Attacker attacks pilot with knife on flydubai flight, passengers control him

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Flydubai airline's FZ1073 flight was going from Dubai to Tel Aviv. During this time, it descended 17,000 feet i.e. about 5,200 meters in less than two minutes.

After this the plane was diverted towards Saudi Arabia and landing took place there. It was not immediately known what happened inside the plane. But after landing, the passengers narrated the incident inside the plane.

A passenger said that terrible screams were heard throughout the plane. After this, three to five people entered the cockpit and overpowered the attacker.

Another passenger said he "took control of the flight" from the knife-wielding attacker. Meanwhile, two other pilots sitting at the back came forward and took the responsibility of landing the plane.

There was a festive atmosphere at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport, where a large number of people gathered to welcome the passengers returning from the flydubai flight. People were waving Israeli flags and enthusiastically welcoming the passengers coming out of the terminal.

'Is this his blood?'

The passengers on board the flight have told many heart-wrenching things about the incident that happened inside the plane.

Almog Italy was also on board this plane. Speaking to BBC Newsnight, he compared the plane's rapid descent through the air to the experience of riding a rollercoaster.

Itali said, "Suddenly the plane started falling very fast like a roller coaster, as if there was a very strong G-force effect."

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He said, "The plane was falling rapidly for 20 or 30 seconds. After that the plane stabilized and then started going down again."

As the plane began to descend for the second time, he saw some people "running towards the cockpit".

He said, "It seems that one pilot restrained the other and some passengers and crew members overpowered him and brought him down."

He said, "Only three or four passengers, who restrained the pilot, have been injured. That's why you might have seen the injuries on their faces, but the other passengers were not injured. Even those three-four very brave people have only suffered minor injuries, no serious injuries."

"They are very brave. They literally saved our lives," Itali said.

Another passenger, Haim Lazarovich, told reporters: "Thankfully I'm alive. The scariest moment of this flight was when the pilot lost control of the plane."

A paramedic with Israel's ambulance service told the BBC that many people were "very emotional and crying" as they exited the plane.

Prime Minister Netanyahu met Yaniv, one of the passengers.

Yaniv had entered the cockpit. Netanyahu described him as "a hero".

Pointing to the blood stain on his shirt, Netanyahu asked, "Wow, is that his blood?" Yaniv replied, "Yes, it is his."

“What you did is truly incredible,” Netanyahu said.

praise of smit mosquito

Yaniv said, "The pilot who was attacked with a knife was very close to the door, so it was difficult for us to open the door." But he (Smit Mosquito) had managed to open the door before falling.

He said, "When I went inside, I saw the attacker between the two seats. The pilots were not in their seats."

"One was down and the other was near the equipment. Another person came in with me. I caught hold of the attacker, grabbed his neck and pulled him out first."

According to Yaniv, the attacker was "trying to destroy the aircraft's equipment in order to disable it."

After this, he 'called out to the Israeli people present in the plane and everyone together held it down so that it remained under control.'

Yaniv also said that he "took control of the plane."

Yaniv told Netanyahu, "I watch the 'air crash investigation'. The plane slowly started straightening. After this the pilot told me that now he is taking control of the plane from the front."

Another passenger, Zvika Menes, said she helped control the attacker.

He said he and two others "tied up the attacker with his own zip ties and multimedia headphones."

Another passenger, Oran Koen, speaking to reporters outside the airport, said that the incident on the plane probably lasted for five minutes, but was very scary.

He said he heard "Allahu Akbar" before the plane went down. This happened about an hour before the scheduled landing of the plane. He did not tell who had said this.

He said, "I can't tell you how I felt at that moment. I'm 18 years old. It was a very difficult moment."

He said, "It was probably five minutes, but it felt like hell. I heard my brother behind me screaming that we were going to die."

He became emotional while telling this and called it a "very bad moment".

Speaking to news agency Reuters, Haim Lazarovich said that he was on the plane with his wife and young son and he feared for his life. "Thank God I'm alive," he said.