Abu Dhabi/Male: Two pilots from the Maldives, employed by flydubai have been arrested by the police in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in connection with the alleged attempt by an Omani co-pilot to hijack and crash a Dubai-Tel Aviv flight on September 30.
Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar, who was the flight commander, was injured while foiling the suspected plot.
The two Maldivians were taken into custody on October 3, and their families have been formally informed of their detention by the Maldivian Embassy in the UAE, Maldivian news portal Adhadhu reported.
Authorities in the Maldives have declined to comment on the detention of the two pilots, the report said.
Officials in the UAE have also not released any details regarding the allegations against the detained Maldivian nationals or the status of the investigation into their possible involvement.
The arrests came as UAE authorities widened their investigation into the incident involving flydubai co-pilot Hammam al-Hammami, an Omani national, accused of attacking Machchhar with a fire axe in an attempt to take control of the aircraft and carry out a “terrorist attack”.
Hammami allegedly told investigators that he had planned to take control of the flight and crash it into a building in Tel Aviv in a 9/11-style attack.
The plane went into a dive when chaos was on inside the cockpit. Finally, things were brought under control by off-duty pilots who were travelling as passengers on the aircraft.
The Male-based Mihaaru newspaper has said that the two male pilots are believed to have interacted with Hammami at their workplace and lived in the same building as him.
Authorities, however, have not officially revealed the nature of their alleged links to the incident or disclosed details of the evidence against them.
The two are among the six Maldivian nationals working as pilots for flydubai and are reportedly the airline’s most recent recruits from that country, news portal edition.mv reported.
Flight FZ1073, which was carrying 174 passengers. Though Machchhar was seriously injured, he resisted the attacker and unlocked the cockpit door. This allowed crew members and passengers to rush inside, overpower the co-pilot, and assist in stabilising the aircraft.
The aircraft made an emergency landing at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia.
Officials in the UAE, who have the 29-year-old Hammami in custody, has described the incident as an attempted terrorist attack. They have also sought the death penalty for him. .
He was suspected of supporting extremist ideologies and that Omani authorities had previously barred him from obtaining a pilot’s licence, authorities in the UAE have said.
An investigation is underway into how al-Hammami was recruited by flydubai despite the reported restriction, as well as the motive behind the alleged plot.
The UAE Attorney General has said a comprehensive investigation is being conducted in coordination with regional security agencies to establish the circumstances of the incident and determine whether the accused had links with other individuals or groups, as reported by PTI.
India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) also registered a case last week to probe and unearth the larger conspiracy behind the mid-air attack on Machchhar.
The case was registered under the Anti-Hijacking Act and the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) earlier said that Machchhar was responding well to treatment following an operation at a hospital in Abu Dhabi.
The Indian Embassy in the UAE is in regular contact with Machchhar’s family, doctors, hospital officials and local authorities to monitor his condition.