The Israeli Prime Minister said that one of the pilots on board the Emirati “Fly Dubai” flight, which was heading from Dubai to Tel Aviv and made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, tried to shoot down the plane, which was carrying mostly Israeli passengers, while the Israeli Defense Minister spoke of a “jihadi terrorist attack.”
Netanyahu praised the Indian pilot who was injured during a confrontation with his co-pilot on the flight, as well as the passengers of the plane, whom he considered to have prevented a disaster.
Later, US President Donald Trump said that he spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday after the incident of the Fly Dubai flight that was heading to Israel, during which it is believed that the co-pilot attacked the pilot of the plane, pointing out that the motives have not yet become clear.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office: “I spoke at length with Bibi (Netanyahu) about this incident, and it appears that the co-pilot was either a terrorist or deranged, and he stabbed the pilot of the plane,” praising the co-pilot who was attacked, describing him as a “hero.”
In a video message, Netanyahu said that one of the pilots stabbed the other pilot during the flight, while the plane was approaching Israel, and apparently tried to shoot it down with all its passengers.
He added that he spoke to an Israeli passenger who entered the cockpit when the plane began to descend and clashed with the pilot, who he said was trying to shoot it down.
The Israeli Prime Minister explained that the pilot who was suspected of stabbing his colleague "is being interrogated by the Saudi authorities," adding that he had issued instructions to the security services to prepare for the possibility of other threats.
A spokesman for his office said that Netanyahu also ordered tighter security measures on Israeli and non-Israeli airlines following the incident.
While Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz described the incident as an attempt to carry out a “jihadi terrorist” attack, he did not specify the source of his information regarding the motive.
The passengers of the Flydubai flight that was diverted to Saudi Arabia arrived at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv on Wednesday evening, where Netanyahu met them.
Pictures from Agence France-Presse TV showed another Flydubai plane carrying passengers landing at Tel Aviv Airport, hours after their original flight was diverted to the Saudi city of Tabuk.
A spokesman for Netanyahu said that the Israeli Prime Minister met the passengers at the airport after their arrival.
The BBC was at Ben Gurion Airport shortly before the flight arrived, as more family members of the passengers began arriving at Terminal 1, with the confirmation of the plane’s departure from Saudi Arabia.
The BBC monitored that the state of anxiety that had prevailed during the previous hours began to subside after about nine hours of waiting, while several ambulances were stationed at the place as a precautionary measure and about twenty Israeli and international media crews gathered.
In a related context, a spokesman for the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel intends to tighten security verification procedures for the identities of international pilots arriving to it.
Reuters quoted spokesman Doron Spielman as saying that the authorities will verify the pilots' identities and conduct security checks on them, following the incident of the attack on the Indian pilot.
He added that Netanyahu directed the authorities to "raise the level of security" on flights with Israelis on board, including flights not operated by Israeli airlines.
Indian Embassy: The pilot who was attacked is in “stable condition”
The Indian Embassy in Riyadh said that the Indian pilot, Smit Machchar, who was attacked during a flight, is in stable condition and receiving the necessary medical care in a hospital in the city of Tabuk.
The embassy explained that it was closely monitoring his health condition, noting that the plane was diverted to Tabuk following the accident.
She also added that complete information about his health condition is not yet available, expressing her hope that he will recover from his injuries as soon as possible, and stressing that she is in contact with his family.
Emergency landing in Tabuk
The company operating Tabuk Airport said that the flight was diverted to the city at 9:45 am local time, 06:45 GMT, and that the plane’s captain and his co-pilot were found injured and taken to the hospital.
Flydubai said that all passengers are fine, adding that the causes of the altercation that occurred on board the flight are still unknown.
According to media reports, 166 of the 174 passengers on board the plane were Israeli.
The company later said that another Flydubai crew was on board the flight while performing its duties, and took charge of diverting the plane and landing it safely.
An Agence France-Presse correspondent in Tabuk said that he saw a heavy security deployment near the airport, with several police vehicles and an ambulance in front of the passenger building.
The plane lost 17,000 feet within a minute
Passengers said that there was a struggle to control the plane after it made a sudden landing.
According to data from the Flight Radar 24 website, the plane lost about 17,000 feet of altitude within about one minute.
An Italian passenger described the sudden landing as being like severe turbulence, even though there were no turbulence, and likened it to riding a roller coaster.
He said that there was no panic among the passengers despite the outbreak of a fight near the cockpit, adding that passengers in the front of the plane were able to control the situation.
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Passenger: The co-pilot tried to kill the captain
One of the passengers said that the plane was almost out of control after one of the pilots tried to stab the other while flying over Jordan.
She added that the co-pilot tried to kill the pilot and bring it down, according to her account to journalists.
She said that a number of people were able to control and neutralize the co-pilot, while a doctor on board provided first aid.
Fears of kidnapping
Pictures sent by a passenger to Agence France-Presse showed passengers, including children, in a lounge at Tabuk Airport, while a man appeared wearing a white shirt and jeans stained with blood.
American coordination regarding the incident
US Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Wednesday that the United States was “coordinating very closely with its counterparts abroad,” including Israel, regarding the diverted Flydubai flight.
At Ben Gurion Airport, some Israelis who were preparing to travel on Flydubai flights from Tel Aviv to Dubai told the BBC that they were initially concerned after hearing reports of the incident, but decided not to cancel their plans and continue their flights as scheduled.
