Flydubai incident: Co-pilot stopped flying in Oman due to suspected extremism

The co-pilot who is said to have injured the pilot of the Flydubai flight to Tel Aviv was no longer allowed to fly in Oman, according to media reports. ABC News reports that the man was suspended by his former employer, Oman Air, after being deemed a security risk. CNN also reported that the man lost his job at the airline due to concerns about extremist views.

The Saudi Arabian news channel Al-Arabiya wrote that the authorities in Oman had determined that the man held extremist views. Accordingly, he also stayed in Syria for a while.

According to ABC News, the man was found to have extremist material when he was employed by the airline as a co-pilot trainee in 2024. However, he was therefore allowed to continue working there in an administrative role.

Emirati authorities assume an act of terrorism

Meanwhile, the Emirati Attorney General said the co-pilot had planned an “act of terrorism”. He attacked the pilot with the emergency ax in the cockpit on Wednesday on the flight from Dubai to Israel, the authorities said. The man attempted to take control of the aircraft by attacking the cockpit.

The co-pilot seriously injured the pilot, but he said he managed to open the cockpit door. Several passengers were able to overpower the attacker. The Israeli government had previously stated that it was assuming a jihadist terrorist attack.