According to the Israeli government, a Flydubai airliner narrowly escaped a terrorist attack on its way from Dubai to Tel Aviv. The co-pilot stabbed the pilot and tried to crash the plane with 174 passengers on board, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday. Defense Minister Israel Katz spoke of an “attempted jihadist attack.”
Flydubai flight FZ1073 was en route from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday morning. According to the flight tracking service Flightradar24, he sent out a general distress signal in Jordanian airspace. A few minutes later there was a signal with a code that indicated a hijacking, and later the plane sent another general distress signal. Flightradar24 data also shows that the plane abruptly dropped from an altitude of nearly 34,000 feet to less than 17,000 feet within a minute. At 9:45 a.m. the Boeing 737 landed unscheduled at Tabuk Airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia.
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Passengers rushed into the cockpit
Media previously reported that passengers helped subdue the attacker. The mother of an Israeli passenger told the AFP news agency that according to her daughter, one of the pilots tried to stab his colleague with a knife. “My daughter called and said she was in Saudi Arabia,” said Yasmine Abécassis, waiting at Tel Aviv airport. “She said that one pilot tried to kill the other pilot with a knife.” Alarmed by loud screams, passengers stormed into the cockpit and “wrestled the guy down,” reported Abécassis.
An Israeli woman told the Israeli television station N12 that there was great fear among the passengers and that there were “screams and panic”. “Some men, including Israelis, stood up and overpowered the attacker,” she said. The passengers are doing well now. “The situation could have ended differently,” she said.
“We overpowered the terrorists”
Another Israeli told the station that she heard screaming on the plane and then saw a lot of blood in the cockpit: “There were moments when we thought we wouldn’t make it out alive.”
The Israeli news portal “ynet” published a video message that appears to show an Israeli passenger with his face covered in blood on board immediately after the incident. “We have overwhelmed the terrorists,” he said. The landing is imminent. “We need help.”
“ynet” also reported that the suspected co-pilot came from Oman. However, there was initially no official confirmation of this. According to another media report, the suspect is said to be a lone perpetrator. There is no indication that a state or a terrorist organization could be the mastermind of the incident on the flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, the Israeli TV station “Kan” reported, citing Israeli security circles. It is also not assumed that the suspect is mentally confused.
It has since become known that the pilot who was stabbed was an Indian national. In the evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the fearlessness of the man who was allegedly attacked by his colleague. “He is a true hero,” Netanyahu said on Platform X. Despite serious stab wounds, the Indian captain resisted, opened the cockpit door and allowed passengers to overpower the attacker.
In doing so, Netanyahu wrote, he had prevented a catastrophe. “He saved the lives of 174 people, including Israeli citizens and other nationals.” He wished the man a speedy recovery. The Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia, where the plane made an emergency landing, announced in the evening that the pilot's condition was stable.
Netanyahu speaks of “serious security incident”
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich demanded in a post on Platform This applies to the attacker as well as to “every state or terrorist organization that sent him”.
In a video message, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke of a “very serious security incident”. Almost all passengers were Israelis. Netanyahu also reported a telephone conversation with one of the passengers. He described to him how the plane started to spin and went into a nosedive. According to the story, the passenger and a crew member managed to get into the cockpit. They then overpowered the attacker while he tried to damage the aircraft's apparatus.
Another crew that was on board went into the cockpit and managed to stabilize the aircraft. Netanyahu expressed his admiration “for the heroes who showed extraordinary presence of mind and daring”: “They saved many lives, they prevented a serious catastrophe.”
The plane landed safely in Saudi Arabia and the attacker was arrested. He is being questioned by the Saudi security authorities. Netanyahu concluded that he had instructed the Israeli security forces to prepare for “potential further threats,” without giving further details.
Netanyahu also praised Indian pilot Smit Machchhar for his “extraordinary bravery.” Although he was stabbed and seriously injured, he fought back and prevented “a catastrophic tragedy in the air.” Despite serious stab wounds, the Indian captain resisted, opened the cockpit door and allowed passengers to overpower the attacker. “He saved the lives of 174 people, including Israeli citizens and other nationals,” the Israeli prime minister said. He wished the man a speedy recovery. The Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia, where the plane made an emergency landing, announced in the evening that the pilot's condition was stable.
Federal Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (CDU) also commented after a telephone conversation with his Israeli counterpart Gideon Saar. The CDU politician said in Berlin that he was very shocked to learn about the attempted hijacking of the plane. He added: “I am deeply relieved that the attempted kidnapping and possibly something much worse was prevented.” Wadephul strongly condemned the incident as a serious attack on civil aviation. His thoughts are with those who survived the flight and those who had to fear for the lives of their loved ones. The background must now be clarified quickly and completely.
According to media reports, a replacement plane with Israeli passengers finally took off for Tel Aviv on Wednesday afternoon. The rare direct flight between the countries, which do not have diplomatic relations, will take about 45 minutes, Israeli broadcaster N12 reported. A little later, Israeli media confirmed that the plane had landed safely.
