Israeli officials say it is believed that an attack on the captain of a flight from the United Arab Emirates to Israel may have been a terror incident, with reports that the co-pilot attempted to take control of the plane.
Reuters had reported that the plane transmitted emergency signals after the pilots got into a physical altercation with each other, but it is now believed that the co-pilot attacked and stabbed stabbed the captain of the Flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv before cabin crew and passengers managed to access the cockpit and take control of the plane.
The plane was then diverted to Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia. Some 150 passengers were on board.
The Israeli defence minster, Israel Katz, has now that it appears one of the pilots had intended to crash the plane, killing everyone on board. He described the incident as an “attempted jihadist terror attack”, and praised those who overpowered the attacker.
Flydubai, the operator of the plane, said the aircraft was “successfully secured by on-duty flydubai crew travelling on the flight”.
“At this early stage, the underlying reasons and motives behind this event are unknown and remain subject to a formal investigation,” the airline said, urging against “premature speculation”.
Passenger Miryam Shira Ohayon told reporters that the plane was “pretty much out of control” when the stabbing took place over Jordan. “The co-pilot tried to murder the pilot and basically carry out a suicide attack on the plane,” she said.
“It was really on the way to crashing, and it was simply the resourcefulness of many people who took control of the co-pilot and neutralised him,” she said.
“There was also a doctor who gave first aid, and people who treated both of them. Other than the pilot, there were no injuries, but the bigger fear was really a crash, which is exactly what he was trying to do.”
Flight-tracking website Flightradar24 said that data from the aircraft appeared it had suddenly and rapidly descended – with BBC reporting a plummet of 17,000ft in less than two minutes.
In a statement, the Israeli prime minister’s office said the situation was “under control” and that all measures were being taken to bring the Israeli passengers back to Israel.