Flydubai co-pilot planned suicide attack on Tel Aviv airport, prosecutor says

An Omani co-pilot operating Flydubai Flight 1073 planned to seize the plane and crash it into a terminal at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel on September 30, according to France 24, the South China Morning Post, Sky News, Reuters, The Times of Israel, and Ynetnews, citing the attorney general of the United Arab Emirates and state media. The United Arab Emirates prosecutor stated that the suspect intended to carry out a suicide attack inspired by the September 11, 2001 terrorist strikes in the United States to inflict maximum loss of life. [1][3][4][7][8][9]

France 24 reported that public prosecutors said the suspect had used two earlier flights to Tel Aviv to familiarize himself with the airport and the flight route. The co-pilot attacked the flight captain during the journey, but the fellow pilot thwarted the attempt to seize the aircraft, France 24 and the South China Morning Post reported. [1][3]

Flydubai Flight 1073 was a scheduled passenger service operating a Boeing 737 MAX 8 from Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates to Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel and serves as the country's main economic and technological hub. As FTMQ News reported earlier, the co-pilot attacked the captain with a cockpit crash axe, causing the plane to plunge 17,000 feet before passengers and bystanders intervened to help overpower the attacker. The flight then made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. [10][11][13][14]