DOMINANT ANGLE
Bogotá relays the Emirati prosecutor's account as an investigation timeline: a 9/11-inspired attack plot, silent background checks on radicalization, and a statement that does not implicate the company.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi claims the co-pilot wanted to crash the plane on the September 30 flight into Ben-Gourion Airport, in an attack inspired by 9/11.
- 02
The Dubai–Tel Aviv flight was carrying 174 passengers, mostly Israelis; the plane dropped 4,900 meters in 30 seconds before landing in Saudi Arabia.
- 03
According to the prosecution, the recruitment process revealed no indication of the co-pilot's extremist views, which were radicalized in Australia through online readings and content.
ANALYSIS
Bogotá, October 10, 2026. The Colombian press is covering the Flydubai case based on a single source, the conclusions made public on Friday, October 9, by the Attorney General of the United Arab Emirates, Hamad Saif Al Shamsi. El Colombiano and La República have drawn up a news story centered on what the prosecution says.
According to El Colombiano, the Omani co-pilot who attacked the captain during the September 30 flight wanted to crash the plane into Tel Aviv airport, in an attack inspired by 9/11. The flight had left Dubai with 174 passengers, mostly Israelis. The Medellín daily reports that the resistance of the Indian pilot and the reaction of the passengers made it possible to regain control, and that the plane made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. It quotes the suspect's alleged goal: "to cause the greatest possible loss of life".
La República, an economic newspaper, reprints the agency dispatch with more operational details. The co-pilot was aiming for a terminal at Ben-Gurion Airport; he would have used two previous flights to Tel Aviv to "get familiar with the route and the airport", according to the official WAM agency. Over Saudi airspace, he struck the captain with a safety axe. The plane dropped 4,900 meters in 30 seconds before the aggressor was subdued and two other pilots on board landed the plane without incident. The criminal investigation was opened on October 1.
One point is repeated in both texts: recruitment. The prosecutor asserts that the man met the professional and security requirements, with a license, certificate of good conduct, and required checks, and that "none of the procedures revealed any indications" of his extreme opinions. La República notes that the statement does not appear to implicate Flydubai in any wrongdoing and that the company has not responded immediately.
El Colombiano adds two contextual elements: according to the prosecution, the co-pilot became radicalized in Australia through reading extremist literature and online content glorifying terrorist organizations; and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had mentioned the previous week a radical "Islamist indoctrination". Both media outlets present this as the most detailed version delivered to date by the Emirati authorities, without any Colombian commentary or analysis of the consequences for civil aviation.
