Crime · updated 57m ago · 2 min read
Benjamin Netanyahu Says Flydubai Copilot Stabbed Pilot, Tried To Crash FZ1073
Co-pilot stabbed the captain and appeared to crash the aircraft en route to Tel Aviv. Jet diverted to Saudi Arabia and made an emergency landing after cockpit incident.
Whether it is explicitly framed as a jihadist terrorist attack.
6 of 7 outlets skipped it: saudi Tabuk later returned Israeli passengers after Mossad help.
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Same story, two versions
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The Times of Israel
“the incident ‘was a jihadist terrorist attack attempt, which was thwarted only thanks to the bravery of several Israeli passengers’”Read the original ↗
News18
“Security agencies are currently investigating if one of the crew members was deliberately attempting to crash the aircraft and if there was a terror angle.”Read the original ↗
The Times of Israel emphasises a jihadist attack attempt, while News18 foregrounds investigation and a possible terror angle.
Stabbing, plunge, diversion
Benjamin Netanyahu said that “one of the pilots stabbed the other pilot” during the Flydubai flight that later made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia after a sudden plunge. Netanyahu said the pilot “tried to crash the plane with its occupants,” and he described the episode as an “extremely serious security incident.” The incident involved Flydubai flight FZ1073, which departed Dubai bound for Tel Aviv and ended up landing in Tabuk (Saudi Arabia), according to the accounts describing the diversion.
“‘During the flight, as they were approaching the country, one of the pilots stabbed the other pilot.”
Alleged cockpit chaos shaped passenger recollections, with Almog Italie saying the aircraft felt like it was passing through “massive turbulence” before he realised a life-or-death struggle had unfolded in the cockpit. The accounts also describe the aircraft transmitting emergency alerts, with one report stating it fell more than 5 kilometers in less than two minutes, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
Competing labels, passenger restraint
Israel’s defense minister Israel Katz said the incident was an “attempt of jihadist terrorist attack,” and he credited “the heroism of several Israeli passengers” for stopping it. A passenger identified as Daniel told Diari de Tarragona that he believed “without a doubt it was a terrorist attack,” after he heard screams and saw blood on the floor. Miryam Shira Ohayon described screams inside the plane and said the situation could be controlled thanks to people who restrained the co-pilot.
The accounts also describe passengers restraining the alleged attacker and tending to the injured pilot, with one report saying “There was a lot of blood,” and another describing the pilot covered in blood outside the cockpit. The Jerusalem Post later framed the episode as an attempted hijack, saying “multiple passengers helped restrain an Omani hijacker-pilot who attempted to crash the airplane.”
Arrests, codes, and next steps
Netanyahu said the pilot who stabbed his colleague “has been arrested and is currently being questioned by Saudi authorities,” and he ordered Israeli security agencies to prepare for other potential additional threats. The accounts tied the security response to transponder signals, with one report stating the aircraft first transmitted squawk code 7700 before switching to 7500, which signals unlawful interference. The Jerusalem Post said the investigation probed failures including why the Omani pilot was not properly checked for weapons possession, and it also said the Saudis were leading the interrogation while Israel received information secondhand.
The same account said the aircraft plunged about 4,000 meters during the altercation, and it described Israeli airspace being temporarily closed and later reopened after the plane landed in Saudi Arabia. Flydubai said the flight “landed safely” at Tabuk airport and that “all passengers are safe,” while the investigation into the pilots’ conduct remained underway.