A Russian-speaking passenger told Russian state news agency RIA Novosti that two Israeli passengers rushed into the cockpit after a fellow passenger noticed the door half-open with no pilot at the controls. The passengers found the captain wounded in the neck and subdued the assailant. One passenger reportedly pulled the yoke to stabilize the aircraft before two pilots arrived and landed the plane in Saudi Arabia, according to the account relayed by The Zioneer Intelligence Desk.
A passenger aboard the Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv that made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia earlier Wednesday told Russian state news agency RIA Novosti that two Israeli passengers subdued the terrorist pilot after a fellow passenger noticed the cockpit door was ajar and unattended. According to the account relayed by The Zioneer Intelligence Desk, the passengers found the captain wounded in the neck and overpowered the assailant. One passenger pulled the yoke upward to stabilize the aircraft before two other pilots reached the cockpit and landed the plane in Tabuk.
The account adds specific details to a story that unfolded across Wednesday. At 16:58 Jerusalem time, Israeli security sources reported that the defense establishment had not opened its own investigation into the incident, which involved an Omani Flydubai pilot. By 18:53, sources told Kan News that there was no indication of involvement by a state or terror organization, and assessed that the pilot acted alone as a "lone wolf" and was not mentally disturbed. A short time later, an Israeli official told i24NEWS the assessment was of a lone wolf. At 20:27, Israeli news outlet Channel 14 reported that the Omani pilot stabbed the captain and attempted to crash the aircraft.
The Zioneer also reported that Saudi and Jordanian fighter jets were scrambled alongside the Israeli Air Force during the emergency. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with one of the passengers who helped subdue the attacker.
It remains unclear whether the assailant has been formally identified or charged, and whether Israeli authorities have interviewed the passengers involved. The security assessment that he acted without direction from any state or organization remains the current working evaluation.
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
- Open-source intake