Education Minister and former fighter pilot Yoav Kisch said the incident on the Dubai–Tel Aviv flight began and ended in the cockpit, and that it nearly resulted in a catastrophe with about 180 casualties. The flight landed safely in Saudi Arabia earlier today.
In a statement Wednesday evening, Education Minister Yoav Kisch — a former IDF fighter pilot — provided his assessment of the incident aboard a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv earlier today. 'The incident began and ended in the cockpit. We were a step away from an incident of about 180 funerals,' Kisch said, according to a statement carried by the channel of journalist Maggie Tabibi.
The aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, and landed safely. Flydubai confirmed the diversion and said an investigation is underway. Reports of an attempted hijacking and passenger intervention have not been officially confirmed.
Kisch did not provide further details about the nature of the cockpit altercation. The incident remains under investigation by Israeli and Saudi authorities.
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