The Omani co-pilot who attacked his captain on a flydubai aircraft bound for Israel did not use a smuggled weapon or cutlery but is believed to have used the 'crash axe,' a standard cockpit emergency fire axe. The assault forced the plane to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, where the injured Indian pilot, Smit Machchhar, is in stable condition.

The Omani co-pilot who attacked his captain on a flydubai aircraft bound for Israel did not use a smuggled weapon or cutlery but is believed to have used the 'crash axe,' a standard cockpit emergency fire axe. The assault forced the plane to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, where the injured Indian pilot, Smit Machchhar, is in stable condition.

The Omani co-pilot who attacked his captain on a flydubai aircraft bound for Israel did not use a smuggled weapon or cutlery but is believed to have used the 'crash axe,' a standard cockpit emergency fire axe. The assault forced the plane to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, where the injured Indian pilot, Smit Machchhar, is in stable condition.

The Omani co-pilot who attacked his captain on a flydubai aircraft bound for Israel, causing the plane to plummet dangerously and forcing it to land in Saudi Arabia, did not smuggle in a weapon or use one from the cutlery, as suggested by initial reports.

It has now emerged that Indian pilot Smit Machchhar may have been attacked with the "crash axe," a fire axe kept inside the aircraft's cockpit, according to a report by CBS News.

A crash axe is a standard emergency safety tool stored on the flight deck of an aircraft to help crew members escape wreckage or handle possible in-flight emergencies. The axe is usually secured in a special bracket or leather holster behind the co-pilot's seat or on the flight deck wall.

A pilot flying in the region but not for flydubai told news agency Reuters that pilots might have access to metal knives from a meal service or a crash axe available in most cockpits.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had also previously mentioned that the Indian pilot may have been attacked with the crash axe. In an interview with Fox News Channel, the Israeli PM stated that the crash axe may have been the weapon used by the attacker.

"On a flight from Dubai to Israel, as they were approaching Israel, there was an attack by one of the pilots against the other pilot. Apparently, he stabbed him, or he hit him with an axe. He was bleeding profusely," Netanyahu was quoted as saying.

However, passengers on the flight said they saw a man holding a knife while another lay injured, covered in blood.

Machchhar was covered in blood on the floor when he managed, with "the last moments of his energy," to click open the release on the cockpit door, The Times of Israel reported, quoting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's spokesperson Doron Spielman.

Meanwhile, officials in Dubai have confirmed that Machchhar is in stable condition and receiving treatment at a hospital in Saudi Arabia.

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