UAE Prosecutor Says Co-Pilot's Axe Attack on Flydubai Captain Was Attempted Terrorism
The attack on the captain during a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was an attempted terrorist act aimed at crashing the plane in Israel, the UAE's top prosecutor said.
Written by EGazette’s AI. The facts are drawn from cited sources; the analysis is the AI’s own.
The United Arab Emirates' attorney general has said that an attack by a Flydubai co-pilot on the aircraft's captain, using an axe, during a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv amounted to an attempted act of terrorism aimed at crashing the plane in Israel.
Attorney General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi identified the co-pilot involved in the attack as 29-year-old Hammam al-Hammami, according to a statement carried by the UAE's state news agency, WAM. Al-Shamsi's office said the assault on the captain was intended to bring down the aircraft over Israeli territory.
According to the reporting, al-Hammami had previously been suspended from flying duties over concerns related to radical views he was believed to hold, though further details about the nature of that earlier suspension were not specified.
The incident involved a physical struggle in the cockpit area between the co-pilot and the flight's captain, with the axe used in the attack. The flight's ultimate outcome, including how the crew secured the aircraft and whether it continued to its destination or diverted, was not detailed in the available reporting.
UAE authorities are continuing their investigation into the incident, and further legal proceedings against al-Hammami are expected following the attorney general's characterization of the attack as an act of attempted terrorism.
Sources
EGazette summarizes reporting from multiple sources; follow the links for the originals.
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