The United Arab Emirates' chief prosecutor's office has ordered an investigation into an apparent attempt to hijack and crash a flydubai flight bound for Israel, authorities announced on Thursday.
The state news agency WAM said "the investigation team has launched its work into the incident already" and that the probe would seek to determine "the degree to which [the incident] was linked to any terrorist activity or intent."
The investigation will also seek to establish whether the incident was pre-meditated and planned with the involvement of other actors, or the work of a lone perpetrator.
The incident occurred the previous day, when passengers described rushing the cockpit to assist the pilot after he was stabbed by his copilot, who then put the plane into a steep dive in an apparent attempt to crash the airliner.
Aside from minor cuts and bruises among those who intervened in the cockpit, the passengers — the vast majority of whom were Israeli — were all unhurt.
The UAE has jurisdiction over the case because the aircraft is registered in the UAE and flies under its flag. Authorities noted that UAE law applies to crimes committed on board "even if they occur outside the country's territory."
The plane was over northern Saudi Arabia for the majority of the early-morning security incident. Tracking data suggests it briefly crossed into Jordan before turning around to make an emergency landing at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated in a television interview that the UAE would likely lead the investigation. "The attacking pilot is now being investigated in Saudi Arabia. I think he'll be taken to the Emirates, where he comes from, or at least where he left, where he flew off from, and we'll be following and possibly also participating in this investigation," Netanyahu said.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz described the emergency on the flight to Tel Aviv as "an attempted jihadist terror attack" that was thwarted.
The copilot, identified as Omani, has not been named publicly and his motive remains unclear. US President Donald Trump said, based on a conversation with Netanyahu, that he understood the suspect was "perhaps a terrorist or perhaps a whack-job." Asked about possible Iranian involvement amid the conflict in the Gulf, Netanyahu said "it's too early to say."
Israeli President Isaac Herzog announced plans to nominate four passengers for the Presidential Medal for Civil Courage — Israel's highest civilian award for heroism — in recognition of their actions during the incident.
Herzog named the four passengers as Yaniv Hayoun, Shota Musayev, Zvika Manes and Asaf Rajuan. He and Netanyahu spoke with the passengers upon their arrival at Ben Gurion Airport on a replacement flight late on Wednesday.
"You put yourselves at risk to save others and prevented a terrible disaster," Herzog told them. "Today, the whole world saw the beautiful and courageous face of Israeli society."
Musayev, a dentist who administered first aid to the severely wounded pilot, told Herzog that everyone on board had acted courageously. "We supported one another on the plane and also when we arrived in Saudi Arabia, and we took care of each other as we should," he said.
The Indian captain, Smit Machchhar, has received strong praise from both Netanyahu and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Passengers described how Machchhar fought off his attacker despite his wounds and was able to open the cockpit door to allow passengers in to assist him. He was reported to be in a stable condition at a hospital in Saudi Arabia.
