New details emerge in connection with the attempted hijacking of a Flydubai plane
The Flydubai co-pilot suspected of attempting to seize control of the aircraft likely acted alone.
As 1news.az reports, this was announced by the CNN television channel, citing sources.
"International investigators are still working to establish his motive, however an official from Israel said that information obtained in the course of the investigation suggests that the suspect acted alone," the statement says.
In addition, the Associated Press agency, citing sources, reported that the authorities of the United Arab Emirates had handed over complete lists with the data of the passengers and crew members of the Flydubai aircraft that made an emergency landing on September 30, even before the incident itself.
The lists that were handed over contained, among other things, data regarding the citizenship of the pilots. Despite the fact that the co-pilot who attempted to seize control of the aircraft turned out to be a citizen of Oman, which has no diplomatic relations with Israel, the Israeli authorities did not convey any objections to the UAE authorities regarding the composition of the crew of the Dubai–Tel Aviv flight.
Earlier on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recalled that, according to agreements with foreign airlines, pilots from countries without diplomatic relations with the Jewish state must not fly into Israeli territory.
Commenting on the information about the lists that were handed over, Israeli Transportation Minister Miri Regev stated that her ministry had not received the list of passengers and crew members, since the screening was supposed to be handled by the Israeli security services. The head of the aviation security department of Israel's Ministry of Transportation, Dvir Rubinstein, noted that, as a rule, the Israeli authorities rely on checks by the security services of the countries to which an airline is registered, since abroad the capabilities of the Jewish state's agencies are limited.
On September 30, a Flydubai aircraft transmitted a hijacking signal and disappeared from radar screens. It later made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
According to preliminary data, the co-pilot tried to cause a plane crash, but the captain of the aircraft prevented him, though he was seriously injured. Passengers helped to neutralize the attacker. The Israeli authorities allow for the possibility that what happened could have been an act of terrorism.
