Investigators on Thursday were trying to determine what motivated the co-pilot on a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv to stab the pilot, a midair cockpit attack that nearly resulted in catastrophe.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel suggested in a television interview on Thursday that the co-pilot, who Israeli officials have identified as an Omani citizen, was ideologically motivated.
“We know that he underwent Islamist radical indoctrination,” Mr. Netanyahu told Fox News, saying that investigators had learned this from the man’s “personal information.” He did not provide further details, and the man’s identity has not been made public.
In a video released by Mr. Netanyahu’s office on Thursday, Yaniv Hayoun, an Israeli passenger said to be the first to grab the co-pilot, recounted him saying “Kill me! Kill me!” in English. Mr. Hayoun said he took that to mean that “he had failed in his mission and preferred to die.”
Mr. Hayoun, who put the attacker in a chokehold and dragged him out of the cockpit, appears to be the only passenger on the FlyDubai flight to have reported that.
The United Arab Emirates said on Thursday that it would take the lead in investigating whether the attack was linked to terrorism. Both the wounded pilot and co-pilot have been transferred from Saudi Arabia, where the plane made an emergency landing, to the Emirates.
Flight 1073 left Dubai early on Wednesday with 174 passengers and 8 crew members, according to the authorities in Saudi Arabia.
The aircraft lurched and descended so violently during the tumult in the cockpit that its rudder was damaged. As the Boeing 737 Max 8 plummeted more than 16,000 feet in 30 seconds, the overhead bins burst open, and panicked passengers clutched onto family members, expecting the plane to crash into the Saudi desert below.
A group of passengers is credited with saving the aircraft by rushing into the cockpit and subduing the co-pilot. One of the passengers said the attacker’s hands were bound with headphone wire until crew members brought zip ties.
Mr. Netanyahu has praised the pilot, Capt. Smit Machchhar, an Indian citizen, for unlatching the cockpit door as he was being attacked. Mr. Netanyahu told Fox News that the co-pilot should not have been flying to Israel because Israeli regulations bar pilots from countries that are unfriendly toward Israel. Oman and Israel do not have diplomatic relations.
Mr. Netanyahu told CNN on Wednesday night that the actions of Mr. Machchhar and the Israeli passengers “managed to prevent a 9/11 disaster.”
The authorities in Israel and the Emirates are trying to understand how a weapon entered the cockpit and, according to Mr. Netanyahu, are exploring two possibilities: the co-pilot smuggled it through Dubai’s airport security by evading a metal detector, or he used an ax stored in the cockpit and meant for emergencies.
Marco Chan, a retired airline pilot who teaches aviation operations at Kingston University in London, said Mr. Netanyahu seemed to be referring to a “crash ax.” Crew members are trained to use it to break open the fuselage. “It’s sharp,” Mr. Chan said.
Mr. Machchhar, who passengers say was bleeding profusely from his injuries, was treated onboard by a passenger who had trained as a dentist, Shota Musayev. He had sustained severe wounds to his head and cuts to his fingers, Mr. Musayev said. President Isaac Herzog of Israel on Thursday described Mr. Musayev’s actions as “lifesaving.”
Mr. Machchhar was airlifted to Abu Dhabi, the Emirati capital, officials said. The Indian embassy in the Emirates said he was recovering and in good health.
In addition to Mr. Musayev, Mr. Herzog on Thursday identified the passengers who helped save the plane as Mr. Hayoun, Tzvika Manes, his wife, Tali Manes, and Asaf Rajuan.
Mr. Manes pushed open the cockpit door along with Mr. Hayoun, a plumber, and Mr. Rajuan.
Mr. Hayoun told Mr. Netanyahu that while the other passengers were working to overpower the attacker, he pulled the plane’s control stick back to try to level the aircraft as it plunged toward the ground. Mr. Hayoun said he knew what to do from watching “Air Crash Investigation,” a television show about aircraft accidents.
Mr. Manes said in interviews with Israeli outlets that it had taken roughly 20 to 25 minutes for the passengers to fully subdue and bind the co-pilot.
The averted catastrophe was celebrated in Hebrew newspaper headlines, which dwelled more on the heroism of the passengers and crew than on the moments of terror.
The dramatic events evoked for some Israelis the days in the 1960s and 1970s when Israel was widely considered to be a small, plucky country that had survived against the odds and took on hijackers.
Two reserve pilots on board were credited with stabilizing the plane and landing it safely at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia.
Many questions remained about the attack, including whether the co-pilot had acted alone; what his motives were; and if his intention was to crash the plane or commandeer it.
Mr. Netanyahu is in a tight race ahead of the national election late this month, and his supporters and some opponents have sought to use the narrowly averted disaster to their political advantage.
Mr. Netanyahu’s defense minister, Israel Katz, hinted that he and Mr. Netanyahu had tried to warn of some kind of attack. Naftali Bennett, a right-wing political leader who is running to replace Mr. Netanyahu, minimized the notion of a warning and asked critically what the prime minister had done to avert threats.
Yair Lapid, a centrist opposition leader, said he had received a security briefing from Mr. Netanyahu the night before the airline attack and had heard no mention of anything like a plane hijacking.
But for many in Israel it was a time to celebrate heroes. President Herzog said he would recommend those who helped save the plane for the country’s highest civilian award for heroism.
“You put yourselves at risk to save others and prevented a terrible disaster,” Mr. Herzog said in a statement released by his office.
Reporting was contributed by Vivian Nereim from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Ismaeel Naar from Dubai, Johnatan Reiss from Tel Aviv, Niraj Chokshi from New York and Karla Adam from London.
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