Flydubai co-pilot plotted ‘suicide’ attack on Israel, UAE says

Authorities in the United Arab Emirates say the co-pilot who tried to seize control of a Flydubai aircraft on September 30 was on a “suicide” mission to crash the plane at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv. Emirati public prosecutors believe the plan “drew inspiration from the 9/11 attack”, Attorney General Hamad ⁠⁠Saif al-Shamsi said in a statement carried by state news agency WAM on Friday, referring to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. WAM reported al-Shamsi’s comments as well as updates on what Emirati investigators had discovered about the alleged plot after launching an inquiry into the incident on October 1.