By Tom Ozimek
Contributing Writer
A senior United Arab Emirates official described the attempted hijacking of an Israel-bound Flydubai flight as a “terrorist act,” as investigators examined the attack that was foiled when passengers subdued the co-pilot who had stabbed the pilot and tried to wrest control of the plane.
On Friday, Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, praised Indian captain Smit Machchhar for helping avert a catastrophe aboard the Wednesday flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, when the gravely injured captain managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to intervene.
In a Friday post on X, Gargash said the pilot “showed the meaning of courage when he confronted a dangerous and potentially catastrophic act of terrorism,” according to a translation of his Arabic remarks.
Describing the pilot’s actions as heroic, the UAE official said that the risks of extremism and terrorism should be met with vigilance and caution.
“His professionalism and moral sense in the darkest of circumstances make him a true hero,” Gargash wrote.
Flight FZ1073 was carrying 174 passengers when the aircraft plunged nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds.
Two reserve pilots aboard the aircraft managed to land the plane safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, after the wounded captain opened the cockpit door and passengers rushed onto the flight deck to subdue the attacker.
“When I was lying on the floor, I could feel that the aircraft was plunging, and I said to myself while I was getting beaten, ‘This is the last push Smit, do it, the door is right there.’ Somehow, I opened the door, and everyone came in,” Machchhar told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a video call Friday.
“I was trying to save myself, but I also knew that I can’t let anyone die.”
Gargash’s praise for the injured captain’s bravery followed the opening of a UAE investigation into the attack, including whether it involved terrorist motives or planning.
The captain and co-pilot left Saudi Arabia for Abu Dhabi on Thursday after receiving medical clearance, accompanied by an Emirati security team, according to the Saudi Interior Ministry.
With the suspect in the UAE, Israeli investigators “can now join the UAE’s investigation team,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesman David Mencer told Fox News.
Netanyahu told Fox News that the suspect was an Omani national who had undergone “Islamist radical indoctrination.”
The Israeli prime minister added that the rogue co-pilot “very likely” intended to crash the plane with everyone onboard, although he cautioned that this was a preliminary determination that would need to be confirmed in due course of investigation.
Israeli security officials said that they expect the UAE to allow Israeli investigators to question the co-pilot and take testimony from the captain. They said the transfer of the two men to the UAE should help clarify the circumstances surrounding the attack after Saudi authorities refused to allow Israel to participate in the inquiry.
The officials said the working assessment, based on Mossad’s investigation and updates from the Saudi inquiry, is that the attacker acted alone, driven by an independent nationalist motive after undergoing religious radicalization over the past year.
Senior Israeli officials criticized Saudi Arabia’s refusal to let Israeli investigators participate in questioning the co-pilot. They said Saudi authorities treated the passengers very well but opposed a joint investigation because it could be perceived as a back door toward normalization of diplomatic relations with Israel.
UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi ordered a specialist prosecution team to gather evidence and determine the circumstances and motives behind the incident, according to Emirati press agency WAM.
Al Shamsi said that the investigation is ongoing and urged the public not to jump to any conclusions until the probe runs its course.
