Netanyahu says Israel is preparing for other ‘potential threats’ after pilot tried to crash plane

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that one of the pilots of a Flydubai plane bound for Tel Aviv had planned to crash it with intent to kill its mostly Israeli passengers, who he said had stopped a "major disaster".

"During the flight, as they approached the country, one of the pilots stabbed the other pilot, and apparently tried to crash the plane with everyone on board," Netanyahu said in a video message.

The flight abruptly descended from around 10,000 metres to 5,100 metres in about the space of a minute, before making an erratic circle close to the Jordanian border, according to Flightradar24. 

Three Israeli officials earlier described the incident as a possible attempted "terror attack" that had forced the plane to divert to Saudi Arabia, where it landed safely.

Forced landing of Israel-bound flight: What we know so far

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They said the cabin crew entered the cockpit and took control of Flydubai flight FZ1073 from the United Arab Emirates to Israel, which diverted to Saudi ​Arabia as it flew ‌over Jordanian airspace. One of the officials identified the attacker as an Omani national.

The Flydubai plane transmitted an emergency alert shortly after takeoff, according to publicly available flight tracking information.

The flight landed at the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport located in the Saudi city of Tabuk "at 9:45 am (0645 GMT) and its captain and copilot were found to have injuries and were transported to hospital", a statement from the company operating the airport said, adding that passengers received necessary care.

Netanyahu said Saudi authorities had arrested and were interrogating the alleged stabber.

Flydubai said all the passengers – of whom 166 out of 174 were Israeli, according to media reports – were safe. They stressed that the underlying reasons for the event remained unknown and warned against "premature speculation".

The airline announced later on Wednesday that it was suspending flights to and from Israel while the incident was being investigated.

'Out of control'

Passenger Miryam Shira Ohayon said the plane was "pretty much out of control" when the stabbing took place over Jordan on the flight's path from Dubai to Tel Aviv.

"The co-pilot tried to murder the pilot and basically carry out a suicide attack on the plane," she told reporters via speakerphone held up by her mother, who was waiting at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv.

"It was really on the way to crashing, and it was simply the resourcefulness of many people who took control of the co-pilot and neutralised him," she said.

"There was also a doctor who gave first aid, and people who treated both of them. Other than the pilot, there were no injuries, but the bigger fear was really a crash, which is exactly what he was trying to do."

A Netanyahu spokesperson told Reuters that the wounded captain, identified by the Israeli leader's office as Smit Machchhar, an Indian national, was covered with blood on the floor when he managed to click the release to open the cockpit door. Passengers who entered found the ‌co-pilot bashing at the plane's control panel, the spokesperson said.

“This is something you do without thinking, just running to save your daughter’s life, your family’s life,” said Asaf Rajuan, one of the passengers who helped restrain the attacker.

He spoke with a forehead still bloodied from the struggle.

Israeli media reported that two other pilots were flying on the plane as passengers, and that they had taken over the controls to carry out the emergency landing.

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Later on Wednesday, a second Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv showed up on Flightradar24 as having been diverted, but was then shown as continuing on its route.

Flydubai is the lower-cost sister carrier of Emirates airlines. The United Arab Emirates has become a popular vacation destination for Israeli tourists since the countries normalised ties in 2020.

Israel has not experienced a hijacking in decades but maintains some of the strictest airport security in the world.

Doron Spielman, a spokesperson for the Israeli prime minister's office, told Reuters that Netanyahu had instructed authorities to "ramp up security" on flights to Israel operated by Israeli and on non-Israeli carriers.

(FRANCE 24 with AP, AFP and Reuters)