flydubai crew demanded Omani co-pilot be freed? New video captures passengers say ‘only to police’

The co-pilot who attacked Indian pilot Smit Machchhar during an alleged attempt to crash a flydubai aircraft heading to Tel Aviv was seen sitting on his knees inside the aircraft, with his hands tied behind his back, in a new video shared by an Israeli media outlet, while passengers were heard repeatedly saying "just police" and "only police".

The video released by Israel-based news channel shows the suspect, identified as al-Hammami, kneeling inside the aircraft, (Screengrab via @i24NEWS_HE/REUTERS)The video comes amid allegations by Israeli passengers that the flight crew argued with them after they restrained and tied up the Omani co-pilot. The passengers claimed that the crew asked them to “untie the terrorist”, but they said that the suspect should be handed over to the police, two passengers who helped restrain the suspect told The New York Post in an interview.

After being attacked with a crash axe, Smit Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door and alert the crew. Several passengers, including two pilots who were not on duty, stepped in and overpowered the co-pilot.

A video released by Israel-based news channel i24NEWS shows the suspect, identified as Hamam al-Hammami, kneeling inside the aircraft with his hands bound behind his back. Bloodstains can also be seen on his clothes.

Throughout the 45-second clip, passengers can be heard repeating "just police" and "only police". One passenger, whose face is not shown and whose identity remains unknown, can be heard saying, "One hour, 40 minutes. More five minutes."

The remarks appear to suggest that the passengers had kept the co-pilot restrained for nearly that long and were prepared to wait another five minutes before handing him over to the local police.

According to passengers who spoke to the Post, flydubai crew members asked them to free the co-pilot.

“They were asking us to untie the terrorist — we had no idea why,” said banking executive Tzvika Manes.

“They were saying to free the terrorist — we got instantly suspicious of them,” said real estate professional Daniel Schlichter.

Manes, plumber Yaniv Hayoun, and Asaf Rajuan rushed towards the attacker and overpowered him.

As the suspect was being held down, Hayoun heard him shouting, “Kill me, kill me”, according to the report. However, some crew members allegedly continued to insist that he be freed.

This led to a heated exchange, and the three Israeli passengers reportedly made it clear that they would not let the suspected attacker go under any circumstances.

“They said, ‘You are not God, you are not going to kill him,'” Manes said. “We didn’t want to kill him, we just wanted him not to kill us.”

The Israeli passengers also gave al-Hammami an oxygen mask, as they wanted him to survive so that investigators could question him.

Meanwhile, the cabin crew reportedly told passengers to return to their seats and leave the area near the cockpit. However, fearing that the crew might have been involved in the attack, the Israeli passengers refused and instead instructed them to sit in the middle section of the aircraft.

The co-pilot is currently in custody in the UAE. Several media outlets reported that he had been barred from flying in Oman over concerns about his extremist views.

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