Netanyahu lauds passengers who ‘prevented catastrophe’ on flydubai flight

“I salute these heroes who showed extraordinary resourcefulness and courage,” the prime minister said.

By World Israel News Staff

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that the pilot accused of stabbing a fellow crew member aboard a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv apparently tried to crash the aircraft with its passengers still aboard, describing the midair emergency as an “extremely serious security incident.”

The aircraft, carrying roughly 150 passengers, most of them Israelis, plunged sharply during the incident before crew members and passengers intervened and the plane was diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

“Almost all of the passengers on the flight were Israelis,” Netanyahu said in a video statement following hours of security consultations.

As the aircraft approached Israel, he said, “one of the pilots stabbed the other pilot, and apparently he tried to crash the plane with its passengers.”

Netanyahu said he had spoken personally with an Israeli passenger who helped intervene during the emergency.

According to the prime minister, the passenger and a crew member broke into the cockpit while the suspected attacker was attempting to damage the aircraft’s systems and managed to overpower him.

Another member of the flight crew then entered the cockpit and stabilized the aircraft, Netanyahu said.

“I salute these heroes who showed extraordinary resourcefulness and courage,” he said. “They saved many lives; they averted a major catastrophe.”

The aircraft landed safely at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Tabuk, where Saudi authorities detained the suspected attacker for questioning.

Netanyahu said Israel remained in continuous contact with the relevant authorities to ensure the safety of those aboard and arrange their return.

“We are in continuous contact with the relevant authorities to guarantee the continued safety of the passengers and their safe return home,” he said.

Netanyahu also said he had instructed Israeli security agencies to prepare for the possibility of similar threats.

“We are holding ongoing situation assessments, and we will update you in accordance with developments,” he said.

The incident occurred aboard flydubai Flight FZ1073, a Boeing 737 traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday morning.

Flight-tracking data showed the aircraft descending by nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds before transmitting an emergency signal.

The plane initially broadcast transponder code 7700, indicating a general emergency. It subsequently transmitted code 7500, which signals unlawful interference with an aircraft, before later returning to 7700.

The alerts prompted Israel to scramble fighter jets and convene emergency security consultations as officials initially sought to determine whether the aircraft had been hijacked.

Israeli officials later told Reuters that their assessment had shifted toward a suspected terrorist attack after information emerged indicating that the co-pilot had stabbed the captain.

One Israeli official identified the suspected attacker as an Omani national.

Officials said they did not believe the incident resulted from a mental health episode, though Saudi authorities had not publicly announced a motive by Wednesday afternoon and the investigation remained underway.

Flydubai has so far provided few details about what happened inside the cockpit.

“Flydubai can confirm that flight FZ1073 operating from Dubai International (DXB) to Ben Gurion Airport (TLV) on 30 September experienced an incident while en route,” the airline said.

“The aircraft landed safely in Tabuk (TUU), and all passengers are safe and accounted for,” it added, saying the airline was cooperating with authorities.

Saudi officials said both pilots were hospitalized with injuries after the landing.

Passengers described chaotic scenes aboard the aircraft as it rapidly lost altitude.

Yasmin Abukasis, whose daughter Miriam was aboard the flight, told Reuters that her daughter heard screaming and saw a man holding a knife force one of the pilots to the floor. She said her daughter also reported seeing blood throughout the area.

Israeli media published footage and photographs purportedly taken aboard the plane showing blood on passengers and inside the aircraft, though some of the material could not immediately be independently verified.

Earlier Wednesday, Israeli officials had been more cautious about describing the incident.

Around the time the plane landed, Prime Minister’s Office spokesman Doron Spielman told Reuters that authorities did not believe it was a hijacking, calling it a “different incident.”

Later assessments by Israeli security officials increasingly focused on the possibility that the pilot deliberately sought to bring down the aircraft.

Some of the Israeli passengers stranded at Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk Airport have boarded a special flight organized by flydubai to Tel Aviv.

However, according to Channel 12, some passengers refused to board the flight, insisting that in light of the incident, they return home on an Israeli carrier.