Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said a pilot on a Flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv stabbed his fellow pilot and apparently attempted to crash the aircraft with all passengers on board.
Netanyahu made the claim on Wednesday after Flydubai Flight FZ1073, carrying about 170 passengers, including a large majority of Israelis, was forced to divert to Saudi Arabia following a violent incident in the cockpit.
The Boeing 737, which departed Dubai for Tel Aviv, eventually landed safely at Tabuk Airport in north-western Saudi Arabia, after passengers and crew intervened and other pilots on board helped regain control of the aircraft.
Netanyahu described the incident as a serious security event and praised the Israeli passengers who helped subdue the alleged attacker.
“I salute these heroes who demonstrated extraordinary resourcefulness and courage,” Netanyahu said, according to reports. “They saved many lives and prevented a major disaster.”
Netanyahu’s account of what happened
According to Netanyahu, one pilot attacked and stabbed the other as the aircraft approached Israel and then apparently tried to bring down the plane.
The Israeli Prime Minister said he spoke with an Israeli passenger who was involved in the intervention.
He said the passenger reported that the aircraft began spinning and descending before he and a crew member managed to enter the cockpit and overpower the pilot who had allegedly carried out the stabbing.
The passenger, identified in Israeli reports as Yaniv Hayun, said the alleged attacker was attempting to damage the aircraft’s systems before he was restrained.
Other passengers subsequently helped subdue him.
Saudi authorities arrested the alleged attacker after the aircraft landed in Tabuk and began questioning him, according to Netanyahu.
Israel scrambled fighter jets
The emergency triggered a major security response in Israel.
The aircraft transmitted the international 7700 emergency code and subsequently switched to 7500, a transponder code used to indicate unlawful interference with an aircraft.
Flight-tracking data showed the aircraft suddenly losing more than 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds, heightening concerns that the aircraft might have been hijacked or was otherwise in grave danger.
Israeli fighter aircraft were reportedly scrambled as authorities sought to establish what was happening aboard the plane.
The aircraft eventually turned away from its route to Tel Aviv and landed in Tabuk.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said the situation was under control and that measures were being taken to ensure the safe return of the Israeli passengers.
Israel raises possibility of terror attack
The incident has also raised a more serious question for Israeli authorities: whether the cockpit attack was an attempted terrorist operation.
Defence Minister Israel Katz described the incident as an “attempted jihadist terror attack”, saying it was thwarted by passengers who entered the cockpit and subdued the alleged attacker.
However, that characterisation remains an Israeli official claim, not an established finding of the investigation.
Flydubai has so far described the incident only as an “altercation” in the flight deck. The airline said its crew secured the aircraft and diverted it safely to Saudi Arabia, while stressing that the reasons and motives behind the incident remained unknown and were subject to investigation.
There has been no independent confirmation from Saudi investigators establishing a terrorist motive.
Israeli passengers become central to investigation
The role of passengers has emerged as one of the most striking elements of the incident.
Passenger accounts describe panic inside the aircraft after people realised that something was wrong with the flight.
One passenger’s account indicated that people heard screaming and discovered that one of the pilots had been attacked.
As the aircraft descended rapidly, passengers moved towards the cockpit and eventually helped restrain the alleged attacker.
Israeli officials have since hailed those passengers as heroes for helping prevent what could have become a major aviation disaster.
Netanyahu orders heightened security
Following the incident, Netanyahu instructed Israel’s security establishment to prepare for potential additional threats.
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Israel also plans to tighten security checks on pilots operating flights into the country, according to Reuters, as authorities examine how the incident occurred and whether additional security measures are necessary for Israeli and foreign carriers.
The investigation is expected to examine the circumstances of the cockpit confrontation, the weapon allegedly used, the rapid descent, the emergency signals and the alleged attempt to interfere with the aircraft’s controls.
The motive of the alleged attacker remains unclear.
Saudi Arabia provides emergency landing
The incident placed Saudi Arabia at the centre of the emergency response despite the absence of formal diplomatic relations between Riyadh and Israel.
The aircraft landed at Tabuk, where the captain and first officer were taken to hospital with injuries.
The passengers were subsequently evacuated and arrangements were made for their onward journey to Israel.
For Israel, the incident has therefore evolved from an alarming aviation emergency into a wider security investigation.
Netanyahu’s account has put the alleged cockpit attack and the actions of Israeli passengers at the centre of the story, while the formal investigation in Saudi Arabia and other authorities is expected to determine what triggered the confrontation, whether the aircraft was deliberately targeted and whether the incident constituted an attempted terrorist attack.