The United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities announced on the 3rd (local time) that a co-pilot who attacked the captain with a weapon on a Flydubai passenger flight bound for Israel has been investigated for attempting a terrorist attack.

According to WAM news agency, UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi classified the incident as a terrorist attack, stating that the co-pilot, who carried it out during the flight, attacked the captain with an emergency axe and attempted to take control of the aircraft.

An emergency axe is an evacuation tool kept in the cockpit for emergency situations such as crash accidents.

In connection with this, U.S. broadcaster ABC News reported that the co-pilot admitted to having the intention of intentionally crashing the aircraft.

According to the report, the co-pilot, identified as 29-year-old Omani national Hammam Al-Hammami, was extradited to the UAE and is undergoing investigation by local authorities.

Under international aviation law, jurisdiction over crimes committed on board an aircraft is primarily granted to the state of registration; accordingly, Al-Hammami was extradited on the 1st to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, where Flydubai is registered.

Al-Hammami is reportedly cooperative with the UAE authorities' investigation and has stated that he intended to crash the passenger plane in Israel.

The UAE investigative authorities have classified the incident as a terror attempt and are investigating the specific circumstances, motives, and presence of accomplices.

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu classified the incident as a terrorist act by an Islamic extremist, claiming, "He tried to crash the aircraft with passengers on board."

An Israeli government official told Reuters that an Israeli investigative team is also participating in the UAE-led investigation.

Meanwhile, Arab media outlet Al Arabiya reported, citing sources, that Al-Hammami was imbued with extremist ideology during his stay in Syria.

He also reportedly has a past record of being grounded in Oman due to concerns over radical ideological tendencies.

Following such disciplinary action, he continued to work in an administrative position at Oman Air, but how he subsequently moved to the UAE airline Flydubai and was deployed as a co-pilot on the security-sensitive UAE-Israel route is still under investigation, according to ABC News.

[Copyright (c) Global Economic Times. All Rights Reserved.]