Australian authorities are looking into the time a Flydubai co-pilot spent in the country, following an incident in the cockpit of one of the airline's flights, according to The Irish Times. The BBC reports that Australia is investigating the co-pilot's links to the country.
The co-pilot is accused of attacking the flight's captain with an axe, according to RTE.ie, which cited the United Arab Emirates. CNN, citing Israeli sources, reports that the co-pilot is thought to have probably acted alone.
The captain has since described new details of the attack during a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Euronews.com reports.
The reports, carried by several outlets, center on the same event but differ in what they confirm. The UAE's account, as relayed by RTE.ie, states that an axe was used in the attack on the pilot. CNN's sourcing, described as Israeli, addresses whether the co-pilot had accomplices, indicating investigators believe he likely did not.
The Australian dimension adds a second line of inquiry: what the co-pilot did while in Australia and whether that period is relevant to the case. The Irish Times and the BBC both frame this as an active investigation, without detailing what specifically prompted it.
What to watch next: whether Australian officials release findings from their review of the co-pilot's time in the country, and whether UAE or Israeli investigators provide further confirmation of the sequence of events in the cockpit.
