Reuters : Passengers on a flydubai flight reached Israel safely on Wednesday after customers and crew foiled a co-pilot’s attempt to crash the aircraft, Israeli officials said, in a struggle that began when he stabbed the pilot and sent the jet plunging nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds.
Passengers and crew entered the cockpit, overpowered the co-pilot and enabled a second pair of flydubai pilots who were aboard the flight to land the jet safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, Israeli officials said.
More than 10 hours later, the passengers arrived at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport aboard a flydubai replacement aircraft, with several describing the episode as a miracle and recounting a frantic struggle to prevent a catastrophe.
Israeli officials said the attacker’s motive aboard flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv remained under investigation. Israel and the United Arab Emirates, which includes Dubai, signed the Abraham Accords normalizing relations in 2020.
The incident sharpened concerns about global aviation security in a region scarred by years of conflict, prompting Israel to tighten checks on pilots flying into the country.
“I just can say that it was a miracle. It was awful, crazy, and we thank God that we survived it, we didn’t think we will make it but thank God we are in Israel. We are back home. And we are happy to see everyone here,” passenger Lital Shachaf said.
Israel’s ambulance service said a 51-year-old man was taken to an Israeli hospital to be treated for injuries to his upper body. The man was in a “mild condition,” it said.
Describing the event as “a serious security incident,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saudi authorities would interrogate the co-pilot.
Flydubai said in a statement that the underlying reasons for the event remained unknown and warned against “premature speculation.” An Israeli official identified the co-pilot as an Omani national. There was no immediate comment from Oman.
Israeli officials applauded the passengers, who they credited with avoiding a much more serious disaster. Netanyahu said there were 174 people on board the flight from Dubai, most of them Israeli nationals.
US President Donald Trump said he spoke “at length” with Netanyahu on Wednesday about the incident. He proceeded to give reporters in the Oval Office a detailed account of what happened, adding: “This is the story that I heard — I don’t know if it’s true, but that’s the story that I got from Bibi (Netanyahu).”
