Morocco airline denies employing co-pilot in Flydubai cockpit incident

Royal Air Maroc has denied that the Flydubai co-pilot accused of attempting an attack aboard flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv previously worked for the Moroccan airline.The company issued the statement on Saturday after claims circulated alleging a professional relationship between the co-pilot and Royal Air Maroc.The man "has never worked as part of its crews or performed any professional duties within the company," the statement said, adding that he applied for a job in 2025, but his application was rejected.Royal Air Maroc said he never had an employment or contractual relationship with the company.The UAE probe of the violent incident on the flight carrying 174 passengers on Wednesday found that the co-pilot tried to carry out a "terrorist act," attacking the captain with a crash axe.The co-pilot tried to use the axe, a tool kept in the cockpit for emergency use, to attack the captain from India and seize control of the aircraft, said Attorney General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi.UAE authorities, however, have yet to announce the co-pilot’s name or nationality.Passengers described rushing the cockpit and a fight for control after the plane plummeted — losing around 17,000 feet of altitude in the span of a minute, according to theFlightradar24website.Flydubai said earlier that "an altercation occurred in the flight deck" and that crew members secured the aircraft before it was safely diverted to Saudi Arabia.