The Wall Street Journal reports that the UAE says the attacker on a FlyDubai flight used a “crash ax” during an assault in the cockpit. The crash ax is described as an emergency tool that is installed on many aircraft and is intended to help crews manage situations such as evacuations.
According to the reporting, the ax is required by aviation regulators, meaning it is part of standard aircraft equipment. The WSJ frames the incident around how a tool designed for emergencies can also be accessible in a way that enables harm during an attack.
In the information available from the outlet summaries provided here, no additional, conflicting details are included about the attacker’s method, motive, or broader investigation beyond the claim that the crash ax was used during the cockpit attack.
