Flydubai confirmed that all pᴀssengers were safe and said that another crew member took over, bringing the plane to a safe landing. The airline also temporarily suspended flights to Israel while the investigation continues.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the co-pilot, an Omani citizen, showed signs of radicalization and appeared to have suicidal intentions. “It appears he underwent a process of radical Islamic indoctrination. That’s what we gathered from his personal information,” Netanyahu told Fox News.
However, this ᴀssessment is not the final conclusion of the UAE investigation. According to Reuters, citing two Israeli security officials, Tel Aviv’s initial ᴀssessment is that the co-pilot may have acted alone.
According to i24NEWS, intelligence agencies Mossad and Shin Bet are also involved in verifying whether any organization or country was behind the incident, including the hypothesis that Iran was involved. Israel is also reviewing the security procedures that allowed a pilot with an Omani pᴀssport to fly the flight to the country.
Netanyahu said that Indian pilot Smit Machchhar and several pᴀssengers managed to subdue the co-pilot, preventing a disaster. Israeli President Isaac Herzog later announced that the five Israeli pᴀssengers who helped subdue the suspect would be awarded medals.
According to Flightradar24 , the plane had been descending rapidly during the incident. Pᴀssenger Miryam Shira Ohayon described the plane as “almost out of control” as the event unfolded over Jordan. “The co-pilot tried to kill the captain and basically carried out a suicide attack on the plane,” she recounted.
The incident occurred amid continued high tensions between the US and Iran. In an interview with Time magazine on October 1st, Trump left open the possibility of resuming airstrikes on Iran after the US midterm elections in November.
The Wall Street Journal also reported that the U.S. is considering increasing its military presence in the Middle East, potentially deploying the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and thousands of troops to the region. It is unclear whether the additional forces will replace or supplement the existing U.S. forces.
Meanwhile, senior Iranian officials told Reuters on October 1 that Tehran is preparing a stronger response if the U.S. resumes large-scale attacks.
