Flydubai pilot arrested after stabbing another pilot on Israeli-bound flight, Netanyahu says
It is believed some passengers aboard a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv tried to stop a fight between pilots that caused the plane to plummet 14,000 feet in a minute, ITV News Correspondent John Ray reports
The pilot of a Flydubai plane who allegedly stabbed another pilot has been arrested in Saudi Arabia, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
The pilot had apparently tried to crash the plane, on which dozens of Israelis were travelling, Netanyahu said.
Passengers and crew members on the flight managed to subdue the attacker, preventing a “major disaster," the prime minister added.
“I salute these heroes who showed exceptional resourcefulness and courage. They saved many lives and prevented a major disaster,” said Netanyahu on Wednesday.
A statement from the airline said the incident was under investigation and urged "all parties to refrain from premature speculation while authorities gather the facts".
A fight between pilots on the commercial plane travelling from the United Arab Emirates to Israel forced the aircraft to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
The plane plummeted 17,400 feet in just over two minutes as a "violent incident" broke out between two pilots.
An emergency signal was sent from the aircraft at 8.32am local time while passing over the kingdom.
It is thought some passengers on board the flight tried to break up the fight, with images showing some on board apparently smeared in blood.
"There was a crazy man with a knife," said one passenger. "He stabbed the pilot, but we got him off."
Flydubai had deployed two replacement aircraft to Tabuk to return the passengers and crew.
A Flydubai spokesperson said: "An altercation occurred in the flight deck of flight FZ 1073, operating from Dubai International (DXB) to Ben Gurion International Airport (TLV), on 30 September."The aircraft was successfully secured by on-duty flydubai crew travelling on the flight, who diverted and landed the aircraft safely at Tabuk Airport (TUU). All passengers and crew are safe and accounted for."At this early stage, the underlying reasons and motives behind this event are unknown and remain subject to a formal investigation. "Our immediate priority is to ensure the ongoing safety, health, and wellbeing of all passengers and crew members involved in this incident and support the official investigation."
Later on Wednesday, a second Flydubai flight heading from Dubai to Tel Aviv was turned back in the air and diverted back to the emirate.
Earlier, an Israeli official said the incident was not a hijacking, adding that they understood it to be an internal personnel incident onboard.
Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz held a security consultation and Israeli fighter jets were scrambled after the emergency signal was sent, an Israeli military spokesperson told ITV News' North American partner CNN.
The emergency landing in Tabuk marked a rare mass arrival of Israelis in Saudi Arabia, which has no diplomatic relations with Israel.
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Saudi Arabia opened its airspace to Israel-bound flights and Israeli airlines in 2022 as part of a US-brokered push for normalisation.
Riyadh says it will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without an independent Palestinian state.
Emergency landings for personnel reasons are rare yet not unheard of.
In 2022, two Air France pilots were suspended after fighting in the cockpit on a Geneva-Paris flight, though it did not have to be diverted and landed as planned.
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