Live: Captain, first officer of flydubai flight hospitalised, says Saudi's Tabuk Airport
A flydubai passenger identified as Daniel told Channel 12 that he feared the worst after a struggle reportedly broke out in the cockpit and the plane suddenly went into a steep dive.
"I heard a struggle. Something like a fight coming from the cockpit," Daniel said from Saudi Arabia's Tabuk Airport. He said passengers then saw the aircraft nose-dive and spin violently. Daniel said he understood that the co-pilot had stabbed the captain and that two off-duty pilots later took control after the attacker was subdued.
"It felt like, that's it. It's over. September 11 is happening again," he said, adding that he believed it was a terrorist attack after hearing screams and seeing blood on the floor.
Photos published by Israeli media show apparent damage to the rudder of the flydubai plane after it landed at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia. The images show part of the rudder missing from the aircraft’s vertical stabiliser, while passengers, many of them Israeli, can be seen disembarking.
The Boeing 737 MAX made a sharp descent during the incident, dropping from about 34,000 feet to around 17,000 feet in less than a minute.
Israeli opposition leaders praised passengers who reportedly intervened during the flydubai flight incident, while accusing the government and its allies of using the episode for political gain. According to The Times of Israel, Democrats leader Yair Golan praised their "extraordinary resourcefulness and courage" and criticised what he called attempts by the government to "play cheap politics" over the incident.
Government allies have linked the episode to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's warning about unspecified security threats a day earlier. Opposition leader Yair Lapid, who had dismissed that warning as political point-scoring, said nothing resembling Wednesday’s incident was included in the security assessment he received from Netanyahu.
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said the alleged attack on a flydubai flight showed Israel must intensify its military campaigns across the region.
"Thank God and the heroic passengers, but Israel's security doctrine must be taken to the next level," Ben Gvir said, calling for continued action in Iran, Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank.
The circumstances of the incident remain unclear. Passengers reportedly intervened after an apparent attempt by one of the pilots to crash the plane, which was carrying about 180 Israelis. The flight was diverted to Saudi Arabia and landed safely. There is currently no indication that any organisation or state directed the incident. Ben Gvir also said terrorism should be defeated rather than negotiated with.
Israeli Transport Minister Miri Regev has called for all flydubai flights to Israel to be suspended following this morning’s incident on a Dubai-Tel Aviv flight, Hebrew media reported.
Regev has also asked the Civil Aviation Authority to examine whether the UAE breached its aviation agreement with Israel, which reportedly requires pilots landing in Israel to hold passports from countries with diplomatic ties with the country.
Saudi Arabia's Tabuk Airport said the captain and first officer of the flydubai flight diverted to the kingdom were injured and hospitalised. According to the Times of Israel, the flight, bound for Tel Aviv, landed at Tabuk at 9:45 AM local time (0645 GMT). Both pilots were taken to hospital, while passengers received the necessary care, the airport operator said.
Israeli officials investigating the incident increasingly believe the co-pilot attacked the captain and attempted to crash the plane.
