Flydubai Flight Forced To Land In Saudi Arabia After Pilot Attack

The Attack Unfolds

A knife-wielding co-pilot stabbed his captain and tried to crash a plane full of people on Wednesday. Passengers overpowered the attacker and stopped a potential 9/11-style disaster in mid-air. The flight was heading from Dubai to Tel Aviv with roughly 174 people on board. It dropped 18,000 feet before the brave crew and travelers took control. The plane made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia to get medical help.

Israeli officials say the co-pilot aimed the jet at the ground after stabbing the captain. One official told Channel 12 that a “major disaster was narrowly avoided.” The aircraft sent a distress code for unlawful interference before vanishing from tracking apps. Two off-duty pilots in the back helped steady the crippled jet during the chaos.

Passengers broke into the cockpit to wrestle the attacker to the floor. According to a video, a passenger reported hearing screams from the aircraft roughly one to two hours before landing. Another man told reporters they saw “large amounts of blood” from the pilot who had been stabbed.

The Emergency Landing

Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Airport in Tabuk received the damaged Boeing 737 MAX 8 without incident. This location in northwestern Saudi Arabia is remarkable since the two nations have no formal diplomatic ties. The Saudi aviation company Cluster2 confirmed the flight carried 180 people when it requested help. They said the captain and first officer were injured and sent to a hospital immediately.

Flydubai confirmed the incident happened on September 30 while the plane was en route to Israel. The airline stated that all passengers are safe and accounted for on the ground. “The incident is under control, and all measures are currently being deployed in order to return the Israeli passengers safely to Israel,” an official said, according to the Washington Examiner. There were over 100 Israeli citizens on this specific flight.

Israeli officials are considering sending a rescue plane to bring the stranded passengers home. Complications arise since the Jewish state lacks diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister, is tracking the situation closely and held consultations regarding it.

Passenger Heroism

Ordinary Israelis became extraordinary when they faced a hijacker with a pocketknife. One blood-spattered passenger said in a video that the attacker had been “neutralized” by the group. Crew members forced their way through the cockpit door to stop the violence. The passengers pinned the men down while blood streaked the cabin walls.

As the wheels touched the ground in Saudi Arabia, the Israeli passengers shouted “Am Yisrael Chai.” This phrase means “The People of Israel Live” in Hebrew. The captain is a citizen of the United Arab Emirates while the accused attacker is from Oman. Israeli outlets identified both men by their citizenship after the landing.

Next Steps for Passengers

Officials are still investigating the details of the violent incident between the two pilots. The Saudi airport received the distress call at about 8:44 a.m. local time on Wednesday. Following the altitude drop, the aircraft touched down safely at 09:45 local time. Israeli officials suspect this was an attempted terror attack based on their security assessments.

Terrorists frequently employed hijackings against Israel as a tactic between 1960 and 1980. Methods comparable to those were utilized by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in that period. Today, the focus remains on getting the 100+ Israeli passengers back home safely. The Saudi aviation company said the injured pilots received necessary medical care right away.