Flydubai Attack Probe: Omani Co-Pilot’s Online Posts Under Investigation

International probes into the mid-air security alert on the Flydubai flight have disclosed that an Omani co-pilot had leaflets and publications from pro-Palestinian and “Free Palestine” groups in their possession, Israel's i24 News reports, quoting an Emirati source.

The pilot had previously voiced his support for Palestinians and opposition to Israel, i24 News reports.

This is in line with the continued investigation into the co-pilot's radicalisation of Islam and potential underlying terrorist intent.

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In the interim, the Jerusalem Post quoted sources connected with the investigation, and reported that the Omani co-pilot was not a second nationality holder. Questions were raised as how a national without diplomatic relations with Israel, was cleared to fly the route.

The situation on September 30 was one of terror in which an Omani co-pilot of a Dubai-based Flydubai jet allegedly stabbed the commander in an attempt to shoot down the aircraft. The bluster and fighting brought the plane to a rapid descent, ranging down about 16,000 feet in two minutes and before the pilot could send a hijacking distress call.

Though the attacker had dealt Captain Smit Machchhar with heavy blows, he had fought back with all his might. The crew succeeded in regaining control of the aircraft with the help of the flight crew and passengers, who had broken in to the flight deck to restrain the attacker. The plane then landed safely in an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia and all 180 passengers safely evacuated the aircraft.

Since the mid-air breach, more information about the valiant acts of the captain and international investigations has come to light. At the time of the attack, the service was closing in on Israeli airspace, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who told CBS News. The co-pilot, whose lanyard had been unhooked, was able to lower himself of the cockpit and two non-duty pilots on board took charge and made a successful emergency landing in Tabuk.

The name of the co-pilot hasn't been publicly released, but an Omani official confirmed to CBS News that the attacker was born in Oman and has Omani citizenship, although Muscat has not officially stated this publicly. In the horrid moments in the cockpit, Prime Minister Netanyahu told Fox and Friends that crew members used earphone cords and plastic cuffs to secure the attacker.

He is lying on the floor and he's yelling out to the crew, “kill me, kill me.” To CBS News, he described the incident as “like a suicide attempt,” a clear sign that he was suicidal and destined to crash the plane, Netanyahu said.

To provide more context, the Israeli Prime Minister spokesperson, David Mencer, revealed during his appearance on the Fox News daily news show, “The Story”, that Netanyahu had acquired “full testimony” from a passenger who sat in the cockpit with the flight attendants.

“That pilot wasn't in the pilot's seat,” said Mencer. “He was standing over the controls. Using his feet to destroy the controls of the aircraft, while attacking that Indian pilot.” “His goal was to shoot down that plane,” Mencer added.

In interviews with Fox News, Netanyahu also said that “personal information” gathered in the course of the ongoing interrogations had allowed the authorities “to conclude that the co-pilot was subjected to Islamist radical indoctrination.” Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz has previously described the incident as “an attempted jihadist terror attack,” dubbing the co-pilot a “terrorist.”

US President Donald Trump meanwhile hinted that the co-pilot may have links to Tehran, saying this “is based on what I'm hearing.”

Mr Trump said that he was working on it "right now. “They're very open with us, I would say the answer, based on what I'm hearing is yes, but we're working on it right now.”

His comments were more than Netanyahu made to Fox, who told him it is “too early to say” whether Iranian involvement existed. An Israeli security official told CBS News that investigators were looking into the possibility that the incident was a “seventh attempted September 11,” as well as looking into whether the attacker was working alone. Netanyahu has issued warnings in the past about the growing security threats against Israel and its assets in the wake of the continued operations against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

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The suspect was immediately arrested and moved to United Arab Emirates. A high-level Israeli source told CBS News that UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan told Netanyahu himself that he expects the Saudi authorities to hand over the co-pilot to the UAE. Israeli investigators have been sent to the UAE to participate in the investigation from within and help determine if other actors are behind the attack.

Channel 12 in Israel released the footage showing the confusion on the flight, as it attempted to crash into the ground but failed thanks to the efforts by the captain Smit Machchhar and passengers. The video, which was shot from a seat close to the cockpit, shows people yelling at the man to take him out, sit down and that he tried to crash the plane. As soon as police teams arrived after the emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, passengers told ground staff that the co-pilot “is a terrorist.”

Netanyahu earlier lauded the “tremendous act of heroism” by Captain Machchhar, who was injured and still managed to open the door to the cockpit as he “fought for his life” to prevent what could have been a “9/11-like” crash.

Meanwhile, India's Ambassador to the UAE Deepak Mittal said that Captain Smit Machchhar was in a ‘stable condition and recovering good’ in a hospital in UAE. Ambassador Mittal interacted with the captain and his family while visiting the and gave the report that the morale of Machchhar is high and he was “smiling and also laughing.”

After visiting the hospital, the envoy told Prasar Bharati that he had praised Captain Machchhar as a "brave son of India" for his brave action during the mid-air situation that saved hundreds of lives and prevented a big disaster.

Meanwhile, on regional travel issues, Israel's flagship airline El Al reported that repatriation flights planned, with the aim of bringing home stranded citizens, were cancelled after the United Arab Emirates cancelled its permission for the flights to land there.

According to The Times of Israel, the UAE had withdrawn its clearance as did the Transportation Ministry, which at first said that the delays were expected but the trips would continue anyway.

The company said in the advisory, which was widely promoted on El Al's social media channels, that it was forced to cancel at this stage its rescue flights (LY974-1, LY972) for Friday, October 2, due to the cancellation of its approval to land in Dubai in Israel as reported by authorities in Israel.

The announcement said that services were planned to continue to operate as usual in the coming week, but that was the last week when everything was booked.

The official cancellation came following long talks between high-ranking Israeli and Emirati officials that did not result in final pacts and authorizations for Israeli airline aircraft to land in the country, Channel 12 reports.

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