Transportation Ministry reps to visit Dubai Sunday for briefing on flydubai attack probe

A delegation of representatives from Israel’s Transportation Ministry will depart for the United Arab Emirates later today to meet with local security and aviation officials in light of the attack aboard flydubai Flight FZ1073 in September, Hebrew media reports.

The delegation, led by Transportation Ministry director general Moshe Ben Zaken, will be briefed on the investigation into the September 30 attack before meeting with senior officials at Dubai International Airport.

The discussions with the airport officials will focus on preparations to reopen the Tel Aviv-Dubai flight route for international airlines, and on the possibility of Israeli airlines resuming flights to the Gulf state, Channel 13 reports.

Following the delegation’s visit, the Transportation Ministry will decide whether to allow flydubai to restart its flights to Israel.

The airline was barred from flying to Israel after the Omani copilot aboard Flight FZ1073 attacked the captain, Smit Machchhar, and attempted to crash the aircraft.

The plane plunged thousands of feet before several Israeli passengers burst into the cockpit, whose door Machchhar had managed to open, immobilized the terrorist copilot and initially stabilized the plane.

Two off-duty pilots aboard the flight then took over the controls and made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia before a replacement aircraft returned passengers to Tel Aviv.

Machchhar was seriously injured in the attack by the copilot, Hamam al-Hammami, who struck him in the back of the head with an emergency axe.