Flydubai Co-Pilot St@bbed Pilot Multiple Times, Attempted to Send Plane Into Nosedive
A mid-air altercation aboard a flydubai plane has sparked concerns over a possible hijacking or terror att@ck after the co-pilot allegedly st@bbed the captain multiple times and attempted to take control of the aircraft.
Flydubai Flight FZ1073 was travelling from Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates to Ben Gurion Airport in Israel when the incident occurred. The aircraft was carrying approximately 180 passengers.
Both pilots were injured and hospitalised, while all passengers and crew members were reported safe. A second team of pilots, reportedly dressed in civilian clothes, later took control of the situation and made an emergency landing at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.
The aircraft initially transmitted an international emergency signal before switching to a hijacking or unlawful interference code. It descended about 17,400 feet in roughly two minutes before the first emergency signal was sent.
After the plane transmitted the 7500 hijacking code, Israeli Air Force fighter jets were scrambled towards the aircraft.
Flight-tracking data showed the plane veering towards Jordanian airspace before turning back and entering Saudi Arabia.
Israeli authorities initially described the incident as a “vi%lent clash” between the two pilots but have since said they are not ruling out a t+rrorism angle.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office later said the situation was “under control” following consultations over the aviation incident.