Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said the co-pilot who set upon the pilot had undergone “Islamist radical indoctrination” but did not elaborate.
A FlyDubai plane carrying Israeli passengers who had earlier been aboard another FlyDubai aircraft forced to make an emergency landing after a cockpit attack.
The United Arab Emirates has said it is leading the investigation into the episode, and FlyDubai’s service between Dubai and Tel Aviv has been suspended.
A passenger raises his arms in relief as he walks through the domestic arrivals doors with his dog and luggage at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv on Wednesday.
A routine flight turned terrifying when a violent altercation broke out inside the cockpit and the aircraft dropped 17,000 feet in two minutes. Passengers subdued a knife-wielding attacker.
Passengers of a FlyDubai aircraft that made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia were welcomed at Ben-Gurion International Airport in Israel on Wednesday.
The passenger, Miriam Ohayon, said people on board felt the jet lose control and heard screams. “When they opened the cockpit, there was a lot of blood,” she told Israeli television.