A flydubai passenger aircraft en route from Dubai to Tel Aviv with 100 passengers on board was diverted to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after one of the pilots reportedly stabbed the other with a knife during an altercation whilst in flight – presumably with the intention of hijacking and crashing the plane.
Whilst the incident was unfolding, an emergency code was issued, triggering fears of a hijacking, reports the Jerusalem Post.
An Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post a “major disaster was narrowly avoided” amid growing fears that one of the pilots attempted to hijack the plane with the intention of crashing it into the ground. Additional flight crew, aided by Israelis on board the flight, managed to subdue the pilot and bring him under control, the official told the Post. The growing assessment among the Israeli security establishment, including the IDF, Mossad, and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), is that the incident was intended as an act of terror.
During the altercation, the aircraft plunged approximately 4,000 meters in altitude, the official noted.
The aircraft, operating as flight FZ1073 and carrying over 100 Israeli passengers, initially transmitted squawk code 7700, indicating a general emergency, before switching to 7500, which signals unlawful interference, and later reverting to the initial code.
The Israeli Air Force put fighter jets on standby, but the aircraft subsequently landed at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Airport in Saudi Arabia with all passengers safe.
Israeli sources say the suspected pilot is from Oman, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Channel 12 initially reported that one pilot was Russian and the other Ukrainian.
