FlyDubai co-pilot, whose plane almost crashed, banned from flying by Oman over extremism concerns

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The FlyDubai co-pilot who officials say failed crashed on a flight to Tel Aviv with 182 people on board was banned from flying to Oman, his native country, over concerns he had espoused extremist views, a person familiar with the matter said Saturday.

The co-pilot was later hired by the UAE-based airline, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation. It was not immediately clear to what extent he was vetted when he was hired at the Emirates. Oman’s decision to ban the co-pilot from flying was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

The attack left the region’s travel industry in crisis, raising questions about aviation security and further disrupting a Middle East already shaken by US-Iranian War. A regional investigation is underway.

The United Arab Emirates has canceled all flights to Israel, complicating travel for hundreds of passengers who travel between the countries on a typical day. Israel and the United Arab Emirates have agreed on repatriation flights, starting Friday, to bring back passengers stranded in the United Arab Emirates after the suspension of commercial travel between the two countries, according to an Israeli official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The first repatriation flight left the United Arab Emirates shortly before 11 p.m. and landed in Tel Aviv shortly after 1 a.m., according to the Ben Gurion International Airport website.

The airport listed carriers Arkia and Israir with flights expected to arrive from Dubai early on Saturday. El Al was scheduled to transport passengers from Dubai to Israel on Sunday.

Dubai has been a popular destination for Israelis since Israel and the United Arab Emirates established relations in 2020 under the Trump administration’s agenda. Abraham Accords normalize relations between Israel and Arab countries.

Attacks raise questions about extremism

American President Donald Trump told reporters that initial information he had received suggested links between the attack and Tehran but did not give details. Trump also said that if it was determined that Iranian agents were behind the attack, the United States would do so. “Hit them really hard. »

Israeli investigators are involved in the probe but the Emiratis are in the lead, according to an official who was not authorized to speak to the media and spoke on condition of anonymity. It is unclear whether the attacker was part of a group, the official said, adding that there is currently no evidence of a link to Iran.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the co-pilot had suffered “Islamist radicalization” but provided no evidence to support the claim.

“We are currently investigating whether it was sent, and whoever sent it will pay a very heavy price,” Netanyahu said in a video message on Friday.

The UAE’s senior diplomatic adviser, Anwar Gargash, on Friday called the FlyDubai attack a “dangerous act of terrorism” in an article on X. He credited the captain for preventing a catastrophe.

The moment is a test for the UAE government, which has built a reputation for putting effective measures in place against extremist activity but has also bristled in the past at criticism over security failures.

“The Emiratis are going to want to protect their reputation,” said Jon Alterman, chair of the Global Security and Geostrategy Department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “They think people should think of them as a very safe place, not a place that has serious flaws.”

FlyDubai flight plummets to 15,000 feet

Details of the heartbreaking flightwhose other crew members on board landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday, continue to emerge.

Smit Machchharthe injured captain who was hailed as one of the heroes of the flight, and the co-pilot were transferred from Saudi Arabia to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, the kingdom said.

Machchhar is recovering in a hospital in Abu Dhabi. He spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a televised video call on Friday. describe the terror he coped after being attacked in the closed cockpit.

“I had so many injuries. I had fallen,” he said, his head bandaged, as he burst into tears. “I was fighting for my life. At some point I realized that if I didn’t get up… then the passengers would lose their lives.”

The first signs of trouble emerged after more than two hours of flight when the plane suddenly dropped to 16,600 feet – the steepest drop in altitude recorded by data tracking platforms. But moments before the dive, passengers seated near the front of the plane heard sounds of fighting inside the cockpit, said passenger Daniel Schlichter, seated in the second row.

Seconds later, it climbed to 21,725 ​​feet before quickly falling back to 15,000 feet, which it maintained until its safe landing more than an hour later.

“The plane started to descend very quickly and we all moved backwards, as if gravity was pulling us backwards,” Schlichter said. The children’s screams when the plane went down, he added, were “horrible.”

“One of the things I’ll never forget is the kids screaming,” Schlichter said. “I could hear the children shouting: ‘We don’t want to die! We don’t want to die!’ »

The captain managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers to enter and restrain the attacker as the Boeing 737 – with 174 passengers and eight crew members, most of them Israelis – descended sharply.

The passengers wrestled the co-pilot from the cockpit to the floor of the main cabin where they tied his hands with headphones. They placed the injured pilot inches away and a dentist treated his injuries. Both Schlichter and the dentist, Dr. Shota Musayev, said there were no knives or other weapons visible in the front of the plane.

“I could see all the blood on the ground and I couldn’t believe he would still be alive because he had so many injuries,” Schlichter said of the captain.

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Madhani reported from Jerusalem. AP writers Sally Abou AlJoud in Brussels, Sam Metz in Ramallah, West Bank, Konstantin Toropin in Washington, Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City and Anna Johnson in Washington contributed to this report.