A blood-soaked captain lies clinging to life in an aircraft galley after his co-pilot allegedly stabbed him mid-flight, according to graphic video from a Tel Aviv-bound plane.
The Boeing 737 Max 8, carrying 174 passengers including 27 children, made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia last week after the violent cockpit confrontation at cruising altitude. Israeli officials have since opened a terrorism investigation into the incident.
In the chaotic footage, the wounded captain wears an oxygen mask while lying prone against a blood-smeared wall, his hand pressed to his abdomen over multiple wounds. One injury is covered by a blood-soaked bandage.
“No sleep. You want sleep?” an unseen man filming asks the pilot in English. The captain weakly shakes his head no.
A second crewmember believed to be the co-pilot appears unconscious and restrained nearby, his white uniform nearly soaked through with blood.
Passengers speaking Hebrew can be heard taking control of the situation in clips translated by multiple outlets. “Film us too – film ourselves – [showing] that we’re standing guard here,” one man says. “They attacked us, and we’re guarding the pilot here.”
Another passenger continues, “They attacked us on this plane. They tried to murder the pilot. We took control of the crew. Why? This is the pilot they wanted to murder.”
The same man later adds, “Gili … my brother, well done. Film everything. We’re standing here. Nobody is getting through the pilot’s door. That’s what [they] wanted.”
Two Israeli officials, speaking anonymously to the outlet, said the current assessment points to an attempted “terror attack” rather than any mental health issue involving either pilot.
A separate Israeli official told Channel 12 that “one pilot stabbed the other and tried to do a 9/11.”
The Tabuk facility where the aircraft landed serves as both a civilian and military base in northwestern Saudi Arabia. The kingdom has no diplomatic relations with Israel, making the emergency landing notable in itself.
The flight originated from an undisclosed location bound for Tel Aviv when the violence erupted. The age and identity of both pilots have not been released by authorities.
Israeli investigators are examining whether the co-pilot acted alone or had external coordination. The specific weapon used in the alleged stabbing has not been publicly disclosed.
The 737 Max 8 has been the subject of previous global safety concerns, though this incident appears unrelated to any mechanical issue. The aircraft remained in Saudi Arabia as of early reporting.
Tabuk, located near Jordan’s border, has occasionally served as a diversion point for regional flights experiencing emergencies. Saudi authorities have not publicly commented on the landing or any cooperation with Israeli investigators.