Knife cockpit attack prevented during Dubai-Tel Aviv flight

The incident occurred while the plane departing from Dubai to Tel Aviv was in Jordanian airspace. Israel launched warplanes upon the development. According to flight data, the plane lost an altitude of approximately 14 thousand feet, that is, 4 thousand 267 meters, in less than 30 seconds during the incident.

According to Israeli officials, the co-pilot tried to crash the plane after attacking the captain with a knife. The intervention of the passengers and crew on the plane prevented a possible disaster.

CAPTAIN EXITS FROM THE COCKPIT

In the footage from the plane, it was seen that the injured pilot was lying on the cabin floor covered in blood, and a passenger was injured in the head. Captain Smit Machchhar, who was announced to be an Indian citizen, managed to unlock the cockpit door despite being seriously injured.

Thereupon, the passengers and cabin crew entered the cockpit and neutralized the aggressive co-pilot. A second Flydubai pilot team, who was a passenger on the plane, took control and landed the plane at Tabuk Airport, Saudi Arabia.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the captain saved the lives of 174 people. It was announced that Machchhar was being treated in a hospital in Tabuk and his condition was stable.

According to flight tracking data, after the loss of altitude, a general emergency code of 7700 was sent to the plane at 05.31 GMT, and a code of 7500, meaning "illegal interference", was sent to the plane seven minutes later. FZ1073 landed in Tabuk at 06.45 GMT.

WHY WAS THE ATTACK CARRIED OUT?

There is no definitive finding yet as to the cause of the incident. UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi ordered an investigation into the circumstances of the attack, its reasons, whether it was pre-planned and its connection with any terrorist activity.

When asked whether Iran was behind the attack, Netanyahu said it was too early to say. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz claimed that initial information indicated that the attacker intended to shoot down the plane and described the incident as a "jihadist terrorist attack attempt."

An Israeli official, whose name was not disclosed, told Reuters that the attacker was an Omani citizen.

Flydubai, on the other hand, emphasized that the cause and motivation were not yet known and called for no speculation until the official investigation was completed.