UAE confirms the FlyDubai attacker and co-pilot used 'crash ax', tell me about this news today

The United Arab Emirates Prosecutor General confirmed that the co-pilot aboard a FlyDubai flight bound for Tel Aviv attacked the flight captain using the aircraft cockpit’s standard emergency crash axe in an attempted terrorist hijacking.

Key details reported on the incident:

• The Incident: FlyDubai Flight FZ1073 was en route from Dubai to Tel Aviv carrying over 170 passengers and crew members. Mid-flight, the co-pilot attacked Captain Smit Machchhar from behind with the cockpit’s onboard crash axe and attempted to force the aircraft into a steep descent to crash it.

  NDTV+ 1

• The Weapon: Commercial airliners exceeding certain weight and passenger capacities are legally mandated by aviation safety regulationsincluding UAE civil aviation rulesto keep an emergency crash axe inside the cockpit. The tool is intended for firefighters or pilots to cut through panels or escape jammed doors during emergencies.

  India Today+ 1

• How It Was Thwarted: Despite sustaining severe lacerations and stab wounds, the captain managed to unlock the armored flight-deck door. Off-duty crew and passengers rushed inside, subdued the co-pilot, and a relief crew member stabilized the jet. The flight safely made an emergency diversion to an airport in Saudi Arabia with no passenger fatalities.

  NDTV+ 1

• Attacker Background and Investigation: Investigators identified the co-pilot as Hamam Al-Hammami, an Omani national born in the UAE. Reports surfaced that he had previously been flagged for extremist views and dismissed from Oman Air before being hired by FlyDubai. UAE authorities have classified the incident as a targeted terrorist attack and are leading an international investigation into how the co-pilot cleared security vetting.

  CBC