Passengers on a FlyDubai flight lived through something out of a movie this morning. Flight FZ1073 was on its way from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday when the co-pilot allegedly stabbed the captain inside the cockpit and tried to take the plane down with everyone on it.
According to passengers who spoke to Israeli television, the cabin went dark first. Electrical systems shut off, then came the screams. People rushed the cockpit and found the co-pilot had just stabbed the pilot. A handful of passengers fought him off and got control of the plane back.
The jet plunged around 14,000 feet in under 30 seconds, according to Flightradar24 data. The crew squawked 7500, the international code for hijacking, and for several minutes all contact with the plane was lost.
Off-duty pilots who happened to be on board helped land the plane safely at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia around 8:45 in the morning. Saudi authorities arrested the pilot responsible.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed it directly: “During the flight, as they approached our country, one of the pilots stabbed the other pilot and apparently tried to crash the plane with everyone on board.” Israeli officials say they are not ruling anything out, including a foiled terror attack. Israeli media reports the co-pilot is an Omani national, though that has not been officially confirmed.
FlyDubai says it is pausing all flights to and from Israel while the investigation plays out. Several people were hurt in the chaos, and the full injury count is still developing. Around 150 to 180 people were on the plane.