What happened on board the rerouted flydubai plane?
JERUSALEM: A plane heading to Tel Aviv from Dubai was forced to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, after one of the pilots allegedly tried to crash the plane and kill everyone onboard.
A flydubai plane en route from Dubai to Tel Aviv experienced an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after one of the pilots allegedly attempted to crash the aircraft and kill all onboard. Flight FZ 1703 departed Dubai at 0305 GMT, and at 0521 GMT, the plane suddenly lost altitude, dropping from nearly 34,000 feet to less than 17,000 feet within minutes, according to data from the Flightradar24 website.
At 0531 GMT, the plane transmitted a general emergency signal, followed by a hijacking-specific code at 0538 GMT, according to Israeli media reports. Israeli military fighter jets were scrambled initially due to fears of a hijacking. Passenger Miryam Shira Ohayon described the plane spinning out of control. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later disclosed that one pilot had stabbed the other in an attempt to seize control and crash the plane.
Passengers managed to break into the cockpit and overpower the pilot who attempted to take control, with another crew member given command to fly the plane. The flydubai plane landed in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia at 0645 GMT, with the captain and copilot sustaining injuries and being transported to a hospital. Passengers shared footage on social media, including an Israeli man with a wound on his hand pleading for help.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu declared the incident under control in a video statement, hailing the passengers' actions as preventing a major disaster. Saudi authorities arrested the co-pilot, who is currently under interrogation. Around 1349 GMT, a new plane departed to transport the passengers to their intended destination, Tel Aviv.
Written by urgent.news from New Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
