Passenger Says He Grabbed Knife-Wielding Attacker as Flydubai Flight Plunged Toward Disaster
A Flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv dropped 17,000 feet in less than two minutes after a knife attack in the cockpit, sending passengers into
A Flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv dropped 17,000 feet in less than two minutes after a knife attack in the cockpit, sending passengers into panic and forcing a dramatic struggle that ended with the aircraft diverted to Saudi Arabia. One Israeli passenger later said he rushed the attacker, wrestled him away from the controls and helped steady the plane before it landed safely.
The passengers have now reached Israel, shaken and still processing what happened above the Gulf. One man arrived in a blood-stained T-shirt and described the scene to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who called the pilot Smit Machchhar a hero and praised his “extraordinary bravery” in confronting the attack.
‘Terrible screams’ in the cabin
Accounts from passengers point to a fast-moving fight for control of the aircraft. One traveler said there were “terrible screams throughout the plane” before several men burst into the cockpit and subdued the attacker. Another said the passengers “took control of the flight” from “an assailant with a knife.”
That struggle appears to have been decisive. According to the testimony relayed in Israeli media and by Netanyahu, the pilot was stabbed by his co-pilot as the plane traveled from Dubai to Tel Aviv. The aircraft then plunged sharply, before two other pilots, reportedly seated at the back, moved forward and landed it after the attack was contained.
Short. Violent. Sudden.
Passenger recounts cockpit fight
Yaniv Hayun, one of the passengers who helped overpower the co-pilot, said he and others forced their way into the cockpit as the plane was losing altitude. In a video interview relayed by Israeli media, he said he grabbed the attacker, put him in a chokehold and dragged him out before returning to the cockpit controls.
Hayun said he used his aviation background to pull back on the controls until another pilot took over. He spoke to Netanyahu after landing, still wearing a shirt marked with blood. Israeli assessments, cited in reports from the scene, described the incident as a foiled terror attack. Israel’s embassy in Canada said initial assessments pointed that way.
Arrest and questioning in Saudi Arabia
Netanyahu said the pilot accused of launching the attack has been arrested and is being questioned by Saudi authorities. The plane had diverted there after the mid-air emergency, and the passengers were later brought on to Israel.
For now, investigators will be left to piece together how the cockpit was breached and how the flight was saved. The passengers, at least, are off the plane. The next answers will come from the questioning now underway in Saudi Arabia.
Source: bbc.co.uk
