Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the president of the United Arab Emirates, on Friday described Wednesday’s apparent attempt to crash a Flydubai flight as a “terrorist act,” marking the first time an Emirati official has publicly used the term to characterize the incident while the investigation continues.
His remarks came a day after the investigation was transferred to Abu Dhabi and as Capt. Smit Machchhar, the Indian pilot injured in the cockpit attack, publicly recounted the moments in which he fought to regain access to the cockpit as the aircraft plunged.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks with pilot Smit Machchhar
(Photo: X)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel had received no specific intelligence warning or indication ahead of the incident and that the investigation into the motive was continuing.
He said investigators currently had no specific information linking Iran to the attack. “We will know very soon whether Iran had anything to do with it, but I cannot say that before the investigation is completed,” Netanyahu said. “We will get to the bottom of this attacker, whether he had accomplices and whether Iran was behind him. I think we will find out very soon. It is too early to say.”
Netanyahu said the suspect was being investigated and that Israel would follow the probe and “may also participate in it.”
Gargash made his remarks on X while responding to Machchhar’s account during a video conversation Friday morning with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“The Flydubai pilot deserves full appreciation,” Gargash wrote. “Faced with a dangerous terrorist act and a possible disaster, he embodied the true meaning of courage and responsibility. The professionalism and moral integrity he demonstrated under the most challenging circumstances make him a true hero.”
He added: “While avoiding interpretations or promoting conspiracy theories, vigilance and caution remain essential in confronting the dangers of extremism and terrorism.”
Israeli officials have differed in how quickly they have characterized the incident. Netanyahu has been cautious about drawing conclusions about the motive, while Defense Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday evening that the incident was an “attempted jihadist terrorist attack.”
The investigation into the attempted crash was transferred to the UAE on Thursday after both Machchhar and the Omani co-pilot were moved there from Saudi Arabia, where the aircraft made its emergency landing.
Israel had asked to participate as an observer in the investigations in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, but Riyadh did not agree. Following the co-pilot’s transfer to the Emirates, Israeli officials are now relying on close ties and security cooperation with Abu Dhabi in hopes of becoming as involved as possible in the investigation, even if only as observers.
Machchhar appeared publicly from the hospital Friday for the first time and spoke with Modi by video call.
“I had so many injuries that I collapsed. I’ve been a captain for 11 years. I know, even with my eyes closed, what is happening with the aircraft,” he said.
“When I fell, I felt the plane descending, the nose going down, and I knew these were the final seconds. I tried to crawl. I opened the door, and everything else happened immediately after that.”
Machchhar praised the medical treatment he received in both Saudi Arabia and the UAE, adding: “I realized that if I didn’t show courage, 170 passengers would lose their lives.”
Modi praised him in return.
“The entire country is praying for you. The courage, composure and calm you showed saved many lives,” the Indian prime minister said. “The country can proudly say Indians are not people who take lives, but people who are prepared to risk their lives to save others.”
A visibly emotional Machchhar replied: “You are my idol. I never thought I would have the opportunity to speak with you.”