Dubai to Tel Aviv flight made emergency landing due to fight between pilots(timesofisrael.com) |
Dubai to Tel Aviv flight made emergency landing due to fight between pilots(timesofisrael.com) |
An anonymous Israeli official told Reuters that a fight broke out among the pilots. Passenger Miriam told i24News that she first heard shouting from the cockpit, then the cockpit door opened and passengers saw a lot of blood. She said the pilot was wounded with a knife. Two Israeli passengers—a doctor and a nurse—provided first aid. Some passengers were pilots who took over the controls and landed the plane in Tabuk.
Investigators are examining a version in which one pilot wanted to crash the aircraft. The other pilot reportedly struck the captain with a knife several times, apparently trying to seize control and crash the plane with everyone on board. Whether it was a suicide attempt or a terror act is still unclear. Several passengers and crew members forced their way into the cockpit and stopped him, Israeli journalist Amit Segal reported. He posted a photo of the FlyDubai crew member whose shirt was soaked in blood.
Initial reports said the pilots were Russian and Ukrainian citizens. Russian propaganda has begun using that narrative (“The second pilot, a Ukrainian, inflicted repeated knife wounds on the Russian captain,” wrote Vladimir Solovyov’s Telegram channel), but it is not verified. According to the latest Israeli outlets Ynet and Walla, the captain is an Emirati citizen, and the second pilot who injured him and tried to crash the plane is an Omani citizen. He is currently being questioned.
The flight carried 174 passengers, including 27 children. Most of them—about 150—were Israeli citizens. No passengers were injured, though they were clearly frightened; a video allegedly recorded during the flight showing cries circulated online. Walla reports that other Flydubai pilots, who were scheduled to fly to Tel Aviv on this route, completed the flight. After landing in Tabuk, FlyDubai sent a standby aircraft to transport the passengers to Tel Aviv.
“Based on our initial information, the terrorist [the second pilot] intended to bring down the aircraft together with all passengers,” Gallant said. He added that the disaster was prevented only because several Israeli passengers took action. “They stormed the cockpit, neutralized the terrorist and returned control of the plane to the other flight crew on board,” the minister said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized that most passengers on the flight were Israeli. He added that after the emergency landing, Saudi authorities detained the second pilot, and he continues to be questioned.
Earlier, sources within Israeli officials told Reuters anonymously that, according to Israel’s current assessment, the incident was a terror attempt, not a matter of any pilot’s mental health issues.