TEL AVIV.– A presidential adviser from the United Arab Emirates on Friday for the first time called the incident aboard Flydubai flight FZ1073 a "terrorist act," as Israel prepares to take part in the interrogation of the Omani co-pilot who, according to its authorities, planned to carry out a jihadist attack using the plane as a weapon. On Wednesday, passengers and crew subdued the co-pilot after he stabbed the captain, an Indian national, in what Israeli authorities described as an apparent attempt to crash the plane, which was carrying more than 170 passengers, most of them Israeli. A reserve pilot crew from Flydubai managed to land the plane at Tabuk airport, in northwestern Saudi Arabia, where Saudi authorities detained the co-pilot. Anwar Gargash, adviser to President Mohamed bin Zayed, said in a post on X that the Indian pilot deserved "full recognition" for having "demonstrated the meaning of courage by confronting a dangerous and potentially catastrophic act of terrorism." "His professionalism and moral sense in the most critical circumstances make him a true hero," he wrote, on the same day that the Indian captain, Smit Machchhar, recounted details of the horror. Gargash also warned against "simplistic interpretations" and conspiracy theories surrounding the incident, adding that vigilance is essential to confront the dangers posed by extremism and terrorism. "As time passes, the picture becomes clearer," said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a video statement following Gargash's post. He insisted that the co-pilot — whose identity has not yet been revealed — had been "radicalized" and intended to "crash the plane with all the passengers on board." "We are investigating whether he was sent, and whoever sent him will pay a very high price," the prime minister said. Netanyahu said on Thursday that the Omani co-pilot had undergone radical Islamist indoctrination and had clear suicidal intentions, but that, so far, the motive for his actions had not been determined. Israel does not maintain official diplomatic relations with Oman, and Netanyahu has noted that pilots from those countries are not allowed to operate flights bound for Israel. It is unclear how the co-pilot came to be assigned to the flight bound for Tel Aviv. Questioning Meanwhile, a source close to the Emirati authorities told Israel's Channel 12 that Abu Dhabi considers the Netanyahu government to be exploiting the attempted terrorist attack for political purposes. In that regard, the source stated that the Netanyahu government is responsible for the suspension of Flydubai services and that labeling the repatriation flights of Israeli airlines as "rescue flights" wrongly presents the United Arab Emirates as "a country at war or in crisis, when it is not." Netanyahu with one of the "heroes" of the Flydubai flight "The Emiratis do not understand Israel's attitude; they have the feeling that the matter is motivated by the elections and not by logic," the source declared, according to Channel 12. Israel had scheduled repatriation flights for Friday to bring back passengers stranded in the United Arab Emirates, after commercial travel between the two countries was suspended following the attack in the Flydubai cockpit. The Emirates canceled all flights to Israel, complicating the movement of hundreds of passengers who typically travel between the two countries on any given day. Interrogation The Omani co-pilot, who was detained in Saudi Arabia, was transferred on Thursday to the United Arab Emirates, where, according to a source familiar with the investigation, Israeli authorities were expected to interrogate him. An Israeli government official told Reuters that Israeli investigators would take part in the UAE-led investigation, in order to determine what happened and to examine the suspect's motives and background. Israeli passengers traveling aboard the FlyDubai plane are welcomed at the arrivals gate of Ben Gurion International Airport Ohad Zwigenberg - AP In his first public statements about the incident, Flydubai chief executive Ghaith Al Ghaith said on Friday that authorities were conducting an official investigation, with the airline's support, following what he described as a "security incident" in the cockpit. "It is important that we let this process clarify the facts," he said in a written statement, acknowledging that there were "many questions" about what happened on flight FZ1073. The UAE state news agency reported on Thursday that Emirati authorities had opened an investigation in order to clarify the circumstances and motives, and to determine "whether the incident was related to any terrorist activity or purpose, or whether it involved prior planning or direction." The captain's account For his part, the flight's pilot, Smit Machchhar, spoke publicly for the first time on Friday and, in a communication with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said that he acted to protect the plane's passengers. "I was trying to save my own life, but I knew I could not let all those people die," Machchhar declared from his hospital bed, during a call broadcast by Modi in a video posted on social media. Machchhar, with 17 years of aviation experience, including 11 as a captain, recounted the moment he realized the plane was losing altitude as he lay wounded, which led him to make a final effort to avert a catastrophe: opening the cockpit door. "I had suffered so many wounds that I collapsed. At that moment I could feel the plane going down. I knew it was the last effort, that the door was right there," he explained. "They kept hitting me, but I just opened the door and everyone came in," he recounted. Admiring, Modi stated that the pilot's actions helped save hundreds of lives and avert "a great tragedy." Agencies AP, AFP, Reuters and Xinhua Israel United Arab Emirates