New Delhi: Israel is investigating the flydubai incident as a “jihadist terrorist attack” aimed against both itself and the United Arab Emirates, a senior Israeli government official said Thursday.
“The initial assessment is that the second pilot wanted to crash this aircraft with all passengers on board. There has been no information so far that the plane was being hijacked and being taken to another place,” the official added. “There is an investigation being done by Israel and the United Arab Emirates…There are three countries involved in the incident. Israeli authorities have begun investigations as over 120 passengers are from our country, the plane is Emirati owned, while it landed in Saudi Arabia.”
The initial reading within Tel Aviv remains that this was an incident aimed at disrupting the Abraham Accords, and Israel’s normalisation processes with its neighbours, specifically the UAE, with which it has developed a close partnership.
The senior official clarified that investigation into the motives of the second pilot, who is reported to be an Omani citizen, is still underway, and Israeli authorities are looking into whether he was acting alone, or as part of a larger network.
“We want to ensure that any information released is accurate, with preliminary investigations still on,” the official said, adding that the bravery and awareness of Captain Smit Machchhar to open the cockpit door, despite being injured, allowed for the attack to be stopped.
The official further highlighted that a relief crew was among the passengers on the flight, who helped land the aircraft in Saudi Arabia, before another set of crew from UAE landed, and the plane eventually reached Tel Aviv.
Currently, flydubai flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv remain cancelled. The official added that the Israeli government trusts its partners that proper vetting of personnel is being done, but whether there are any further steps that can be taken, will be accordingly clarified after the investigation.
The incident occurred just days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a visit to the UAE, and roughly a little over a week before the commemoration of the 7 October, 2023 attack on Israel.
The actions of captain Machchhar, allowed three passengers to enter the cockpit and restrain the second pilot. The relief pilots were then able to land the plane in Saudi Arabia. The Indian pilot, who flew with SpiceJet for over a decade before joining flydubai, has been hailed as a “hero” by Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Benjamin Netanyahu.
After receiving initial medical treatment in a hospital in Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk, Machchhar has now been shifted to Abu Dhabi for continued medical attention and recovery, according to a statement by the Union Ministry of External Affairs.
The Indian Ambassador to the UAE Dipak Mittal visited him in hospital to enquire about his well-being, while his condition is believed to be stable. Mittal, earlier, also met Machchhar’s family in the country.
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