Co-pilot hijacked a Flydubai flight with an axe in a thwarted terror-plot; investigation expands across UAE, Saudi, Israel.

The co-pilot was identified as Omani national Hammam al-Hammami. Read more at straitstimes.com.

The UAE statement did not disclose a motive for the attack or provide further details about the sequence of events inside the cockpit.

UAE investigators have said the co-pilot of a flydubai flight to Israel this week was planning a "terrorist act" and used the cockpit's emergency axe to attack the captain, but they did not reveal his motive.

The United Arab Emirates says the co-pilot on a FlyDubai flight that nearly crashed with 182 people on board attacked the captain with the cockpit’s crash axe in a “terrorist attack.”.