Crash axe used in flydubai attack on pilot

Witness footage shows passengers panicking when their flydubai plane suddenly loses altitude during a cockpit altercation. ( Reuters )

The co-pilot who attempted to down a flydubai flight to Tel Aviv has been identified as Hammam al-Hammami, an Omani national who had been barred from flying, over possible extremist views.

Initial investigations have uncovered the use of a crash axe, a tool typically used in emergencies, in the mid-flight attack.

A joint investigation between Emirati and Israeli officials will scrutinise possible terrorist motivations and whether he had acted under the direction of anyone else.

The co-pilot of flydubai flight FZ1073 attempted to carry out a "terrorist" attack during the flight, the United Arab Emirates prosecutor general said on Saturday, according to the state news agency WAM.

The co-pilot attacked the pilot inside the cockpit with a crash axe and attempted to take control of the aircraft, the prosecutor general said.

A crash axe is typically kept in the cockpit for use during emergencies such as crashes.

Benjamin Netanyahu meets "heroes" who intervened on a flydubai flight bound for Israel. ( Rueters via Amos Ben Gershon, Government Press Office )

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