Israeli officials to question co-pilot of flydubai flight, source says

MOTIVE NOT YET ESTABLISHED

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that Israel was looking into whether the co–pilot had acted under anyone’s direction, warning in a video statement released by his office that whoever was involved would pay a “heavy price”.

Most of the passengers on board were Israeli nationals.

Netanyahu on Thursday said that the co–pilot, whom he has identified as an Omani national, had undergone radical Islamist indoctrination and was clearly suicidal, but that so far a motive for his actions had not been established.

Israel does not have official diplomatic relations with Oman, and Netanyahu has said pilots from such countries were not permitted to operate flights to Israel. It was not clear how the co–pilot came to be assigned to the flight to Tel Aviv.

The aircraft plunged some 16,625 feet in just over 30 seconds as it flew over Saudi Arabia on the journey from the United Arab Emirates to Israel, according to data from flight tracker Flightradar24. The route is popular among Israelis.