Flydubai Attack: Co-Pilot’s Two-Year Stay in Australia on Student Visa Under Security Lens

Australian security agencies are investigating the background and connections of the flydubai co-pilot accused of attacking the captain and attempting to seize control of an Israel-bound passenger aircraft.

After it emerged that he spent around two years in Australia on a student visa, The Guardian reported.

The investigation adds another international dimension to the probe into the September 30 incident involving flydubai flight FZ1073, which was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv with more than 170 passengers and crew members on board.

According to a source familiar with the case cited by The Guardian, the co-pilot was granted an Australian student visa in 2014 and travelled to the country in 2015 to begin a university course. He remained in Australia until 2017.

The source said the visa was later cancelled in 2019 after Australian authorities established that he was no longer enrolled in the course.

Australian Agencies Examine Co-Pilot’s Connections

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) said on Sunday that several agencies, including the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), were examining the co-pilot’s links to Australia, The Guardian reported.

The probe comes alongside investigations by authorities in the UAE and Israel, while Saudi Arabia was involved after the aircraft made an emergency landing at Tabuk following the alleged attack.

The incident occurred while FZ1073 was flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv. The co-pilot allegedly stabbed the captain and tried to take control of the aircraft.

Passengers and members of the crew reportedly intervened and restrained him, preventing the situation from escalating further. Israeli officials have described the incident as an apparent attempt to crash the aircraft.

A reserve flydubai pilot who was travelling on the flight subsequently landed the aircraft at Tabuk airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia. Saudi authorities detained the suspect before he was transferred to the UAE on Thursday.

Reuters, citing a source briefed on the investigation, reported that Israeli officials were expected to question the co-pilot as part of the wider probe. An Israeli government official said Israeli investigators would participate in the UAE-led investigation with Emirati authorities.

Investigators Probe Motive and Possible Planning

Authorities in the UAE are examining the circumstances of the incident, the suspect’s motives and his background. State media reported that investigators were also seeking to establish whether the incident had any connection to terrorism, whether it was planned in advance or whether the suspect had acted under outside direction.

Flydubai CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith said the airline was supporting the official investigation and urged that the process be allowed to establish what happened.

“It is important that we allow this process to establish the facts,” Al Ghaith said, while acknowledging that there were “many questions” surrounding the incident.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was also examining whether the co-pilot had acted at the direction of another person.

Netanyahu warned that those found to be responsible for the incident would face a “heavy price” as investigators continue to establish the motive, planning and possible links behind the alleged cockpit attack.