The UAE prosecutor general said the co-pilot of flydubai flight FZ1073, which was bound for Israel from Dubai, attacked the pilot with an emergency crash axe. (EPA Images pic)

WELLINGTON: The flydubai co-pilot who stabbed his captain in an alleged attempt to crash a plane last week was in New Zealand seven years ago to complete a portion of his flight training for a UK-based company, New Zealand police said in a statement on Tuesday.

Police said the man was in New Zealand between November 2018 and May 2019 on a six-month student visa.

"Immigration records show he arrived in New Zealand on Nov 30, 2018 and departed May 23, 2019," New Zealand assistant commissioner Michael Johnson said in an emailed statement to Reuters.