Disaster was averted on flydubai flight FZ1073 on Wednesday after passengers and crew subdued the co-pilot - identified as Omani national Hamam al-Hammami - who stabbed the captain in what Israeli officials say was an apparent attempt to crash the plane carrying 174 passengers and crew.
A reserve flydubai pilot crew travelling on the flight landed the plane at Tabuk airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia, where the co-pilot was detained by Saudi Arabian authorities.
Al-Hammami was named as the co-pilot on Saturday by three people with knowledge of the situation, including a Gulf and Western diplomat.
He was transferred on Thursday to the UAE, where a source said Israeli officials were expected to question him, but declined to say which Israeli agency or authority would take part in the questioning.
An Israeli government official told Reuters that Israeli investigators would take part in the UAE-led investigation alongside Emirati authorities, seeking to determine what happened and examine the suspect's motives and background.
The UAE foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Israeli officials would question the co-pilot.
The UAE state news agency reported on Thursday that Emirati authorities had opened an investigation seeking to establish the circumstances and motives and determine "whether the incident was linked to any terrorist activity or purpose, or involved prior planning or direction".
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that Israel was looking into whether the co-pilot had acted under anyone's direction, warning in a video statement released by his office that whoever was involved would pay a "heavy price".
Most of the passengers on board were Israeli nationals.
Netanyahu on Thursday said the co-pilot, whom he identified as an Omani national, had undergone radical Islamist indoctrination and was clearly suicidal, but a motive for his actions had not been established.
Israel does not have official diplomatic relations with Oman, and Netanyahu has said pilots from such countries were not permitted to operate flights to Israel. It was not clear how the co-pilot came to being assigned to the flight to Tel Aviv.
The aircraft plunged some 16,625 feet in just over 30 seconds as it flew over Saudi Arabia on the journey from the United Arab Emirates to Israel, according to data from flight tracker Flightradar24. The route is popular among Israelis.
The captain who was stabbed has been identified as Indian national Smit Machchhar, who has been hailed as a hero by Netanyahu and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Omani authorities have not commented on the incident.
The incident heightened security fears in Israel weeks before Israelis vote on October 27, in the first general election since the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, with Israel's security featuring prominently in the campaigning.
The US and Israel launched strikes against Iran in February, in a war that quickly spread to the Gulf and Lebanon, where Israel has been fighting Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
Since coming under attack by Iran this year, the UAE has strengthened its relationships with Israel, with which it opened ties as a result of the 2020 Abraham Accords.
- with AP
16°C