Israeli Security Chiefs are increasingly treating a mid-air crisis aboard a Flydubai flight to Tel Aviv as a terrorist attack, following a joint high-level situation assessment between the heads of the IDF, Shin Bet, and Mossad. [1, 2]
The aircraft, which was intercepted by scrambled Israeli Air Force fighter jets, underwent a terrifying ordeal after the co-pilot—identified as an Omani national—allegedly launched a violent assault in the cockpit in an attempt to down the plane. According to dramatic passenger testimony shared with i24NEWS, screams echoed from the front of the aircraft as the assailant attempted to stab the pilot. The confrontation sent the plane into a sudden, harrowing plunge, dropping over 14,000 feet within seconds. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
“For several minutes we were certain we would be murdered or crash,” a passenger recounted, describing the sheer panic on board. Disaster was averted when brave Israeli passengers rushed the cockpit, grabbed the attacker, and pinned him to the floor until he was subdued. [1, 2]
Israeli security officials have described the safe resolution of the flight as a “miracle”. The recovery was made possible by South African and New Zealand pilots who happened to be traveling on board. They stepped forward into the blood-stained cockpit to seize control of the malfunctioning flight path, stabilizing the aircraft and executing an emergency landing at an airport in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. [1, 2, 3, 4]
The Omani co-pilot was immediately arrested by Saudi authorities upon landing. Investigations by combined international intelligence agencies are ongoing to uncover the full scope of the plot
One of the passengers who helped subdue the assailant
