Co-pilot arrested after attempted sabotage of flydubai flight, passengers intervene
Passengers and crew subdued a co-pilot who tried to crash a Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight, allowing other pilots to land safely in Saudi Arabia, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the co-pilot of flydubai flight FZ1073 attempted to crash the aircraft after stabbing the pilot, but passengers and a crew member restrained him while other pilots brought the plane to a safe landing in Saudi Arabia. Netanyahu described the episode as a "highly severe security incident" and said Saudi authorities would interrogate the suspect, identified by an Israeli official as an Omani national, who was arrested after the landing.
"All passengers are out of harm's way," Netanyahu said in a video statement, noting that most of the passengers were Israeli. According to a passenger quoted by Netanyahu, the group broke into the cockpit after the aircraft entered a tailspin and found the co-pilot attempting to sabotage the plane's systems. Flight-tracking data showed the aircraft descended about 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds before an emergency signal was transmitted. Israeli officials, speaking anonymously, said the incident is being treated as an attempted terror attack rather than a hijacking or a mental-health issue involving the pilots.