Pilot Tried to Crash Israel-Bound Plane, Netanyahu Says
By Tom Ozimek
A FlyDubai flight carrying Israeli passengers from Dubai to Israel diverted to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after one pilot stabbed another and apparently tried to crash the aircraft, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
The aircraft, operating as flight FZ 1073 from Dubai to Ben Gurion Airport, landed safely in Tabuk, in northwestern Saudi Arabia, after a passenger and crew members intervened, Netanyahu said in a Sept. 30 video statement.
The pilot accused of carrying out the stabbing was arrested and was being questioned by Saudi authorities, Netanyahu said, adding that all passengers were out of danger.
FlyDubai confirmed an altercation occurred in the cockpit and said on-duty crew members secured the aircraft, diverted it, and landed safely.
The airline said all passengers and crew were safe and accounted for, and a formal investigation has been launched to determine the “underlying reasons and motives” behind the incident.
Israeli security officials told Epoch Magazine Israel that preliminary investigations, including witness testimony and intelligence checks, had led authorities to treat the incident as terrorism.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz described the incident as an attempted “jihadist terrorist attack” that was thwarted by several Israeli passengers, who overpowered the assailant and returned control of the plane to the crew, according to The Times of Israel.
Katz said that a preliminary probe indicates that the attacker’s sole objective was to crash the plane with all passengers onboard.
Netanyahu Describes Attempt to Crash Plane
Netanyahu said the incident was extremely serious and that he had spoken with an Israeli passenger who helped stop the attack.
“During the flight, as they approached the country, one of the pilots stabbed the second pilot, and apparently tried to crash the plane with everyone on board,” Netanyahu said.
The passenger told him the aircraft went into a spin and began to dive, he said.
“He told me that, somehow or other, he managed to break into the cockpit with one of the crew members, and that together they neutralized the stabbing pilot while he was trying to sabotage the plane’s systems,” Netanyahu said.
Additional flight crew entered the cockpit and stabilized the aircraft, he said.
“I salute these heroes, who displayed exceptional resourcefulness and courage. They saved many lives. They prevented a huge disaster,” Netanyahu said.
The prime minister said he had instructed Israeli security services to prepare for additional potential threats.
Emergency Diversion, Cockpit Struggle
Publicly available flight-tracking information showed that the aircraft transmitted an emergency alert before landing in Tabuk.
According to Flightradar24, about two and a half hours after departing Dubai, the aircraft descended from 33,000 feet to 17,000 feet within a minute. It then circled near the Jordanian border before landing in Tabuk about an hour later.
A video of a passenger’s account of a knife attack and passengers intervening to protect a pilot was shared by Israel’s Channel 10, described as having been recorded aboard the aircraft.
“We’re on the flight from Dubai. We took control of the situation; there was an attacker with a knife who stabbed one of the pilots,” the passenger, identified by Channel 10 as Yitzhak Lieber, said in the video. “A few of us just jumped in and pulled him out of the cockpit.”
Lieber said one pilot was seriously injured and another appeared to have suffered less serious injuries but was managing to land the aircraft.
“The attacker has been neutralized,” he said.
The airline and Netanyahu’s office did not provide an injury count or identify a suspect in their statements. FlyDubai said it would provide further updates as additional confirmed details become available.
The United Arab Emirates has become a popular destination for Israeli tourists since the two countries normalized diplomatic relations in 2020.
