Passengers describe 'rollercoaster' flydubai flight

A passenger who was on board a plane that was diverted after a co-pilot reportedly attacked the pilot and tried to crash the plane has said the plane was "pretty much out of control" when the stabbing took place over Jordan.

Passenger Miryam Shira Ohayon, who was on the flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, said the co-pilot "tried to murder the pilot and basically carry out a suicide attack on the plane".

It was like "we were having very big turbulence, but there was no turbulence", passenger Almog Italie told AFP, describing the sensation of losing thousands of feet of altitude in seconds as similar to riding a "rollercoaster".

She spoke to reporters by 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."

Read more: Pilot tried to crash Tel Aviv-bound plane - Netanyahu

In a video from inside the plane that was reposted by Israeli social media users, one passenger, blood dripping from an open wound on his head, pleaded for assistance and said they were descending into Saudi Arabia, with which Israel has no diplomatic relations.

"We are here during an attack on the plane. We just subdued the terrorists and are preparing to land," the man said in Hebrew.

"Anyone who can hear me, we need help. We are about to land in Tabuk, apparently in Saudi Arabia. An unknown area. All the passengers are safe and well, except for the pilot. We need help."

Ms Ohayon's mother, Yasmin Abukasis, said her daughter was on the flight to attend a service for her brother killed in the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack.

The daughter "thought they were going to die", Ms Abukasis said, adding that one woman "went to the (cockpit) and saw a lot of blood".

She said two other pilots were on the plane and took charge, diverting it to Saudi Arabia.

The passengers have subsequently departed from Tabuk in Saudi Arabia on a replacement flight.