Flydubai Attack Probe: Co-Pilot’s Two-Year Australia Stay on Student Visa Raises Security Questions

Australian security agencies are examining the background and connections of the flydubai co-pilot accused of attacking the captain and attempting to take control of an Israel-bound passenger flight, after details emerged about his previous stay in Australia, The Guardian reported.

The co-pilot reportedly spent about two years in Australia after entering the country on a student visa. The development has prompted Australian authorities to examine his links to the country as part of a broader international investigation into the September 30 incident.

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

His visa was subsequently cancelled in 2019 after authorities established that he was no longer enrolled in the course, the source said.

AFP, ASIO Investigate Australia Links

The Australian Federal Police said on Sunday that several Australian agencies, including the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, were investigating the co-pilot’s connections to the country, according to The Guardian.

The Australian inquiry is being conducted alongside a UAE-led investigation involving authorities in Israel and Saudi Arabia.

The alleged attack occurred aboard flydubai flight FZ1073 as it travelled from Dubai to Tel Aviv with more than 170 passengers and crew on board.

The co-pilot allegedly stabbed the captain and tried to take control of the aircraft. Passengers and crew members intervened and restrained him, preventing the alleged attack from escalating.

A reserve flydubai pilot who was travelling on the aircraft then landed the plane at Tabuk airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia. Saudi authorities detained the co-pilot before he was transferred to the UAE on Thursday.

Reuters reported, citing a source briefed on the investigation, that Israeli officials were expected to question the suspect. An Israeli government official also said Israeli investigators would participate in the UAE-led probe into the incident.

UAE Probe Focuses on Motive

Investigators in the UAE are seeking to determine exactly what happened aboard the aircraft, while also examining the co-pilot’s background and possible motive.

UAE state media reported that authorities were investigating whether the incident had any connection to terrorism, whether it was pre-planned or whether the suspect had acted under the direction of others.

Flydubai CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith said the airline was cooperating with the official investigation and urged patience while authorities establish the facts.

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

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was investigating whether the co-pilot had acted on someone else’s instructions. He warned that anyone found to have been involved would face a “heavy price” as the international probe continues.