The Omani co-pilot who attacked the pilot testified that he had 'always extremist tendencies'

The Omani co-pilot who attacked the pilot testified that he had 'always extremist tendencies'

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Shin-young = The U.S. CNN reported on the 1st (local time) that the first officer who attempted to intentionally crash a FlyDubai airliner has been transferred to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and is being investigated for possible links to terrorism.

According to the Saudi Ministry of Interior, the Indian pilot, Smit Machar, and the suspect, an Omani national, first received initial treatment in Saudi Arabia, where they made an emergency landing, and were then transferred to Abu Dhabi.

This is to understand why the first officer attacked the captain and attempted to take control of the flight. UAE authorities said they were investigating whether this incident had any links to terrorism.

The reason the investigation is being conducted in the UAE is because under international aviation law, jurisdiction over crimes that occur on board an aircraft is given priority to the country in which the aircraft is registered. Flydubai is a sister company of Emirates Airlines and its registered country is the UAE.

Although the clear motive for the crime has not yet been confirmed, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims that the suspect was a terrorist suspect, saying he was "brainwashed with Islamic extremist ideology."

US President Donald Trump also mentioned the possibility of links with Iran.

As a result of a preliminary investigation conducted by Saudi authorities, it was confirmed that the first officer assaulted the captain and both parties were injured, but it has not yet been revealed what exactly the weapon was used and whether there were any problems with the background check while the suspect became the first officer.

The identity of the co-pilot, who is said to be from Oman, is not exactly known, but people around him have testified that he always displayed extremist tendencies.