A Senior UAE Official Is Now Also Saying The Attempted Hijacking Of The Flydubai Plane Was An 'Act Of Terrorism'

A senior United Arab Emirates official also described the hijacking of the Flydubai plane this week as an "act of terrorism."

Anwar Gargash, adviser to President Mohammed bin Zayed, said in a social media publication that Smit Machchhar, the pilot who helped stop the incident, "embodied, before a dangerous terrorist act and a potential catastrophe, the true meaning of bravery and responsibility."

"His professionalism and ethics in the most somber circumstances make him an authentic hero. Far from simplifying what happened and promoting conspiracy theories, vigilance and caution continue to be a need upon the risks of extremism and terrorism," he added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said the Omani pilot who attacked hi co-pilot aboard a Flydubai flight had been radicalized and sought to crash the plane.

Speaking to Fox News, Netanyahu said Israeli authorities know that the pilot, whose identity is unknown, "underwent Islamic radical indoctrination."

He went on to say that it looked likely that "he was going to down the plane." "The Islamist tendencies, that radicalization that are found in his background, I think that's a pretty good clue," he added.

Two Israeli officials involved in the investigation told Reuters that the initial assessment is that the pilot was acting alone.

The other pilot recounted the incident in a new interview. Smit Machchhar said that as the co-pilot attacked and stabbed him, he realized that he had to keep fighting or everyone aboard the plane would die.

"In that moment, I was fighting for my life," Machchhar told India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a video call on Friday, according to CNN. "I was so severely wounded that I had fallen down... at that time, I was thinking, what if I don't get up?"

Machchhar was attacked by his co-pilot during the flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday. After passengers managed to subdue the attacker and stabilize the plane, the flight was diverted to Saudi Arabia.

During the assault on Machchhar, the plane plunged 17,000 feet toward the ground. The assailant was overpowered by other crew and passengers thanks in part to Machchhar, who, despite sustaining serious injuries, was able to get the door to the cockpit open.

Machchhar told Modi that he was lying on the ground, still being attacked, when he felt the plane in a nosedive.

"And I knew in that moment – one last push, Smit! Just do it. The door is right there," he said. "And even at that time, he was beating me up...And then I just opened it... and then everybody came."

"I was doing this for my life, but at the same time, I knew that I couldn't let everybody else die," he added.