Dubai–Tel Aviv flight incident, Netanyahu: The co-pilot tried to bring down the plane

A serious security incident was recorded on board Flydubai flight FZ1073, travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the co-pilot had stabbed the pilot and then tried to bring down the plane by interfering with its systems. According to him, passengers, together with a member of the crew, managed to enter the cockpit and neutralise him. Other pilots on board took control of the aircraft and landed it safely in Saudi Arabia. The plane was diverted to Tabuk airport, where the passengers disembarked with no reported consequences for their lives. Reuters reported that all passengers were safe. In a statement published by his office, Netanyahu described the event as “a very serious security incident” and said all passengers were out of danger. According to him, most of the passengers on the plane were Israelis. Netanyahu also said he had spoken with one of them, who described the moment the plane entered a sudden roll and began to lose altitude. According to the account cited by the Israeli prime minister, passengers and a crew member forced their way into the cockpit and found the co-pilot interfering with the plane’s systems. According to an Israeli official, the suspected co-pilot is a citizen of Oman. He was arrested after the plane landed in Saudi Arabia and the Saudi authorities are expected to question him about the incident. Israeli officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, have said Israel’s preliminary assessment is that this was an attempted “terrorist attack”. That assessment remains part of the investigation and has not been presented as the conclusion of an independent investigative process. The flight had transmitted emergency signals en route. Flight-tracking data show a sudden, rapid loss of altitude before the plane diverted to Saudi Arabia. Reuters reported that the plane had entered a dangerous situation before passengers and crew intervened. Other reports, referring to Flightradar24 data, said the plane lost about 14,000 feet of altitude in less than 30 seconds. Meanwhile, flydubai has confirmed that flight FZ1073 “had an incident en route” and that all passengers were safe and accounted for. Investigations to establish the full circumstances of the incident are continuing.