An Israeli investigation into the attempted hijacking of a Flydubai plane heading to Tel Aviv

The journalist added, quoting a colleague of the attacker’s source who preferred to remain anonymous: “His religious practices were out of the ordinary in his work environment at Flydubai. For example, he prayed a lot and refrained from shaking hands with women.”

The source, who expressed remorse, added that Flydubai “betrayed Israel,” saying: “There is no other way to describe the matter. We employed the services of a terrorist and he almost caused the death of 180 people. Usually only Emirati pilots fly to Israel, and it is not clear how he was allowed to join this flight.”

These statements come at a time when Israel is investigating how an Omani religious extremist, suspected of carrying out a kidnapping attempt described in the media as the “Israeli September 11,” obtained a permit to fly a plane bound for Tel Aviv. On Wednesday morning, the attacker attacked his colleague in the cockpit and tried to control the Flydubai plane, which was flying at high altitude on a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv.

The situation escalated when passengers and crew members confronted the attacker and were able to restrain him, after the plane dropped sharply by 14,000 feet in just 29 seconds, while Captain Smit Machchar was lying on the floor of the cockpit, drowning in his blood after sustaining a serious stab wound. It is believed that a British pilot who was on leave was among those who helped save the situation.

The Israeli authorities are now studying how this suspect, an Omani citizen, was approved to fly towards Tel Aviv, knowing that the Sultanate of Oman does not maintain diplomatic relations with Israel, and foreign airline crews entering its airspace are subject to strict control. Following the incident, Flydubai suspended all flights to and from Israel pending investigations.

In the details of the flight path (No. FZ1073), its course was diverted on Wednesday morning over Jordanian airspace before landing at Tabuk Airport in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The plane sent a general emergency signal using the "Squawk" code 7700 while making a turn on the border between the two countries, and then briefly broadcast code 7500 while flying over Saudi Arabia, which is the code that indicates illegal intervention or a hijacking.

A person who heard the distress call made by the crew to air traffic control described how the pilot’s voice was trembling as he called “Mayday,” confirming that there had been a kidnapping and the urgent need for ambulances.

Reports indicated that the Saudi authorities initially refused to grant the plane permission to land and directed it towards Jordan, where it was asked to wait to obtain approval from the Jordanian army before it was also refused entry. The pilot then returned to Saudi airspace and insisted on the necessity of landing in Tabuk, without air traffic control authorities providing any explanation for the initial refusal.