174 Passengers Return to Israel After Flydubai Co-Pilot Tried to Crash Tel Aviv Flight
Updated
Updated · The Jerusalem Post · Sep 30
174 Passengers Return to Israel After Flydubai Co-Pilot Tried to Crash Tel Aviv Flight
3 articles · Updated · The Jerusalem Post · Sep 30
Summary
174 passengers reached Ben-Gurion Airport after a Flydubai co-pilot from Oman allegedly stabbed the Indian captain, tried to crash Flight FZ1073 and was subdued by passengers.
4,000 meters of sudden descent followed the cockpit struggle before backup crew landed the plane in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia; the captain was critically wounded but later reported stable after onboard first aid.
6 hours in Tabuk ended only after a replacement Flydubai jet—approved through Israeli security channels—flew the group home, as Saudi authorities refused to let Israeli aircraft retrieve them.
Israeli investigators currently assess the suspect as a lone wolf, while Saudi-led questioning and parallel probes focus on how he brought a weapon aboard and why an Omani pilot was assigned to an Israel-bound flight despite prior understandings.
The incident prompted Israeli fighter scrambling, a temporary airspace closure and calls for a possible pause in UAE-Israel flights, underscoring fresh strain on a route already seen as security-sensitive.