An Israeli-bound passenger plane that took off in Dubai on Wednesday morning plunged 17,000 feet after the co-pilot stabbed the pilot multiple times in a reported attempted hijacking. The Flydubai Boeing 737 Max 8 plane, carrying 174 passengers, including 27 children, had left Dubai bound for Tel Aviv shortly before 7 am local time before the incident, about 2 and a half hours into the flight.
"The suspected terror hijacker is believed to be of Omani nationality, according to initial investigations," The Jerusalem Post reports. Oman and Israel are not on diplomatic terms. 166 of the 174 passengers aboard were Israeli.
"There was a fight to the death in the cockpit," said retired Navy fight pilot Matthew Buckley.
Cockpit video that emerged on social media backs up that account.
The plane transmitted the emergency code 7700, followed by 7500, which indicates a hijacking. Radar signal was turned off, and the flight disappeared from flight-tracking. While Israeli air traffic control could not contact the plane for more than 30 minutes.
The co-pilot repeatedly stabbed the pilot in the cockpit while trying to take control of the airplane. Crew members and passengers were able to break through the cockpit door and subdue the co-pilot, according to the New York Post. While the details of the intended plot were not yet clear, speculation emerged that the co-pilot sought to crash the plane into the ground.
There were two other pilots on board, in civilian clothes, who were able to gain access to the cockpit after the attacker and original pilot were removed. These men were able to safely land the plane.
An Israeli passenger recorded a video on board, saying, translated, "We’ve now subdued the terrorists. We’re about to land. Anyone who can hear me, we need help. We’re descending into Tabuk, apparently somewhere in Saudi Arabia, an unfamiliar, unknown area. Everyone on the plane is safe and sound except for the pilot. We need help."
"The aircraft has landed safely in Tabuk (TUU), and all passengers are safe and accounted for. The safety and well-being of our passengers and crew remain our highest priority. Our teams are working closely with the relevant authorities. Further updates will be issued as additional confirmed details become available," Flydubai said in a statement.
One of the passengers said, “It was like a terrorist attack in mid-air.”
An official said, “One pilot stabbed the other and tried to do 9/11.”
“A very serious disaster was averted,” officials said. It appears that the co-pilot intended to take over control of the airplane and crash it. A similar event occurred in July 1976 when an Air France flight to Paris was hijacked."
According to FlightAware data, the plane dropped from about 33,000 feet to 15,400 feet in 12 minutes, and Israeli fighter jets were scrambled. The site where the plane successfully landed was a civilian and military base in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
FlyDubai is the low-cost alternative carrier of Emirates airlines. A spokesman confirmed that an incident had occurred and that the plane had landed safely. Photographs have emerged showing passengers covered in blood as the story is unfording. “Our teams are working closely with relevant authorities,” and “Further updates will be issued as additional confirmed details become available,” according to the airline spokesman.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, said "The incident is under control, and all measures are currently being deployed in order to return the Israeli passengers safely to Israel." Officials with Israeli security agencies stated that this attack was intended to be an act of terror.
Israeli-bound flights are known to include sometimes very thorough check-in procedures, and Israel has not experienced a hijacking in decades.
