The Zioneer reports that Asaf Raguan, a passenger, was among those who neutralized a terrorist in a previously reported incident. No further details are currently available.
As The Zioneer reported earlier Wednesday, a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv (FZ 1073) was the scene of a hijacking attempt after one pilot stabbed the other. The aircraft was diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, and all passengers and crew are safe.
New details emerging Wednesday evening identify Asaf Raguan as another passenger who helped neutralize the terrorist during the cockpit struggle. The identification was reported by a social media channel at 20:24 Jerusalem time.
Earlier in the evening, The Zioneer extensively covered the incident. At 19:38 Jerusalem, a passenger described choking the hijacker to prevent him from destroying cockpit instruments and crashing the plane. At 19:17, we reported that the Indian captain, repeatedly stabbed by his Omani co-pilot, did not surrender and was treated by Israeli passengers. At 19:04, the captain was identified as Smit Machchhar, an experienced pilot with over 13 years at flydubai since 2022. At 18:00, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog confirmed the attack, with Netanyahu saluting the passengers' heroism in neutralizing the attacker, who is now in Saudi custody.
Further details on the number of passengers involved in the neutralization and the background to the attack remain under investigation.
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