UAE Labels Flydubai Mid-Air Stabbing An ‘Act Of Terrorism’ As Netanyahu Warns Of Very Heavy Price

Dubai: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has termed the Flydubai mid-air stabbing incident an ‘act of terrorism’, a day after ordering a formal probe into the brutal stabbing of an Indian pilot by the Omani co-pilot on board. The assessment was shared on Friday by Anwar Gargash, who is an adviser to President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, which has marked an important escalation in the official line. 

In a post on microblogging platform X, Gargash also praised Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar for preventing a catastrophe that saved 174 lives, saying Machchhar's professionalism and moral sense in the darkest circumstances have turned him into a hero.

Meanwhile, as the investigation progressed, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a stringent warning that Israel will inflict a very heavy price if there is any power behind the Flydubai incident.

Earlier, Saudi Arabian officials handed over the Flydubai co-pilot accused of stabbing the Indian captain during a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, as the investigating agencies try to establish the motive behind the mid-air attack. The co-pilot, identified as an Omani national, allegedly stabbed Captain Smit Machchhar during the flight on Wednesday morning. 

The attack caused panic in the cockpit, and hearing noises from the flight deck, the passengers and crew rushed into the cockpit and overpowered the co-pilot as the Boeing 737 plunged nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds. The sudden drop underlined how close the aircraft came to a major disaster.

A second pair of flydubai pilots who were aboard the flight, which was carrying over 170 passengers and crew, then took control and landed the jet safely in Saudi Arabia's Tabuk. 

Machchhar, who is currently stable, has now been taken to Dubai, where his condition is being monitored after the ordeal that the UAE now calls terrorism.