A flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv on the 30th of September was diverted to Saudi Arabia after one pilot stabbed the other and—according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—attempted to crash the plane, the BBC reports.The attacker has been arrested and is being questioned by Saudi authorities. The stabbed pilot, Indian national Captain Smit Machchhar, was taken to the hospital after landing, and Netanyahu hailed him as a “hero.”Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has described the incident as an “attempted jihadist terrorist attack.” The BBC has not yet received official information from the police, emergency services, or investigators regarding the motive for the crime.Flydubai flight FZ1073 took off from Dubai International Airport at 7:05 a.m. local time, bound for Tel Aviv. There were at least 150 people on board, and Netanyahu noted that almost all of them were Israeli citizens. Data from the flight tracking website Flightradar24 shows that two and a half hours after takeoff, while over Saudi Arabia, the plane rapidly lost altitude, dropping more than 5,000 meters in two minutes. A few minutes later, an emergency code was received from the aircraft, which then switched to the code indicating a hijacking. The plane—which had briefly entered Jordanian airspace—then returned to Saudi airspace, where it began descending to land.Initial reports cited Israeli officials stating that a fight had broken out between the pilots. Later, Netanyahu confirmed that one pilot had stabbed the other and apparently attempted to crash the plane. Israeli passengers reported that the aircraft banked and began losing altitude before a passenger and crew members entered the cockpit and subdued the pilot who had committed the stabbing. The plane was diverted to Tabuk Airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia.The condition of the stabbed pilot is stable. Netanyahu called him a “real hero” and said he had saved the lives of 174 people.Passenger Yanuv Hayun—later praised by Netanyahu—recounted that he and others had tried to open the cockpit door, but the stabbed pilot was right up against it; before collapsing, the pilot managed to open the door from the inside. Inside the cockpit, the attacker reportedly tried to destroy the instruments to render the plane uncontrollable. Hayun said he grabbed the attacker and pulled him out of the cockpit, after which other passengers helped pin him to the floor. He said he took control of the aircraft—explaining to Netanyahu that he frequently watched the Canadian documentary series Air Crash Investigation—and the plane leveled out before another pilot on board took over. Another passenger, Zvika Meness, told Netanyahu that he and other passengers had tied up the attacker using the man’s own zip ties and headphone cables.Yasmin Abukasis recounted to Reuters what her daughter had said: that the man with the knife had pushed the pilot to the floor and there was blood everywhere. Passenger Amogs Itali told the media that one of the pilots who landed the plane was British, and the other pilot was also European.Shortly after the incident, the Israeli and Saudi Arabian air forces scrambled fighter jets, and Netanyahu convened emergency consultations. Netanyahu subsequently described the situation as a very serious security incident. He added that Israeli security forces were maintaining close contact with the relevant authorities to ensure the safety of the passengers.Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the stabbed pilot, Machchhar, on social media, calling him a hero. His courage helped save lives and averted a major tragedy, and India is proud of Captain Machchhar.
Plane hijacking or jihadist attack – what is known about the incident on the flight to Israel · BNN
