Pilot Arrested After Stabbing on Flydubai Flight to Israel

A flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was diverted to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after one pilot stabbed the other and 'apparently tried to crash the plane', Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said.

The pilot was arrested and is being questioned by Saudi authorities, Netanyahu added.

The stabbed pilot, identified as Indian national Capt Smit Machchhar, was taken to hospital after the flight landed and later called a 'hero' by the Israeli prime minister.

What Happened to the Flight?

Flydubai's flight FZ1073 took off from Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates at 03:05 GMT (07:05 local time) en route to Ben-Gurion Airport in Israel.

The flight was carrying at least 150 people, with Netanyahu saying 'almost all' passengers were Israeli.

Data from flight tracking website Flightrader24 shows a rapid descent for the plane over Saudi Arabia around two and a half hours after take-off, dropping more than 17,000 feet (over 5,000m) in less than two minutes at around 05:21.

Minutes later, the plane signalled an emergency code - squawk 7700 - before switching it to a squawk 7500 code reporting a hijacking.

At 05:40, the plane - which had briefly entered Jordanian airspace - looped back into Saudi Arabia, where it later started its manual descent for landing.

Less than an hour later, the plane returned to squawk 7700.

Passenger Accounts

Passenger Yaniv Hayun, who was later greeted and described as a hero by Netanyahu, said in a video released by the prime minister's office that he and others were trying to open the cockpit door, but the stabbed pilot was very close to it.

Before the pilot collapsed, the injured man managed to open the door, Hayun said.

He said that inside, the attacker was 'trying to destroy the instruments in order to disable the plane'.

Hayun then described putting the attacker in a chokehold and pulling him outside of the cockpit before other passengers helped to pin him down.

He added that he 'pulled the controls' of the plane, explaining to Netanyahu that he watches Canadian documentary series Air Crash Investigation.

'The plane started to level out, a bit more, and then [another] pilot told me he was taking control from there.'

Response

Shortly after the incident, the Israeli and Saudi Arabian air forces dispatched fighter jets, while Netanyahu held urgent consultations.

Speaking later on Wednesday, Netanyahu called the situation a 'a very serious security incident'.

He added Israeli security forces are 'maintaining close contact with the relevant authorities to ensure the continued safety of the passengers'.

'I salute these heroes who demonstrated extraordinary resourcefulness and courage,' he added.

'They saved many lives and prevented a major disaster.'

Flydubai meanwhile said 'an altercation occurred in the flight deck' and the flight was 'successfully secured by on-duty Flydubai crew travelling on the flight, who diverted and landed the aircraft safely at Tabuk airport'.

The airline said two replacement aircraft were sent to Tabuk to relieve the passengers and crew, and the incident had no impact on other scheduled operations.

The repatriation flight carrying passengers left Tabuk at 17:40 local time (14:40 GMT) and arrived in Tel Aviv at around 18:40 local time (15:40 GMT).

US President Donald Trump said he had spoken with Netanyahu following the incident, saying it seemed as though the attacker was 'perhaps a terrorist' or there were other reasons behind the attack.