Flydubai Flight to Israel Nearly Hijacked
United Arab Emirates (UAE) airline, Flydubai, narrowly escaped a hijacking attempt during a flight destined for Israel. Consequently, Flydubai has announced the suspension of all flights to and from Israel until an investigation into the cockpit disturbance is completed.
“Following the incident involving flight FZ 1073 on 30 September, and in coordination with the relevant authorities, Flydubai flights to and from Israel will be suspended while the investigation is ongoing,” stated a Flydubai spokesperson, as quoted by AFP.
The Flydubai flight on the Dubai-Israel route was suddenly diverted to Saudi Arabia. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that one of the pilots attempted to crash the aircraft, killing all passengers.
“During the flight, as they approached the destination, one pilot stabbed the other and appeared to attempt to crash the plane along with everyone on board,” Netanyahu said in a video message.
Netanyahu claimed to have spoken with an Israeli passenger who breached the cockpit as the plane began to dive and struggled against the pilot attempting to crash the aircraft.
“I pay tribute to these heroes, who showed extraordinary ingenuity and courage. They saved many lives; they prevented a major catastrophe,” said Netanyahu.
Several passengers provided similar accounts regarding the incident on board. They described a struggle for control after the aircraft suddenly entered a steep dive. According to the Flightradar2<0xA0>24 website, the aircraft lost approximately 17,000 feet in altitude within one minute.
Flydubai confirmed that all 174 passengers are safe. Of that number, 166 are Israeli nationals. Meanwhile, Flydubai stated that the exact cause of the disturbance inside the aircraft is not yet known.
According to the airline, the flight was diverted to Tabuk at 09:45 local time. The captain and co-pilot were reported to have sustained injuries and were rushed to the hospital.
Meanwhile, a passenger named Miryam Shira Ohayon shared her testimony of the incident. Miryam stated that the plane nearly lost control when the stabbing incident occurred in Jordanian airspace, en route from Dubai to Tel Aviv.
“The co-pilot tried to kill the pilot and essentially attempted a suicide mission using the aircraft,” she told reporters via a telephone connection held by her mother, who was waiting for her at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv.
“The plane almost certainly crashed, and it was only thanks to the alertness of many people who managed to restrain the co-pilot and neutralise him that the situation was resolved,” she added.