Brawl in the cockpit of a Flydubai plane: Pilot and co-pilot injured

Passenger Miriam Shira Ohayon claimed in her statement on Wednesday, "The co-pilot stabbed the captain pilot and tried to crash the plane."

Ohayon said that the plane appeared "almost out of control" for a while due to the incident that occurred while the plane was in Jordanian airspace during the Dubai-Tel Aviv flight. Speaking to reporters from his mother's phone, who was waiting for him at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, Ohayon said, "The co-pilot tried to kill the pilot."

It was claimed that during the incident, the pilot dived from an altitude of approximately 30 thousand feet to 15 thousand feet at a speed of Mach 1.

“PASSENGERS DUTIFIED”

According to AFP, Ohayon said that with the quick intervention of some people on the plane, the co-pilot was taken under control and rendered unable to move.

"There was a doctor on the plane who gave first aid. Some people helped both pilots. There were no other injuries except the captain pilot," Ohayon said.

The passenger's mother, Yasmin Abukasis, claimed that after the attack, other pilots on the plane went into the cockpit, took control of the plane and changed the route.

ISRAEL: “NOT AN ACT OF TERROR”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced that the incident was not a hijack attempt or a terrorist attack.

In a previous statement, Flydubai stated that there was an incident during the flight on flight FZ 1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv and that the plane landed safely in Tabuk.

In its later statement, the company stated that the incident was an argument and brawl in the cockpit.

Flydubai noted that the cause of the incident is not yet known, the motivation is not clear and the official investigation into the incident is ongoing. The company also called for no speculation until the investigation is concluded.

EMERGENCY HAS BEEN DECLARED

Tabuk Airport officials announced that they received an emergency landing request from the plane and emergency procedures were activated after the call.

In the statement made by Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport, it was stated that the plane landed at 06.45 GMT and that both the captain pilot and the co-pilot were injured.

While the two pilots were hospitalized, it was reported that the necessary support was provided to the passengers and another plane was arranged for the passengers in coordination with Flydubai.

It was stated that such incidents are extremely rare on Flydubai flights and the company has not recorded a similar incident before.