Co-pilot Who Tried to Crash Israel-Bound Plane Was Religious Extremist: Colleague

A colleague of the Omani co-pilot suspected of deliberately attempting to crash a flydubai passenger plane carrying Israeli passengers has testified that he frequently displayed religious extremist tendencies.

According to Israel's Channel 16 on the 30th local time, a flydubai pilot stated that the Omani co-pilot, who stabbed the Indian captain with a weapon, had joined the airline just eight months ago.

The colleague testified about the co-pilot in question, saying, "He prayed excessively all day long and even refused to shake hands with women," indicating that he held religious extremist views.

Earlier that morning, a flydubai Boeing 737 MAX passenger plane traveling from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to Tel Aviv, Israel, became the scene of an incident where the co-pilot stabbed the captain with a weapon and sent the aircraft into a steep dive.

The vast majority of the passengers, estimated at around 180 people, were Israeli.

At the time of the incident, as the co-pilot attacked the Indian captain, the plane plummeted from an altitude of 34,000 feet to 17,000 feet in less than a minute.

Amid a dire crisis as the aircraft spun violently and plunged downward, three Israeli passengers and a crew member smashed through the cockpit door and subdued the terrorist with their bare hands.

Two off-duty pilots who happened to be on board as passengers then took over the controls to barely stabilize the aircraft, diverting its nose to Tabuk Airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia for a safe emergency landing.

Although parts of the aircraft's tail rudder were damaged due to the impact of the rapid descent, all passengers were reported safe and arrived in Israel on a replacement flight sent by flydubai.

The brave passengers who subdued the weapon-wielding co-pilot met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu upon arriving in Israel to recount the harrowing ordeal firsthand.

It was confirmed that both the stabbed Indian captain and the Omani co-pilot subdued by the passengers are currently hospitalized in local Saudi hospitals.

The condition of the Indian captain is reportedly critical.

Saudi authorities are intensively questioning the suspect at the hospital regarding the exact motives and background of the crime.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz issued official statements defining the incident as a "clear terrorist attack attempt by a jihadist."

Israeli authorities believe the co-pilot attempted to take control of the aircraft and crash it in a suicide plunge along with all passengers, and they suspect it was a lone-wolf act without backing from a specific organization, according to Channel 12.

Immediately following the plane hijacking and deliberate crash attempt, Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke by phone with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and is also scheduled to discuss the matter over the phone with US President Donald Trump.

(Photo: Captured from social media X, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.