By Daily Review Online
Passengers aboard an Israel-bound Flydubai flight reportedly foiled an attempted hijacking after a co-pilot allegedly stabbed the captain during the flight, forcing the aircraft to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
The incident occurred aboard Flydubai flight FZ1073, which was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday.
A passenger filmed himself with blood running down his face as he appealed for help, saying passengers had subdued those involved in the incident.
“We’re here during the hijacking of an airplane. At this point, we’ve subdued the terrorists. We’re approaching landing. Whoever is hearing me, we need help,” the passenger said in a video posted on X.
The passenger later said the aircraft had landed in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, and that most of those on board were safe, although one of the pilots was seriously injured.
“On the plane, everybody is safe and sound, other than the pilot. We need help,” he said.
In another video, a passenger who appeared to have helped restrain the attacker described the ordeal as extremely violent.
“We’ve apparently landed in Saudi Arabia. There’s a pilot that’s seriously injured. They’re taking him to a hospital. There’s another terrorist who … we don’t know his condition, but he was involved somehow. It was rough,” he said.
He added that his clothes were covered in blood following the incident.
Graphic footage from inside the aircraft showed several people attending to two badly injured men in the galley. One appeared to be wearing a pilot’s uniform heavily stained with blood, while another man lay on the floor wearing an oxygen mask.
Israeli officials have launched a terrorism investigation into the incident. Israeli media, citing officials, reported that one pilot stabbed the other and allegedly attempted to take control of the aircraft.
The Boeing 737 Max 8 reportedly had 174 passengers on board, including 27 children.
The aircraft departed Dubai shortly before 7 a.m. and was cruising at about 34,000 feet when the violence reportedly erupted in the cockpit approximately two and a half hours into the journey.
Flight data cited by reports indicated that the aircraft descended rapidly from about 33,000 feet to approximately 15,400 feet within 12 minutes.
Israeli fighter jets were reportedly scrambled as a precaution while the aircraft was diverted.
The plane eventually made an emergency landing in Tabuk, a city in northwestern Saudi Arabia that hosts both civilian and military aviation facilities.
Israeli officials described the incident as averted disaster, while authorities continued investigating the circumstances surrounding the alleged cockpit attack.
The identity, motive and condition of the person accused of attacking the captain were not immediately clear from the available reports.
The incident has renewed attention on aviation security and the risks posed by violence inside an aircraft cockpit, particularly on international routes.