A flydubai plane bound for Tel Aviv made an emergency landing at Tabuk Airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia on Wednesday morning after a pilot attempted to deliberately crash the aircraft. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an official video statement that one pilot stabbed another in the cockpit mid-flight. The swift actions of passengers prevented a catastrophic disaster, with one passenger entering the cockpit with a member of the cabin crew to restrain the alleged attacker.
According to Netanyahu, nearly all of the 174 passengers on board were Israelis. The incident occurred over Jordanian airspace, with Defense Minister Israel Katz describing it as a "jihadist terror attack". Netanyahu called it a "serious security event". The pilot accused of carrying out the stabbing, identified as an Omani national, was taken into custody by Saudi authorities and is being questioned.
Captain Smit Machchhar, an Indian national who was stabbed by his co-pilot, played a crucial role in preventing the disaster. Machchhar fought back, resisted, and opened the cockpit door, enabling passengers and crew to overpower the attacker. Netanyahu praised Machchhar's actions, saying he helped save the lives of everyone on board. Machchhar has been a pilot with flydubai since June 2022 and previously spent 11 years as a pilot with SpiceJet.
Passenger Yaniv Hayun, who helped disarm the attacker in the cockpit, described the incident as a harrowing experience. He said Machchhar had been able to unlock the cockpit door before collapsing, allowing Hayun and others to enter. Hayun saw the attacker trying to disable the plane's controls to force a crash and quickly took action, grabbing the attacker and placing him in a chokehold.
Two other passengers helped subdue the attacker, and two pilots in the main cabin entered the cockpit, took control of the plane, and landed it safely in Saudi Arabia. Israeli Transportation Minister Miri Regev reportedly asked Netanyahu to immediately suspend flydubai flights to Israel until the circumstances of the incident are clarified. Regev said flydubai had violated the countries' aviation agreement, which requires pilots operating flights to Israel to be citizens of countries with which Israel maintains diplomatic relations.
Flydubai acknowledged that there was an "incident" that led to the diversion of the flight, stressing that the plane landed safely and all passengers were safe. The airline sent two replacement aircraft to Tabuk to aid the passengers and crew of the diverted flight. The reasons and motives behind the incident remain unknown and are subject to a formal investigation, with the airline urging against "premature speculation".
The passengers on board described the incident as chaotic and terrifying, with videos showing passengers screaming and crying during the flight. The entire episode lasted about an hour and a half. Netanyahu traveled to the airport to greet the passengers and met with Hayun, who wore a T-shirt stained with the blood of the wounded pilot. The passengers returned to Israel on Wednesday evening.
Key points
- Passengers on a flydubai flight helped stop a pilot from deliberately crashing the plane, forcing an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
- The incident occurred over Jordanian airspace, with the pilot accused of being an Omani national.
- The passengers and crew were aided by flydubai, which sent two replacement aircraft to Tabuk to assist those on board.
