FlyDubai Co-Pilot Used Crash Ax in ‘Terrorist’ Cockpit Attack, Emirates Says The violent midair assault on a FlyDubai flight to Tel Aviv has deepened concerns about the safety of Israelis traveling abroad.

The co-pilot who stabbed the captain of an Israel-bound FlyDubai flight this week used an emergency crash ax in an effort to take over the plane, an official in the United Arab Emirates said on Saturday, describing the attack as a “terrorist operation.”“The co-pilot initiated the execution of his plot during the flight, assaulting the pilot inside the cockpit using an emergency crash ax and attempting to take control of the aircraft’s flight controls,” Hamad Saif Al-Shamsi, the Emirati attorney general, said in remarks carried by state media.

The Emirati authorities have been investigating the event since Wednesday, when the co-pilot’s attack led the plane to plummet thousands of feet with more than 170 passengers on board, mostly Israelis.

Israeli officials have said the assault likely aimed to crash the plane and kill everyone on board.

A handful of people stormed the cabin, subduing the attacker and assisting the wounded captain before the flight crew made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

Crash axes are generally stored in the cockpits of planes for emergencies. Experts say the axes are often kept behind the co-pilot on the flight deck, covered but unlocked — meaning the assailant could have had relatively easy access. Mr. al-Shamsi did not identify the co-pilot, who was later brought back to the Emirates.

But two people briefed on the matter said on Saturday that the co-pilot had embraced extreme Islamist views, prompting security officials in Oman to scrutinize him earlier.