Flight from Dubai to Israel: How Indian captain prevented a second 9/11 terror attack, what Israel said?
Tel Aviv: A flydubai Dubai-Tel Aviv flight (FZ1073) was diverted to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after Israeli officials said a hijacking attempt by one of the pilots led to a violent mid-air altercation that triggered emergency signals. The aircraft, carrying around 180 passengers, eventually landed at Saudi Arabia's Tabuk airport after a second team of pilots who were on board took over and carried out the emergency landing.
Israel said the incident might have been an attempted "terror attack". Israeli officials told Reuters that the co-pilot, an Omani national, was believed to have stabbed the captain (Believed to be India National) before cabin crew and other passengers entered the cockpit and subdued him. The officials said the co-pilot attempted to hijack the plane with the intention of crashing it.
Flydubai jet dropped 17,400 feet
Nearly two hours after taking off from Saudi Arabia, the flight initially transmitted squawk code '7700', the standard international signal for a general emergency. Seconds later, it transmitted the code '7500', which indicates suspected unlawful interference with an aircraft, including possible hijacking.
Flight tracking data showed that the aircraft crossed into Jordanian airspace, made a U-turn shortly and headed back towards Saudi Arabia. There was also a sudden drop in the flight's altitude, with reports indicating that the jet lost 17,400 feet in a span of around two minutes.
The SOS sparked panic in Israel, with Tel Aviv scrambling fighter jets to escort the aircraft. The Israeli airspace was also briefly closed.
Israeli officials suggested that the emergency signals might have been transmitted after the pilots got into a physical altercation. Both the pilots were rushed to the hospital
‘Terrorist’ on flydubai wanted to crash plane: Israel
The flydubai incident in which a plane travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv diverted and made a safe emergency landing in Saudi Arabia was a “terrorist” attack, claims Israel.
However, initially, Doron Spielman, who is a spokesperson for the Israeli prime minister's office, had told Reuters that the incident was not believed to have been a hijacking and described it as a “different incident”.
Earlier, two Israeli officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to brief reporters, said Israel's current assessment was that the incident was an attempted “terror attack” and was not related to any mental health issue involving either of the pilots.