Passengers share details as they claim pilot was stabbed during 'fight' mid-flight
A Flydubai plane dropped more than 17,000 feet in under two minutes over Saudi Arabia today (September 30th) with passengers claiming a pilot was stabbed on board.
Flight FZ1073 was carrying around 150 people, most of them Israeli, when it left Dubai International Airport bound for Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.
It never made it there, landing instead at Tabuk Airport in northeastern Saudi Arabia.
Israeli officials have told Associated Press the emergency followed an 'altercation' between the pilot and co-pilot, although reported passenger accounts have differed on exactly what unfolded.
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What happened on the FlyDubai flight to Tel Aviv?
Flightradar24 data shows the plane was cruising at 34,000 feet just over two hours after take-off, shortly before 8:21am local time. In less than two minutes it had lost more than 17,000 feet, and its altitude kept fluctuating significantly for the rest of the journey to Tabuk.
Yasmin Abukasis, who was waiting at Ben Gurion airport, said her daugther Miriam phoned her from the plane.
"The plane start to lose control. So all the people, they scream, they think they are going," she told AP news agency.
Yasmin said her daughter had described a man with a knife forcing one of the pilots to the floor, with blood everywhere. She said two other pilots took control of the plane while other passengers ran towards the man.
A female passenger told Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom that the moment people realized the plane was descending was 'very stressful'.
'We understood the pilots lost control' she said. She claimed one pilot suffered serious stab wounds before the attacker could be dragged off him.
Another passenger told the Jerusalem Post that one pilot was stabbed by another, and that passengers near the front of the plane helped force the attacker from the cockpit. Two other pilots on board, seated at the back.
"I shouted at them to run and take control of the plane," the passenger said. The injured pilot was reportedly given life-saving care by a dentist on the flight.
An Israeli passenger also told journalists the crew asked for help, and that passengers then helped tackle one of the pilots and tie him down.
Flightradar24 data shows the plane sent out the general emergency code 7700 at around 5:31am UTC. The tracking site later said on X that a second code, 7500, used to signal 'unlawful interference', was issued at 5:38am, although this isn't visible on its website. The plane later returned to the general emergency signal.
It briefly entered Jordanian airspace before looping back into Saudi airspace six minutes later.
It began descending again at 6:11am UTC on an apparent course towards Tabuk, and its location data reappeared at the airport at 6:58am.
A report from Associated Press quoted an official saying the fight initially broke out in the cockpit, involving both pilots, although the cause of the fight was not clear.
Another official also said that Israel had scrambled warplanes, fearing a hijacking of a jet carrying its citizens.
Flydubai said the flight 'experienced an incident' while en route.
"The aircraft has landed safely in Tabuk Airport (TUU) and all passengers are safe and accounted for," the airline said in a statement. It added that its teams are working closely with the relevant authorities.
Unnamed Israeli officials also spoke to local media.
"A very serious disaster was averted," one told Channel 12, while another told the Jerusalem Post that a 'major disaster was narrowly avoided'.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that the situation was under control, and that efforts were underway to return the Israeli passengers home from Saudi Arabia
Topics: Israel, Plane, World News
Thomas Bamford