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The pilot behind Wednesday’s suspected terror attack on a FlyDubai plane bound for Israel was an Omani national who had worked for the airline for less than a year, according to reports.
Israeli officials are investigating whether the suspect — who has yet to be officially identified — held dual citizenship, given the strict travel restrictions between the two nations, sources in the Jewish State told Channel12.
Oman has no diplomatic relations with Israel, and Omani nationals must obtain a visa before entering the Jewish State.
The co-pilot started working for FlyDubai just months before he allegedly stabbed the main pilot in a feared terrorist hijacking on Wednesday’s flight to Tel Aviv, leaving it plunging 18,000 feet, sources told Channel 12.
Only pilots with passports from countries that have diplomatic relations with Israel are allowed to land in the country under the terms of the deal.
This stipulation is also in FlyDubai’s agreement with Israel, according to the Jerusalem Post. The Emirates sister airline only flies to Tel Aviv.
Miri Regev, the Israeli government’s transportation minister, called for the country’s Civil Aviation Authority to investigate whether the United Arab Emirates has breached its aviation agreement with Israel, the Times of Israel reported.
“This is a clear breach of the agreement,” a Transportation Ministry source told the Jerusalem Post — saying that Israel’s Security Agency “must look into this.”
Regev has also called for suspending future FlyDubai flights bound for Tel Aviv. UAE officials are yet to comment.
The plane was cruising at around 34,000 feet when it suddenly dropped 18,000 feet in minutes as a struggle ensued in the cockpit, resulting in the lead pilot being attacked.
The flight issued two distress squawk codes – one being a 7500, which signals a hijacking – before making an emergency landing at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia, a military airport in the kingdom.
The attacker and the injured pilot have since been hospitalized, according to reports in Saudi Arabia, cited by Channel12.
