Tel Aviv [Israel], October 1: A pilot on a Tel Aviv-bound flight allegedly stabbed his co-pilot and tried to crash the aircraft on Wednesday, according to Israeli officials and media reports.
Passengers helped overpower the alleged attacker, Israeli media reported, with the Flydubai plane making an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir described the alleged attacker as a terrorist who "planned to crash a plane and murder the 180 Israelis on board."
Flydubai Flight FZ1073, travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv, landed at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport in the north-western Saudi city of Tabuk.
The airport said its air traffic control centre received a distress call from the aircraft at 8:44 am (0544 GMT), requesting an emergency landing.
An emergency was declared and preparations were made to assist the aircraft, which landed safely at 9.45am, according to a statement. Both the captain and co-pilot were injured and taken to hospital for treatment, the airport said, without providing details about how they were injured.
Passengers were provided with assistance, while the airport coordinated with the airline to arrange a replacement aircraft. Saudi authorities were investigating the incident.
Flydubai confirmed that there had been an "incident" on board, according to broadcaster Al Arabiya.
The aircraft had reportedly transmitted the emergency code 7700, which indicates a general emergency, before switching to 7500, the code used to signal a hijacking.
Israeli news portal Ynet reported that the aircraft went into a steep descent before one pilot, with the help of passengers, prevented the other from crashing it. Ynet also published a video showing an Israeli passenger with blood covering his face shortly after the incident.
A passenger told broadcaster N12 there had been "screams and panic" as passengers helped subdue the alleged attacker. Another said she later saw a large amount of blood in the cockpit.
"There were moments when we thought we wouldn't make it out alive," she said.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also described the incident as an attempt to crash the aircraft and kill those on board.
An Israeli spokeswoman confirmed that the suspected co-pilot was being questioned in Saudi Arabia.
According to Israeli media reports later, the passengers landed at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport early Wednesday evening, where their friends and family were waiting.
The flight from Tabuk took about 45 minutes, Israeli TV channel N12 reported.
Israeli media reported that there were 174 passengers on the flight, among them 27 children.
Source: Qatar Tribune
