FlyDubai passengers screamed and braced for impact as their Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight plunged thousands of feet during a cockpit attack Wednesday.
The Boeing 737 Max, carrying 174 people, dropped more than 14,000 feet in under 30 seconds after a co-pilot stabbed the pilot and tried to seize the controls, according to flight tracking data and Israeli officials. The aircraft diverted to Saudi Arabia, where the wounded pilot was receiving treatment and the suspect was taken into custody.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the basic sequence in a statement after the landing. “During the flight, as they were approaching Israel, one of the pilots stabbed the other pilot and, apparently, tried to crash the plane with its passengers on board,” he said. Netanyahu added that the attacker “was arrested and is currently being questioned” in Saudi Arabia.
Defense Minister Israel Katz went further, labeling the incident a foiled terrorist plot. “According to the initial information in our possession, the terrorist had one intention: to crash the plane with all its passengers,” Katz said. He credited several Israeli passengers with preventing catastrophe. “The grave incident on the flydubai plane was a jihadist terrorist attack attempt, which was thwarted only thanks to the bravery of several Israeli passengers who broke into the cockpit, overpowered the terrorist and, with their own hands, restored control of the plane to another flight crew who was present there,” he continued.
Video from inside the cabin showed children crying and adults clutching their seats as the plane tilted and dove. Some passengers moved toward the cockpit while others comforted family members, unable to help.
A passenger identified only as Daniel described the chaos to Israel’s Channel 12. “I heard a struggle,” he recalled. “Three Israelis who were sitting behind me came to see what was happening, and the plane suddenly went into a very steep dive, nose down, with a very intense spin.”
The relief crew that regained control included two off-duty pilots traveling as passengers, one of them believed to be British. With the main pilot wounded and the suspect pinned down by passengers, these pilots guided the aircraft to an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, where footage showed travelers applauding and cheering on the tarmac.
The alleged attacker was described as an Omani national who had been employed by the Emirates sister carrier for only a few months. The co-pilot was reportedly bloodied after being subdued.
Israeli authorities were working to arrange travel for the stranded passengers to continue to Israel.
The flight had originated in Dubai and was nearing its destination when the violence erupted in the cockpit, triggering the rapid descent that sent unsecured items and terrified passengers hurtling toward the ceiling.
