Two Maldivian pilots employed by flydubai have been arrested by UAE police in connection with an alleged attempt by an Omani co-pilot to hijack and crash a Dubai-Tel Aviv flight, in which Indian Captain Smit Machchhar was injured while foiling the suspected plot, according to media reports.
However, authorities have not officially revealed the nature of their alleged links to the incident or disclosed details of the evidence against them. The aircraft made an emergency landing at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia. The duo were taken into custody on October 3, and their families have been formally informed of their detention by the Maldivian Embassy in the United Arab Emirates, Maldivian news portal Adhadhu reported. The UAE has described the incident as an attempted terrorist attack and identified the accused co-pilot as 29-year-old al-Hammami.
The arrests came as UAE authorities widened their investigation into the September 30 incident involving flydubai co-pilot Hammam al-Hammami, an Omani national accused of attacking the flight’s pilot, Machchhar, with an axe in an alleged attempt to take control of the aircraft and carry out a “terrorist attack”. The UAE Attorney General has said a comprehensive investigation is being conducted in coordination with regional security agencies to establish the circumstances of the incident and determine whether the accused had links with other individuals or groups.
No official details have so far been released by the UAE authorities regarding the allegations against the detained Maldivian nationals or the status of the investigation into their possible involvement.
