U.A.E. announces investigation into FlyDubai incident | CBC News
Will look for possible motive, any evidence of others being involved in planning
The United Arab Emirates prosecutor general has ordered an investigation into the stabbing aboard FlyDubai Flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv, which was diverted and landed in Saudi Arabia after a struggle in the cockpit, the state news agency reported Thursday.
The U.A.E. has started investigations that are seeking to establish the circumstances and motives, and to determine "whether the incident was linked to any terrorist activity or purpose, or involved prior planning or direction," the state news agency reported.
Emirati judicial authorities have jurisdiction over the case because the aircraft is registered in the U.A.E. and flies under its flag, the statement said, adding that U.A.E. law applies to crimes committed on board, even if they occur outside the country's territory.
Questions loomed over the motives and background of a co-pilot who stabbed the captain of the passenger jet. Israel officials have said it was an apparent attempt to crash the plane, which had more than 170 people on board.
One question is what weapon was used in the attack and, if it was a knife, how a pilot could transport it onto the aircraft without being detected.
How the mid-air struggle aboard a FlyDubai flight unfolded | Hanomansing Live
Disaster was averted on Wednesday after the wounded captain managed to unlock the cockpit door, allowing passengers to subdue the attacker and a reserve crew that had been on board to land the plane in Saudi Arabia.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacker was being investigated in Saudi Arabia, where the plane landed at Tabuk airport, and that he believed he would be taken to the U.A.E.
Israeli officials have identified the attacker as an Omani national. Omani authorities have not commented.
"We have constraints that say you can't have pilots from countries that don't have diplomatic relations with Israel. So obviously he was able to go through that," Netanyahu told Fox News on Thursday.
Saudi Arabia's Tabuk airport said Wednesday that both pilots had been hospitalized after sustaining injuries.
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- Will look for possible motive, any evidence of others being involved in planning
- The United Arab Emirates prosecutor general has ordered an investigation into the stabbing aboard FlyDubai Flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv, which was diverted and landed in Saudi Arabia after a struggle in the cockpit, the state ne
- The U.A.E. has started investigations that are seeking to establish the circumstances and motives, and to determine "whether the incident was linked to any terrorist activity or purpose, or involved prior planning or direction," the state
- Emirati judicial authorities have jurisdiction over the case because the aircraft is registered in the U.A.E. and flies under its flag, the statement said, adding that U.A.E. law applies to crimes committed on board, even if they occur outs
- Questions loomed over the motives and background of a co-pilot who stabbed the captain of the passenger jet. Israel officials have said it was an apparent attempt to crash the plane, which had more than 170 people on board.