who is reported to be in good health and recovering well.
The event has prompted Flydubai to suspend flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv, and the Israeli Transportation Ministry has ordered airlines to refrain from operating such routes pending further inquiry.
The incident underscores broad concerns over aviation security in the Middle East, especially after a set of factors – including regional tensions and growing extremist activity – have placed the sector in a precarious position.
