In the hours since we learned about the attempted hijacking of a FlyDubai flight originating in the United Arab Emirates and flying to Israel, more background information on the Omani co-pilot and the attack on the captain is filtering out. Some of those details are distressing.
As RedState wrote on Thursday morning, during an interview on Fox News, "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated one thing they have learned: The co-pilot who attempted the takeover had undergone Islamic radical indoctrination and terrorist training."
The copilot who stabbed the pilot in the cockpit of FlyDubai flight 1073 was an Omani national who went through "Islamist radical indoctrination," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed in a Thursday interview with Fox & Friends.
"The attacker, the copilot who attacked the captain, is now being interrogated, but here's what we do know: First, we know that, he underwent Islamist radical indoctrination," Netanyahu told Fox & Friends.
"That appears to be something we're gathering from the information – his personal information," he added
Matt Vespa at our sister site Townhall has also written on the attack, with The New York Post reporting about the major red flags in advance about this pilot, including at the airport before the flight. The NYP reported:
The flydubai staffer accused of trying to hijack a plane carrying 174 people to Israel by stabbing the lead pilot was known as a religious extremist who refused to shake hands with women, according to a colleague.
The co-pilot responsible for what Israel’s defense minister called “a jihadist terrorist attack” Wednesday has not been named publicly, but was an Omani national who had worked for the airline for less than a year.
He was “someone characterized by very strange behavior, especially around religious observances that were out of step with his surroundings,” a fellow pilot told Israel’s Channel 16 journalist Yosef Yisrael.
“For instance, he used to pray a lot, and would not shake hands with women,” Yisrael said of what the pilot told him on the condition of anonymity.
The colleague claimed flydubai – a sister airline of Emirates – had “betrayed” the Jewish State by hiring the pilot who others have said seemed desperate to crash the plane in another 9/11.
“There is no other way to put it, we hired the services of a terrorist and nearly caused the deaths of 180 people,” the co-worker reportedly told the journalist.
“Usually only Emiratis fly to Israel. It is not clear how he got on this flight.”
In any case, he should not have been able to get through security heading to Israel while holding a passport from Oman, as Vespa added, and that lapse is being reviewed:
Investigators are also looking into how this pilot was able to board the flight: you must have a passport from a nation with diplomatic relations with Israel to land in the country.Oman is not on the list
As mentioned at the top, there is now more information emerging on Thursday evening.
A spokesman for Netanyahu said Israel has investigators on the way to the UAE, where the suspect has already been returned, in hopes of uncovering any conspiracy, including whether the pilot was told or ordered by someone to carry out the hijacking plot:
Israel is sending investigators to the United Arab Emirates to help determine whether anyone directed the co-pilot accused of trying to bring down the Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
David Mencer told “The Story” that Netanyahu confirmed the Omani suspect had been transferred to the UAE, allowing Israeli teams to join the UAE-led investigation.
“We'll get to know a whole lot more information now that he's in the UAE and we can join the investigation,” Mencer said.
Also in the Fox News update linked above, from information provided by David Mencer, was this frightening detail: the Omani pilot reportedly tried to sabotage the plane's controls during his move to take down the airliner.
Mencer also relayed a chilling account Netanyahu received from a passenger who entered the cockpit: The attacker was allegedly standing over the aircraft’s controls and using his feet to destroy them while attacking the captain.
“His objective was to bring down that airplane,” Mencer said.
This is a developing story. RedState will provide further updates as more information becomes available.
Editor's Note: Do you enjoy RedState's conservative reporting exposing the radical left and woke media? Support our work so we can keep bringing you the truth.
Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
Join the Conversation
VIP members get the ability to comment on articles.