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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Jessie Williams and agencies

Flydubai co-pilot used crash axe to attack captain, says UAE

Pilot Smit Machchhar smiles in uniform inside the flydubai aircraft cockpit
Indian pilot Smit Machchhar, the captain of flydubai flight FZ 1073, whose quick thinking was praised after the incident. Photograph: Israel's Foreign Ministry/AFP/Getty Images

The co-pilot of flydubai flight FZ1073 used an axe to attempt to carry out a “terrorist attack” during the Israel-bound flight, the United ⁠Arab Emirates prosecutor general has said.

Disaster was narrowly averted on Wednesday when passengers and crew intervened to stop the co-pilot’s attempt to take control of the plane, which had 182 people onboard and plunged 16,625ft in just over 30 seconds. The descent was so extreme that part of the rudder was ripped off.

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