The Prosecutor General of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced on Thursday the creation of a team of specialized prosecutors to investigate whether the incident on Wednesday on a Flydubai flight, in which, according to Israel, a pilot attempted to crash the aircraft after stabbing his companion, had a terrorist background.
UAE Attorney General Hamad Said ordered evidence to be collected to clarify the circumstances of the flight FZ1073 between Dubai and Tel Aviv, determine its motives and find out if there was a “pre-planning or link to a terrorist activity or attempt.”
The court also clarified that it assumes the jurisdiction of the case because the aircraft flies under the Emirate flag, which allows its legislation to be applied to crimes committed on board even while abroad.
The incident occurred in the command cabin and forced the crew to intervene to take control of the aircraft and make an emergency landing at the Saudi airport of Tabuk, where several crew members had to be hospitalized.
According to Israeli officials and several passengers, one of the pilots struck his co-pilot and attempted to crash the ship.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said one of the pilots attempted to shoot down the aircraft after stabbing the co-pilot and named the incident an “attentat,” while his defense minister, Israel Katz, called it “a jihadist terrorist attempt.”
The intervention of the Emirati Prosecutor’s Office occurs a day after the UAE General Aviation Authority – which is now coordinated by prosecutors – called the incident a “security incident” and initiated the first searches.
For his part, the prosecutor-general urged citizens to “avoid speculation” in anticipation of official results, while Flydubai asked not to draw hasty conclusions on the causes of the altercation.
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