flydubai’s flight FZ1073, which plunged 16,000 feet in about 30 seconds before being levelled out and landing safely, would have felt like a “vertical roller coaster”, according to an aviation instructor who recreated the descent in a flight simulator for Reuters.
Oman has yet to comment on the incident. US President Donald Trump has praised the Boeing jet for withstanding the severe forces put on it during the incident. The plane was levelled out after passengers overpowered the co-pilot, before a reserve crew of pilots onboard landed the plane.
The co-pilot of the flydubai jet, which was bound for Israel from Dubai, attacked the pilot with an emergency crash axe, the United Arab Emirates prosecutor general said on Saturday, calling the incident a “terrorist attack”. flydubai says the circumstances surrounding the incident are still under investigation and it cannot comment further. Using a simulator to recreate the incident, Paduanelli said the aircraft’s autopilot disconnected before the plunge began, causing the jet to accelerate rapidly. An Australian Federal Police spokesperson said on Sunday that authorities there were investigating al-Hammami’s “links to Australia”. A source briefed on the investigation said the co-pilot studied at a university in Melbourne.
UAE authorities did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation of his identity. Reuters could not independently reach al-Hammami for comment.
The co-pilot was identified as Hammam al-Hammami, an Omani national, two sources with knowledge of the investigation told Reuters.
