Fresh details have emerged about the flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv, with Israeli media reports claiming that the captain who bravely fought off his Omani co-pilot was Indian.
While some reports say the captain was an "Indian national", others say that he was "of Indian origin".
It was this captain who heroically fought back against his co-pilot, despite being stabbed, and managed to prevent the flight from crashing, as per Israeli outlets YNET and Channel 14.
However, neither of the pilots involved—in what authorities had called a "violent clash"—have been identified as yet.
"We currently know that the plane was flown by an Omani crew member and an Indian crew member ... We are at the beginning of the investigation. We don't know who operated it, what is behind it," a report from Israeli media outlet Maariv said, citing security sources.
It added that the Mossad was currently investigating the flight scare, and further details would be out soon.
Notably, the terror angle has not been ruled out, with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir's initial analysis of the mid-air scare pointing to a possible terror incident so far.
The two options being examined are either the flight being crashed or hijacked, with unconfirmed rumours of a possible 9/11 plot emerging as well.
Pilots in civilian clothes, who had been travelling as regular passengers aboard the flydubai flight, were the ones who finally landed it safely at the Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia, saving the lives of the 180 people—mostly Israelis—onboard.
Airport officials told YNET that both pilots were hospitalised and are receiving treatment.
(More details are awaited.)
