Netanyahu Says Flydubai Co-Pilot Stabbed Captain in Bid to Crash Israel-Bound Jet

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that the co-pilot of a flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv stabbed the captain and apparently tried to crash the aircraft with everyone aboard, in what Israeli officials described as a possible attempted terror attack.

Flight FZ1073, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv, plunged nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds before transmitting emergency signals, according to Flightradar24 data cited by Reuters. The aircraft diverted to Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia, where it landed safely at 9:45 a.m. local time, Saudi airport operator Cluster2 said.

Netanyahu, in a video statement quoting a passenger’s account, said passengers and a crew member broke into the cockpit as the plane began to dive and subdued the attacker, while other flydubai pilots on board as passengers landed the aircraft. “They saved many lives. They prevented a huge disaster,” he said, according to The Wall Street Journal. Both pilots were taken to hospital with injuries, Cluster2 said, and Netanyahu said the co-pilot had been arrested.

One Israeli official identified the co-pilot as an Omani national, Reuters reported, adding that Israel’s current assessment was a possible attempted “terror attack” rather than a mental health episode. Flydubai cautioned that the motive remained unknown and subject to a formal investigation, urging against premature speculation.

In response, Netanyahu instructed authorities to ramp up security checks on pilots flying into Israel, his office’s spokesman told Reuters, saying every pilot on a flight bound for Israel would undergo identity and security screening. Israel’s ambassador in Geneva told Reuters that 169 of the 172 passengers on board were Israeli nationals.

Sources:

• Reuters — Israel to ramp up pilot checks after flydubai scare
• Reuters — Diverted flydubai flight to Israel was not hijacking, Israeli official says
• The Wall Street Journal — Pilot-on-pilot stabbing forces emergency landing of Israel-bound plane