1 day ago
By Alexander Cornwell and Maayan Lubell
JERUSALEM, Oct 5 (Reuters) - The flydubai co-pilot who stabbed his captain in a suspected attempt to crash the plane has told UAE interrogators he planned the attack before he was hired by the Dubai state-owned airline, according to two Israeli officials with knowledge of the probe.
A third source briefed on the UAE probe said the co-pilot, an Omani national, had planned to crash last Wednesday's flight into Ben-Gurion airport near Tel Aviv. He had also operated a flight to Tel Aviv earlier this year and intended to hijack and crash the plane then, but opted not to, the source added.
It was not immediately clear why the co-pilot changed his mind on that previous flight, although the co-pilot is thought to have known someone onboard, the source said.
All of the sources spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the investigation. UAE and Israeli authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did flydubai.
#pilot #crash #flight #planned
JERUSALEM, Oct 5 (Reuters) - The flydubai co-pilot who stabbed his captain in a suspected attempt to crash the plane has told UAE interrogators he planned the attack before he was hired by the Dubai state-owned airline, according to two Israeli officials with knowledge of the probe.
A third source briefed on the UAE probe said the co-pilot, an Omani national, had planned to crash last Wednesday's flight into Ben-Gurion airport near Tel Aviv. He had also operated a flight to Tel Aviv earlier this year and intended to hijack and crash the plane then, but opted not to, the source added.
It was not immediately clear why the co-pilot changed his mind on that previous flight, although the co-pilot is thought to have known someone onboard, the source said.
All of the sources spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the investigation. UAE and Israeli authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did flydubai.
#pilot #crash #flight #planned
