UAE investigates potential terrorist plot behind Saudi cockpit brawl

The United Arab Emirates is now looking into whether a terrorist plot was behind a violent fight inside a cockpit that forced a jet to crash-land in Saudi Arabia. The country's chief prosecutor, Attorney General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi, has ordered a team of public prosecutors to probe the midair brawl on Flydubai flight FZ1073. Emirati state news agency WAM broke this report Thursday.

That plane was flying from Dubai International Airport toward Tel Aviv Wednesday when things went sideways. The crew had to turn back and set down safely at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia. Investigators are checking the motive, looking for any signs of prior planning or direction, and asking if the act fit a pattern of "terrorist activity or intent," WAM said again.

Al Shamsi made it clear that UAE law covers what happened inside the cabin because the aircraft is registered there and flies under its flag. Crimes on board are subject to investigation even when they happen outside national borders. This stance puts legal weight directly on anyone who steps onto a Flydubai plane with intent to harm.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he talked with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The two leaders agreed that Israel would join the interrogation of the suspect. Netanyahu praised the Indian captain, Smit Machchhar, and the passengers for stopping what could have been a disaster after the co-pilot allegedly stabbed him.

People on board said they felt trapped in midair when the injured pilot opened the cockpit door so others could rush inside. Witnesses described how they wrestled with the attacker while trying to keep the plane steady during a steep descent that tore the rudder off the jet. One responder, Asaf Rajuan, shared this new statement via Israel's presidency: "We felt helpless, suspended in midair, and I didn't know who to turn to. But it was all instinct to survive."

Israel's foreign ministry confirmed passengers came from Israel, India, and the UAE. The US State Department added that four travelers held American citizenship. Flydubai has said it will suspend its flights to and from Israel right now.