Accused flydubai plane hijacker is religious extremist who refused to shake women’s hands: ‘We hired a terrorist’

The flydubai staffer accused of trying to hijack a plane carrying 174 people to Israel by stabbing the lead pilot was known as a religious extremist who refused to shake hands with women, according to a colleague. The co-pilot responsible for what Israel’s defense minister called “a jihadist terrorist attack” Wednesday has not been named publicly, but was an Omani national who had worked for the airline for less than a year. He was “someone characterized by very strange behavior, especially around religious observances that were out of step with his surroundings,” a fellow pilot told Israel’s Channel 16 journalist...