First Images Released of Flydubai Flight Co-Pilot

Images and videos from inside the Flydubai aircraft have emerged, showing moments when the suspected co-pilot was restrained following his alleged attempt to bring down the flight bound for Tel Aviv from Dubai, before it made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

Footage filmed from inside the plane shows the co-pilot kneeling on the floor with his hands tied behind his back, after passengers and crew officers managed to subdue him.

Other videos show two injured men covered in blood on the aircraft floor, while one receives first aid and others guard the cockpit door.

No confirmed images of the co-pilot's identity have been released, but security and Western sources reported that the Omani co-pilot suspected in the "Flydubai" incident is named Hammam Al-Hammami, although no official authority has yet confirmed his identity.

Flydubai flight FZ-1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv was carrying 174 passengers and 6 crew members when a fight broke out in the cockpit, causing the aircraft to descend from an altitude of 34,000 feet to approximately 19,000 feet within about 90 seconds.

Passengers said that Indian Captain Smit Matar, who sustained multiple stab wounds, opened the cockpit door to allow passengers to intervene, before the attacker was restrained and the crew regained control of the aircraft, landing in Tabuk.

Intelligence and executive sources reported that the co-pilot is of Omani nationality and had previously been suspended from flying by Oman Air after being identified as a security risk, while investigations continue to determine motives and any potential links.