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The co-pilot is said to have attacked the pilot with an axe, according to the prosecutor general, as he attempted to take control of the aircraft.

The tool used is understood to have been a crash axe, which is kept in the cockpit for use in emergency for escape or rescue.

| REUTERS

Investigations will remain ongoing to determine motives and examine evidence.

According to Saudi Arabian state media, Al-Hammami was banned from flying last year due to concerns over his radical ideological views.

CNN reports that he was born in the UAE to Omani and Syrian parents. It is also said he has been working at Flydubai for eight months.

On Wednesday, September 30, Flydubai Flight FZ1073, travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv with 182 people on board, diverted over Jordanian airspace towards Saudi Arabia before suddenly plunging over 14,000ft in less than 30 seconds.

Passengers and crew, including an off-duty British pilot, managed to tie up and stop the alleged attacker, before stabilising and land the jet.

All passengers, including Al-Hammami, who is now in custody in Saudi Arabia, survived the incident.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Daily Mail he was “amazed” by the bravery of the passengers on board.

“If it wasn’t for the extraordinary courage and resourcefulness of this Israeli passenger,” he said. “The sewage plumber. He heard screams from the cockpit. He ran to the cockpit. The plane was already veering out of control. He was thrust to the side.”

Mr Netanyahu described how the passenger allegedly opened the cockpit door, “grab the attacker and pull him away” before grabbing the controls of the plane to “prevent the continuous slide down”.

He also praised the “extraordinary teamwork” of the passengers, describing the incident as “so improbable that it almost sounds miraculous, and in fact, it is miraculous”.

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