Saudi Arabia has begun an aviation safety investigation into last week's cockpit stabbing and alleged attempt to crash a flydubai aircraft, while a separate criminal probe is being conducted by the United Arab Emirates, according to a new report.
The flydubai co-pilot is in custody in the UAE after attacking the flight's captain, Smit Machchhar, with an axe and allegedly trying to seize control of the Israel-bound aircraft.
Saudi launches probe into flydubai incident
Saudi Arabia has informed aviation authorities in other countries that it plans to conduct a safety investigation into flight FZ1073 in accordance with international aviation rules, news agency Reuters reported, citing three people familiar with the matter.
The aircraft was flying through Saudi airspace when the co-pilot attacked Machchhar with an axe. Such safety investigations are routinely carried out after aviation accidents, but they are not mandatory when an incident is believed to have been deliberate.
One source told the news agency it was still uncertain whether Saudi authorities would make the findings of their investigation public.
The US national transportation safety board, which is expected to have a key role since the Boeing 737 MAX involved in the incident was manufactured in the US, confirmed that it had appointed a representative to the investigation.
{{/usCountry}}The US national transportation safety board, which is expected to have a key role since the Boeing 737 MAX involved in the incident was manufactured in the US, confirmed that it had appointed a representative to the investigation.
{{/usCountry}}The UAE has separately launched a criminal investigation into the incident, which its prosecutor general has described as a "terrorist attack". Under international aviation rules known as Annex 13, the UAE would also automatically participate in the safety investigation, since the aircraft is registered in the country and the airline is based in Dubai.
Nearly all of the 172 people on board were Israeli citizens. Israel has offered to participate in any Saudi-led safety investigation but has not yet been asked to join, Ofer Vaknin, director of the Aircraft Safety Investigation Authority, told Reuters.
flydubai ‘crash attempt’
Authorities in the UAE, along with Israeli and Saudi officials, were treating the attack by Omani co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami as a planned terror attack.
The injured captain managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers to enter and restrain the attacker. The aircraft later made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
The suspect was arrested and transferred to the UAE, where he remains in custody. Investigators are now also looking into possible failures in the process used to assess and clear the co-pilot.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a day after the incident that Israel has long-standing agreements with foreign airlines to prevent pilots from flying into the country if they are citizens of nations that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel.
Separately, officials have said al-Hammami had been barred from flying in Oman after authorities there raised concerns that he had adopted extremist views.
On Indian national Smit Machchhar’s health update, the Indian Embassy in the United Arab Emirates said on Tuesday that he was making “steady progress” and is “regaining his health”.
In an update last week, India's ambassador to the UAE, Deepak Mittal, said Machchhar was recovering well and was “smiling, laughing, chatting” while receiving treatment at a hospital in Abu Dhabi. Mittal met Machchhar and his family at the hospital and said the pilot was in a stable condition and receiving good medical care.
With inputs from agencies