FlyDubai hijack: Co-pilot accused of stabbing dubbed a ‘religious extremist’ who wouldn’t shake women’s hands

Investigations have been launched into how a knife-wielding co-pilot accused of religious extremism and who reportedly refused to shake hands with women was allowed into the cockpit of the packed Israel-bound passenger jet at the centre of a mid-air hijacking attempt.

Israel has vowed to get to the “root” ‌of the Omani co-pilot who engaged in a foiled attempt to crash the Tel Aviv-bound FlyDubai ‌flight as new reports emerged regarding the man who is also accused of brutally stabbing the captain of FZ1073 during the audacious murder-suicide bid.

“We’ll get to the root of this attacker, whether he had accomplices, whether Iran was behind it. I think we’ll find out very soon,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News.

Passengers and crew entered the cockpit, overpowered the co-pilot and enabled a second pair of FlyDubai pilots who were aboard the flight to land the jet safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, according to Israeli officials.

FlyDubai had said earlier the underlying reasons for the event remained unknown ⁠and warned against “premature speculation”.

However, a fellow pilot has told Israeli news outlet Channel 16 that the accused man was a religious extremist.

The station’s news anchor Yosef Yisrael said a colleague of the co-pilot had described him as “someone characterised by very strange behaviour, especially around religious observances that were out of step with his surroundings (at Flydubai). For instance, he used to pray a lot, and would not shake hands with women”.

Yisrael said he was also told by his source that the suspect “was someone characterised by very strange behaviour, especially around religious observances”.

Yisrael would not name his source but said he was remorseful about the episode and that the airline had “betrayed Israel”.

A regional official briefed on the investigation said the suspect, an Omani citizen, was under arrest and confirmed that Saudi authorities were working with countries, including Israel, to try to determine a motive. He said the UAE, the United States and Oman also were involved. The official did not describe the extent of Israeli involvement.

“All possible scenarios, from terrorism to mental disorders, are being looked into. Nothing is ruled out for now,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the probe.

Israeli intelligence and security officials were still investigating the co-pilot in Saudi Arabia, according to another regional official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

Saudi Arabia does not have formal diplomatic ties with Israel, but there is longstanding security and intelligence cooperation through alternative channels.

Video shot inside the plane by Shota Musayev, a dentist who treated the injured flight captain Smit Machchhar shows the co-pilot on his knees, with his hands tied behind his back. The co-pilot’s name still has not been released.

The UAE government said its investigation team had begun its work into the motive and “whether it was linked to any terrorist purpose,” adding that UAE law applies to crimes committed on board.

Capt Machchhar, widely praised as one of the heroes of the flight, was reportedly in stable condition, the Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia said overnight. The condition of the co-pilot was not clear.

Asked if there is any indication of Iranian involvement, Mr Netanyahu told Fox News “it’s too early to say.” The prime minister told CNN that Israel had received no specific warning.

US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that he and Netanyahu discussed the incident “at length” by phone and it seemed as though the co-pilot “was perhaps a terrorist or perhaps a whack job.”

with AAP