A pilot of a jet carrying more than 170 passengers to Tel Aviv stabbed his colleague and tried to crash the plane in what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu branded a serious security incident.
Catastrophe was narrowly avoided after a passenger and members of crew stormed the cockpit of the Flydubai plane that had taken off in Dubai and managed to stabilize the jet, after it plunged more than 14,000 feet (4,300 meters) in less than 30 seconds at almost the speed of sound.
“They prevented a huge disaster,” Netanyahu said at a briefing on Wednesday. The jet later made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where the attacker, whose identity has not been disclosed, is being questioned by local authorities.
Read more: Murder-Suicides by Pilots Are Increasing Share of Aviation Fatalities
The dramatic landing hundreds of miles from its planned destination followed a harrowing descent about two hours into the journey. The Boeing Co. 737 plummeted before it regained altitude and transmitted a general emergency distress signal, followed by a so-called unlawful interference call suggesting a possible hijacking, according to data from Flightradar24.
After briefly entering Jordanian airspace, the flight turned back 180 degrees before heading southwest toward Tabuk, the site said.
Unverified photos of the aircraft after it landed in Saudi Arabia showed the rudder on the vertical stabilizer missing — damage that can occur when flight surfaces are moved too aggressively at high speeds.
The incident occurred as Netanyahu runs for reelection in a few weeks on the promise of tougher security for his 10 million citizens. The attempted hijacking could help tilt undecided voters in his direction — although his main competitors are also promising safety as their top priority, continuing to fight Iran and its proxy militias.
Netanyahu said almost all of the passengers on the flight were Israelis, and that those who intervened “displayed exceptional resourcefulness and courage.”
“They saved many lives, he said.
The airline said in a statement that “the underlying reasons and motives behind this event are unknown and remain subject to a formal investigation.” A repatriation flight sent to pick up the passengers has now landed in Tel Aviv with the passengers on board.
Flydubai’s 737 MAX 8 planes generally seat about 174 people. The intervention by passengers and crew likely managed to avert a crash that would have ranked as the worst air disaster in more than a year.
Pilot suicides are rare, but they have occurred occasionally in the past. In 2015, an Airbus A320 operated by Germanwings crashed in the French Alps after one of the pilots locked himself in the cockpit and flew the plane into a mountain, killing all 150 people on board. The Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 that disappeared in 2014 is also widely considered a pilot suicide mission, though the final cause has yet to be determined because the aircraft was never found.
The Air India flight that crashed last year en route from Ahmebad to London Heathrow, killing 241 on board and 19 on the ground, was also possibly brought down by pilot tampering, though a final report on what occurred in the cockpit is still pending.
Tabuk is situated in northwestern Saudi Arabia, near the Jordan–Saudi Arabia border. Flydubai said its teams are working closely with the relevant authorities to consider the next steps.
A spokesperson for Israel’s transportation ministry said Emirati authorities are working to repatriate the Israelis stranded in Saudi Arabia. Israeli Prime Minister’s office also said that “all measures are currently being deployed in order to return the Israeli passengers safely to Israel.”
Plane hijackings have been increasingly rare in recent decades as governments developed international protocols and regulations to increase safety in the air. Israel has some of the strictest security measures for flights following a spate of attempted and realized hijackings in the 1970s.
Flydubai, the sister carrier of Emirates, started daily flights between Tel Aviv and Dubai in late 2020 with daily flights and has since ramped up operations to 70 weekly flights, according to the airline’s website. The United Arab Emirates has become a popular vacation destination for Israeli tourists.