The United Arab Emirates has for the first time formally described the attack aboard flydubai flight FZ1073 as an attempted terrorist act, saying the co-pilot assaulted the captain with a crash axe and tried to seize the aircraft's controls.

UAE Attorney-General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said on Saturday that investigators had concluded the co-pilot “attempted to carry out a terrorist act” during the 30 September flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv.

According to the state-run Emirates News Agency, WAM, Al Shamsi said the co-pilot began carrying out his plan inside the flight deck, attacking the captain with a crash axe before attempting to take control of the aircraft.

The statement provides the clearest Emirati account so far of the weapon used in the cockpit. Earlier reports had described the captain as having been stabbed. A crash axe is an emergency tool normally kept inside an aircraft cockpit. 

The UAE statement did not identify the co-pilot or specify what he intended to do after taking the controls. Al Shamsi said investigators were still working to establish the circumstances, motive and any connections linked to the incident, while examining physical and digital evidence. Final findings will be released after the investigation is completed. 

Reuters identified the co-pilot as Hammam al-Hammami, an Omani national, citing a source with direct knowledge of the investigation. Emirati authorities had not publicly confirmed his identity at the time of publication. 

The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that al-Hammami had previously been barred from flying by Oman over concerns that he had adopted radical ideological views before later being employed by flydubai. Oman has not publicly confirmed that account. 

Flight FZ1073 was carrying more than 170 passengers and crew when the cockpit confrontation occurred over Saudi Arabia. Flight-tracking data cited by Reuters showed the aircraft dropping about 16,625 feet in just over 30 seconds. 

The wounded captain managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to enter and overpower the co-pilot, according to Israeli officials cited by Reuters. Reserve flydubai pilots travelling aboard the aircraft then took control and landed safely at Tabuk airport in north-western Saudi Arabia. 

Saudi authorities detained the co-pilot after the landing. Both pilots received medical treatment, and Saudi Arabia later said they travelled to Abu Dhabi after receiving medical clearance. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously said the co-pilot appeared to have undergone Islamist radicalisation and to have intended to bring down the aircraft. Those claims preceded the UAE's latest announcement, and Netanyahu acknowledged at the time that the investigation had not reached final conclusions about motive. 

Flydubai has said it is cooperating with the investigation. Emirati prosecutors said inquiries into the suspect's motives and possible links remain under way.