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What happened on the plane?

Flydubai's Tel Aviv service made an emergency landing at Tabuk Airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after an attack in the cockpit. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said one of the pilots stabbed the other and tried to bring down the aircraft, adding that the suspect was detained by Saudi authorities.

The aircraft, operating as FZ1073, departed Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates at 03:05 GMT and was bound for Ben Gurion Airport in Israel. Flight-tracking data showed the plane lost more than 17,000 feet of altitude in less than two minutes over Saudi Arabia about two and a half hours later, after first sending transponder codes 7700 and then 7500 for an emergency. After briefly entering Jordanian airspace, it landed in Tabuk at 06:58.

How did passengers and crew respond?

According to Netanyahu, a passenger and a crew member entered the cockpit and restrained the attacker. The Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia said injured pilot Captain Smit Machchhar was taken to hospital and was in stable condition.

Key details from passenger accounts

  • Israeli passengers said the attacker tried to damage equipment in the cockpit and interfere with control of the plane.
  • Some passengers said the attacker was tied up using plastic handcuffs and headphone cables, after which the other pilots took over control of the aircraft.

Netanyahu described Machchhar as a hero and said he and the passengers who intervened prevented a major disaster. The prime minister said there were at least 150 people on board, almost all of them Israeli, and in a separate statement claimed 174 lives were saved in the incident.

What did the authorities and Flydubai say?

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz described the incident as an attempt at a 'jihadist terror attack.' However, police, emergency services and agencies leading the investigation have not yet issued any official statement on the motive.

Immediately after the incident, Israeli and Saudi fighter jets were reported to have taken off, while Netanyahu held emergency security consultations. Flydubai said there had been a disturbance on the flight deck, and that company staff brought the situation under control and landed the plane safely in Tabuk. The airline added that it sent two replacement aircraft for passengers and crew, and that the return flight from Tabuk at 5:40 p.m. arrived in Tel Aviv about an hour later.

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