The spread of misinformation, the complexities of coordinating with authorities in multiple countries and the need to protect an ongoing investigation were among the reasons cited by UAE officials for taking time to release details of the flydubai FZ1073 incident.
Speaking at the UAE Correspondents' Majlis in Dubai, Abdulla bin Mohammed bin Butti Al Hamed, Chairman of the National Media Authority, said the UAE did not want to release information without being completely certain of its accuracy.
"The same day the incident happened, everybody started writing about it,” he said. “Everybody started putting names and (other) details. For us, we had to be 100 per cent sure that the information we give is correct."
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He was responding to concerns raised by a journalist about the availability of official information in the hours after the September 30 incident, when much of the initial reporting was coming from Jerusalem rather than Dubai.
Official updates from UAE authorities came in stages. On September 30, flydubai initially confirmed that the aircraft had landed safely in Saudi Arabia following an incident. Later that day, the General Civil Aviation Authority confirmed that it was a security incident that had resulted in injuries to crew members. Three days later, the UAE Attorney-General revealed that the co-pilot had attempted to carry out a terrorist act. On October 9, further investigation findings disclosed that he had planned a suicide attack targeting Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.
Al Hamed stressed that any information released by UAE officials had to be fully verified because of the weight an official statement would carry.
He also warned about the implications of prematurely identifying individuals involved in the incident, particularly if the information subsequently proved incorrect.
The case involved several parties, he explained, and releasing unverified information could affect the investigation and legal proceedings.
What was happening behind the scenes?
Dr Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, Chairman of the Defence, Interior and Foreign Affairs Committee of the Federal National Council (FNC), who was also present at the Majlis, provided further insight into the challenges authorities faced.
He explained that the incident involved an Emirati airline, an aircraft that had landed in Saudi Arabia and passengers who were predominantly Israeli.
This created a particularly sensitive situation, requiring coordination among different countries while ensuring that the safety of passengers remained the immediate priority.
Dr Al Nuaimi said the UAE had dispatched a team to Saudi Arabia to establish what had happened on the ground. The team engaged with passengers, Saudi authorities and the pilot to collect information directly.
"We can't say to you something that we are not aware of. We don't know. So we had to wait," he said.
He also stressed that the UAE had to respect Saudi Arabia's jurisdiction because the incident had taken place on Saudi territory.
Dr Al Nuaimi explained that authorities were dealing with several considerations simultaneously, with passenger safety taking precedence over the release of information.
'Where did the sea come from?'
Al Hamed also highlighted the spread of misinformation in the immediate aftermath of the incident, citing an example of a video falsely presented as showing the aircraft.
He recalled receiving calls from news agencies asking about footage purportedly showing the plane flying over the sea.
The video, he explained, did not correspond with the circumstances of the incident, which had unfolded while the aircraft was flying over land.
"Where did the sea come from?" he asked, questioning how such footage could have been circulated in connection with the incident.
He said the example illustrated the difficulties authorities faced as information, speculation and misleading material spread rapidly.
Al Hamed stressed that the objective was not simply to release information quickly, but to ensure that what was communicated was accurate.
"We want to give you the news. But we want to give you the right news," he said.