The co-pilot who attacked the captain with a weapon aboard a flydubai passenger flight bound for Israel attempted a terrorist attack, UAE authorities said on the 3rd local time.

According to the WAM news agency, UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi classified the incident as an attempted terrorist attack, stating that the co-pilot, who carried out the act mid-flight, attacked the captain with an emergency axe and attempted to take control of the aircraft's flight controls.

An emergency axe is an escape equipment kept in the cockpit to be used in emergency situations such as a crash.

In connection with this, U.S. broadcaster ABC reported that the co-pilot confessed to having the intention of intentionally crashing the aircraft.

According to the report, the co-pilot, identified as 29-year-old Omani national Hamam Al-Hammami, was extradited to the UAE and is undergoing investigation by local authorities.

Under international aviation law, jurisdiction over crimes committed aboard aircraft is preferentially granted to the state of registration. Accordingly, Al-Hammami was extradited on the 1st to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, where flydubai is registered.

Al-Hammami is reportedly cooperative with the UAE authorities' investigation and has stated his intention was to crash the passenger plane in Israel.

UAE investigative authorities have classified the incident as an attempted act of terror and are investigating the specific circumstances, motives, and presence of accomplices.

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu classified the incident as an act of terror by an Islamic radical, claiming, "He tried to crash the plane with passengers on board."

An Israeli government official told Reuters that an Israeli investigative team is also participating in the UAE-led investigation.

Meanwhile, Arab media outlet Al Arabiya reported, citing sources, that Al-Hammami was indoctrinated with extremist ideology while staying in Syria.

He also reportedly has a past record of being grounded from flying in Oman due to concerns over his radical ideological leanings.

Following such disciplinary action, he continued to work in an administrative role at Oman Air, and ABC reported that how he subsequently moved to the UAE airline flydubai and was deployed as a co-pilot on the security-sensitive UAE-Israel route is still under investigation.