The prosecutor told the state-run Emirati news agency WAM that the co-pilot attacked the captain in the cockpit with a hatchet in an "act of terror," AP reports.
The co-pilot is suspected of attempting to hijack a plane with around 170 people on board by stabbing his colleague.
According to sources in American media, the co-pilot had been banned from flying by a previous employer due to concerns about "extremist values."
