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Copilot subdued after stabbing pilot in alleged attempt to crash plane full of Israelis
Confirmed
In Short: Passengers aboard a FlyDubai flight to Tel Aviv subdued a copilot who allegedly stabbed the pilot in an apparent terror attempt.
Passengers aboard a FlyDubai flight to Tel Aviv on Wednesday sprang into action after a pilot allegedly stabbed another and plunged the plane thousands of feet in an apparent attempt to crash it, Israeli officials said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the intention was to crash the plane, killing everyone on board. Passengers described a violent mid-air incident as the unidentified pilot allegedly stabbed the other pilot in the cockpit.
According to passenger Miriam, they heard screams and saw blood from someone who had tried to murder the pilot with a pocketknife. The plane then lost control.
Netanyahu said the plane went into a spin and began to dive. Passengers were predominantly Israeli citizens, he noted.
Another flight crew member entered the cockpit and managed to stabilize the plane. Passengers managed to break into the cockpit and overpower the attacker.
Two off-duty pilots seated at the back of the aircraft rushed to the cockpit to take control, one passenger told the BBC.
The suspect, reportedly of Omani descent, stabbed the pilot and plotted to bring down the Boeing 737 Max jet with 174 people on board, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed.
Katz credited the fearless passengers on board for subduing the alleged attacker and saving the lives of the passengers, which included 27 children.
The pilot was arrested and is currently being questioned in Saudi Arabia. The captain was seriously wounded and taken for treatment after the plane landed.
Israeli Air Force fighter jets were scrambled toward the plane in the intervening time.
The incident was assessed as an attempted terror attack and not related to any mental health issue with either of the pilots.
What's confirmed
- Passengers aboard a FlyDubai flight to Tel Aviv on Wednesday sprang into action after a pilot allegedly stabbed another and plunged the plane thousands of feet in an apparent attempt to crash it, Israeli officials said.
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the intention was to crash the plane, killing everyone on board. Passengers described a violent mid-air incident as the unidentified pilot allegedly stabbed the other pilot in the cockpit.
- According to passenger Miriam, they heard screams and saw blood from someone who had tried to murder the pilot with a pocketknife. The plane then lost control.
- Netanyahu said the plane went into a spin and began to dive. Passengers were predominantly Israeli citizens, he noted.
- Another flight crew member entered the cockpit and managed to stabilize the plane. Passengers managed to break into the cockpit and overpower the attacker.
- Two off-duty pilots seated at the back of the aircraft rushed to the cockpit to take control, one passenger told the BBC.
- The suspect, reportedly of Omani descent, stabbed the pilot and plotted to bring down the Boeing 737 Max jet with 174 people on board, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed.
- Katz credited the fearless passengers on board for subduing the alleged attacker and saving the lives of the passengers, which included 27 children.
- The pilot was arrested and is currently being questioned in Saudi Arabia. The captain was seriously wounded and taken for treatment after the plane landed.
- Israeli Air Force fighter jets were scrambled toward the plane in the intervening time.
- The incident was assessed as an attempted terror attack and not related to any mental health issue with either of the pilots.
What's still developing
- "He managed to break into the cockpit with one of the crew members, and together they subdued the pilot who had committed the stabbing while he was attempting to sabotage the aircraft's systems," Netanyahu said.
- "We jumped and helped the pilot. Friends, everything is OK now, as you can see we are landing in Saudi Arabia, you can see I am fine. That’s it. We will see in a few minutes what will happen when we land," Itzhak Liber, a passenger, said in a video he posted on Facebook.
- “We’re here during the hijacking of an airplane. At this point we’ve subdued the terrorists, we’re approaching landing. Whoever is hearing me, we need help,” he said in a first-person video posted on X.
- The subdued copilot and gravely wounded pilot, both soaked in blood, were seen in another grisly video captured in the aircraft’s galley as several crew members tended to their injuries.
- “Those three Israeli guys [who. he said, subdued the attacker] are real heroes. It’s hard to explain just how heroic they were,” he said.
- “There were no other injuries, she said, “but the bigger fear was really a crash, which is exactly what [the assailant] was trying to do.
- An Israeli official, speaking anonymously, said “the most severe incident” was prevented, evidently referring to the potential for the plane to have crashed with all passengers on board.
- Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk airport said the pilot and copilot were both injured and had been hospitalized.