Australia's counter-terrorism team probes the flydubai co-pilot accused of attacking his captain with an axe
Flight FZ1073 left Dubai for Israel last Wednesday. The UAE prosecutor-general said the co-pilot attacked the captain with an emergency crash axe and called it a terrorist attack. Passengers and crew subdued him, a reserve pilot took over and the plane landed in Saudi Arabia. On Sunday police in Australia said the Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team, with the AFP, Victoria Police and ASIO, is investigating his links to this country. Reuters cited sources saying he studied at a Melbourne university about a decade ago, and on Monday RMIT confirmed he was enrolled but did not finish an engineering qualification. The Financial Times reported, citing unnamed people, that he visited radical mosques while in Australia. AP reported that he had been barred from flying at home over concerns about extremist views.
The case sits at the point where a foreign terrorism investigation touches Australian institutions. The risk is hardening conclusions before police have said them.
No threat to Australian travellers has been announced.
Keep two lines apart: what officials have said, and what unnamed sources have said. The first is short.
DailyDrop Australia edition No. 1 · Morning · MON., OCT. 5, 2026