In an interview with Channel 14, the doctor who treated the pilot injured in the Flydubai cockpit attack said medical staff immediately recognized the incident as a terrorist attack. The flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was diverted to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after the Omani co-pilot allegedly stabbed the captain; Israeli passengers subdued the assailant. Commentator Irit Linor, on the 'Patriots' program, praised the passengers' resourcefulness, saying 'I am in lights because of their resourcefulness.'
The doctor who treated the stabbed Flydubai captain told Channel 14 in an interview aired Wednesday evening that medical staff instantly recognized the cockpit attack as a terrorist act. "Within seconds we understood it was a terror attack," he said, providing the first on-the-record medical account of the stabbing.
The incident unfolded Wednesday afternoon when an Omani co-pilot allegedly stabbed the captain mid-flight on a Dubai–Tel Aviv route. Israeli passengers subdued the assailant, and two other pilots stabilized the aircraft and landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. As The Zioneer reported, a passenger recounted how fellow travelers noticed the cockpit door ajar and rushed to help.
Israeli security sources assessed the attacker as a "lone wolf" with no indication of direction from a state or terror organization, and ruled out mental disturbance. The defense establishment has not opened an independent investigation. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz both hailed the passengers' heroism, with Katz officially classifying the event as a terrorist attack.
The rescue flight carrying nearly 180 people landed at Ben Gurion Airport Wednesday night. The assailant remains in Saudi custody; further details on his motive and any outside links are still unclear.
8 developments
- DevelopingBen-Gvir: Israel Should Seek Extradition of Flydubai Co-Pilot
- StrongFlydubai passengers tell New York Post: crew asked us to release terrorist co-pilot
- DevelopingN12 publishes cockpit footage from Flydubai flight, shows wounded pilot and passengers' arrest fears
- StrongDoctor who saved stabbed Flydubai captain recounts cockpit struggle
Source and signal
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