What happened
A Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was the scene of an attempted terror attack when the co-pilot, an Omani national, allegedly stabbed the pilot, Indian national Smit Machchhar, and tried to take control of the plane.
Despite being seriously injured, Machchhar fought back and managed to open the cockpit door, allowing two off-duty pilots to enter and land the plane safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
Passengers also played a crucial role in subduing the attacker, with one passenger, a flight instructor, helping to pull the plane out of a dive and another passenger restraining the attacker.
The plane had dropped roughly 17,000 feet in less than two minutes before the cockpit was secured and the attacker subdued, with Israeli fighter jets scrambled in response to the emergency.
Machchhar, a veteran pilot with nearly 10,000 hours of flight experience, is credited with saving the lives of 174 people on board, including Israeli citizens and other nationals.
Israeli officials have described the incident as an attempted terror attack, and security officials are continuing to investigate the attack and its motive.
