A Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was involved in a terrifying incident when one of the pilots stabbed the other pilot and attempted to disable the plane.
What happened
Passengers on the flight described the moment the plane dropped 17,000ft in less than two minutes as "terrifying". One passenger, Yaniv Hayun, recounted how he and others subdued the attacker after he stabbed the other pilot. Hayun said he grabbed the attacker, put him in a chokehold, and pulled him out of the cockpit. He then jumped back into the cockpit and "started pulling the controls" to help level out the plane.
Other passengers, including Zvika Meness, helped overpower the attacker and tie him up with zip ties and multimedia headphones. Two on-duty pilots who were in the passenger cabin then took control of the plane and landed it safely at Tabuk airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia.
The stabbed pilot, Captain Smit Machchhar, was taken to hospital but is in stable condition. The attacker was arrested and is being questioned by Saudi authorities. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the passengers who subdued the attacker as "great heroes" and the stabbed pilot as a "true hero" of "extraordinary bravery".
The incident is being investigated, with Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz calling it an "attempted jihadist terror attack". However, no official motive for the incident or further information has been given.
