Co-pilot who stabbed Indian captain was radicalized, suicidal: Netanyahu
What's the story
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed the co-pilot who allegedly tried to crash the flydubai plane traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv was radicalized and suicidal. The incident saw the co-pilot stab Captain Smit Machchhar, an Indian citizen, causing the plane to plunge thousands of feet before it was stabilized and landed safely at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia. He reportedly shouted, "Kill me, kill me" after being subdued and tied up with a headphone cord by "superhero" passengers.
Ongoing investigation
Investigation into co-pilot's motives
The attacker had allegedly been with flydubai for less than a year, but Netanyahu questioned how he was able to fly into Israel in the first place, considering the severe restrictions.
The co-pilot, an Omani citizen, has been moved to Abu Dhabi from Saudi Arabia after the incident.
Israeli officials may participate in the investigation led by the United Arab Emirates government.
The motives of the co-pilot and whether he acted alone remain unclear.
Radicalization theory
Islamist radicalization suspected
"He was an Omani national and we have constraints that say you can't have pilots...from countries that don't have diplomatic relations with Israel," Netanyahu told Fox News.
"Obviously there was a loophole here, and we're taking care of that, among other things," he vowed.
Netanyahu directly stated the possible Islamist radicalization of the co-pilot, saying, "We know that he underwent Islamist radical indoctrination."
He said this information was based on the man's "personal information" but did not elaborate further.
PM
'I don't make conclusions yet'
The PM further said it was clear that he was "suicidal."
"That's not a question," Netanyahu said, adding that it "looks very likely" the man meant to bring the plane down.
"If you couple that with what I just told you about the Islamist tendencies, that radicalization that are found in his background, I think that'll give us a pretty good clue," he said.
"But again, I don't make conclusions yet. But that's the indications we have now."
Vetting concerns
Concerns over security vetting process
The investigation is now looking into how the co-pilot cleared security checks since Oman and Israel do not have formal diplomatic relations.
An Israeli security official told CNN that Shin Bet, Israel's internal security agency, is responsible for vetting all airline staff flying into Israel from the UAE as part of a side security understanding linked to aviation agreements between the two countries.
It remains unknown if there was a failure in this process.
Trump
Trump suggests Iran link
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has suggested that Iran could be linked to the co-pilot "based on what I'm hearing" but did not provide further details.
"We're working on it right now," Trump said Thursday when a reporter asked if the co-pilot is linked to Iran. "They're being very open with us. I would say the answer, based on what I'm hearing, is yes. But we're working on it right now."