Attacker in FlyDubai Flight Meant to Crash Into Israeli Airport, Emiratis Say

NEW: UAE says the FlyDubai co-pilot who tried to hijack a flight intended to crash it into an Israeli airport, inspired by the September 11 attacks after years of developing extreme Islamist views.

The co-pilot of a FlyDubai flight tried to seize the controls and crash the plane into an Israeli airport. That is now the official account from the United Arab Emirates.

Investigators say this was not a breakdown in the cockpit, it was a plan. The man had spent years developing extreme Islamist views, and he was inspired directly by the September 11 attacks. This is the aircraft type involved, a FlyDubai Boeing 737, the airline's workhorse between Dubai and dozens of cities, including Israel.

Think about what that route map means. FlyDubai has flown between Dubai and Tel Aviv since the Abraham Accords opened the skies. The crew stopped him, the passengers landed alive, and that is the only reason this story is an investigation and not a catastrophe.

The hardest part to sit with is this. The threat was not a passenger past security. It was the man already in the cockpit.

This is Sara White, reporting for HIT.