UAE: Flydubai copilot tried to carry out terrorist act

The United Arab Emirates's state-run news agency says a copilot, who stabbed a captain in the cockpit of a Flydubai passenger plane, was attempting to carry out a terrorist act.

The copilot, who is said to be a citizen of Oman, attacked the captain during a Flydubai flight from the UAE to the Israeli city of Tel Aviv on Wednesday. He reportedly attempted to crash the aircraft.　

The suspect was transferred to the UAE for interrogation.

The UAE news agency issued a report on Saturday. It cited judicial authorities as saying that investigations into the midair incident revealed that the copilot had tried to carry out an act of terror.

The copilot reportedly attacked the captain with a crash axe in a bid to take control of the aircraft. A crash axe is an emergency tool kept inside planes.

The agency says the investigators are working to determine the full circumstances, motives and any links related to the incident.

The Wall Street Journal has reported that the copilot "had previously been banned from flying by Oman over concerns he had adopted radical ideological views."

The US newspaper says that it is unknown whether Oman shared information about the suspect with other countries or airlines.

Experts on inflight security are warning that the incident reveals serious security flaws.

Security measures onboard the Flydubai plane are expected to be scrutinized.