A rescue flight carrying all passengers from the earlier Flydubai hijacking attempt landed in Israel on Wednesday evening. The Mossad and Shin Bet approved the flight's crew earlier in the day.
A rescue flight carrying all passengers from Wednesday's attempted hijacking of a Flydubai aircraft arrived in Israel on Wednesday evening, bringing the immediate passenger-safety dimension of the event to a close. The flight entered Israeli airspace at 18:19 Jerusalem and landed shortly before 20:35, when Israeli media reported its arrival. The Mossad and Shin Bet approved the rescue flight's crew earlier in the day, the Jerusalem Post reported.
The incident began when the Omani co-pilot of the Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv attacked the captain, repeatedly stabbing him and seizing the controls. The aircraft dropped nearly 20,000 feet in just over a minute before passengers and crew members forced their way into the cockpit and subdued the assailant, according to multiple accounts from passengers and media reports. A second flight crew, who were reportedly on board for a training exercise, stabilized the aircraft and executed an emergency landing in Tabuk, northwestern Saudi Arabia. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed Wednesday afternoon that one pilot stabbed the other and apparently tried to crash the plane on its occupants. Defense Minister Israel Katz later formally declared the incident an attempted terror attack. The suspect was taken into custody by Saudi authorities and is being investigated.
As The Zioneer reported earlier Wednesday, Israel had sought Saudi approval for an Israeli civilian rescue flight from Saudi territory, but Riyadh refused, leading to complex arrangements that eventually saw the passengers returned via a separate Flydubai flight before today's rescue operation. Saudi and Jordanian fighter jets were scrambled alongside the Israeli Air Force during the emergency.
The assailant's specific motive and organizational affiliation remain unconfirmed, though Israeli authorities are treating the incident as a terrorist attack. The condition of the wounded captain has not been disclosed.
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