Flydubai Hijacker Was Suicidal and Radically Indoctrinated, Netanyahu Says

The co-pilot of a Flydubai flight to Tel Aviv stabbed the captain in an apparent attempt to crash the plane, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday.

Netanyahu stated in an interview with Fox News that the co-pilot "underwent Islamist radical indoctrination" and was "clearly suicidal." He added, "It looks very likely that he was going to down the plane." The prime minister indicated that the co-pilot was an Omani national, and investigations were underway in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to determine the motive and if there was any wider involvement.

Disaster was averted on Wednesday's Flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv when the wounded captain managed to unlock the cockpit door, allowing passengers to subdue the attacker. A reserve crew aboard then landed the plane, which had more than 170 people on board, at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia. The flight had plunged more than 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds during the incident over Saudi Arabia, according to flight-tracking website Flightradar24.

Israeli security officials initially assessed that the co-pilot was likely acting alone, though investigations are ongoing. The United Arab Emirates has launched its own investigation into the circumstances and motives, seeking to determine if the incident was linked to terrorist activity. Israel's envoy to the UAE stated it was too early to draw conclusions.

Netanyahu also commented on the possibility of Iranian involvement, stating it was too early to say but that they would "get to the root of this attacker, whether he had accomplices, whether Iran was behind it."

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz had previously described the co-pilot as a terrorist who aimed to crash the plane, while Netanyahu characterized it as a "serious security incident."

The incident occurred weeks before Israelis vote in an election where security has been a prominent campaign issue, especially following the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attacks.

Netanyahu and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have praised the flight's captain, Smit Machchhar, an Indian national, as a hero. Israeli President Isaac Herzog announced that five Israeli passengers who helped overpower the attacker would receive "heroism" awards. One of the passengers, Yaniv Hayoun, described pulling the attacker out of the cockpit and attempting to level the plane, drawing on knowledge from plane crash investigation documentaries.