FlyDubai co-pilot intended to crash plane into Tel Aviv airport, UAE says
UAE authorities have confirmed that a FlyDubai co-pilot attempted to crash a passenger flight into Tel Aviv's airport last month. The suspect, an Omani national, reportedly acted alone and was inspired by the September 11 attacks.
Why it matters
This incident highlights a significant security failure in aviation and raises concerns about the radicalization of airline personnel.
The axe-wielding co-pilot who attacked the captain of a FlyDubai flight to Tel Aviv last month intended to seize control of the aeroplane and fly it into the passenger terminal at Israel’s main international airport, authorities in the United Arab Emirates said. The suspect, an Omani national, did so “with the intention of causing the greatest possible number of human casualties”, the UAE’s top prosecutor said in a statement carried by the state news agency WAM. Most of the 174 passengers on the flight were from Israel. The statement said the co-pilot “drew inspiration” from the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States and used two previous flights from Dubai to Tel Aviv to “familiarise himself with the flight route and the airport”.
Also covering this story
10 other newsrooms covered this event. We read each version separately.
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