Netanyahu said there was an attempt to cause a Flydubai plane to crash — MyJoyOnline

According to MyJoyOnline, Flydubai flight FZ1073, traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv, was diverted to Tabuk Airport in northern Saudi Arabia after a violent incident between two pilots, sources told the outlet.

Netanyahu’s statement

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that one of the pilots stabbed the other. According to him, the pilot who attacked his colleague may then have attempted to damage the aircraft’s systems and cause it to crash.

Netanyahu also said that passengers and crew members subdued the attacker, after which he was arrested. Flight-tracking data indicate that the plane descended by 17,400 feet in less than two minutes. At 8:31 local time, it issued a distress signal, and several minutes later transmitted code 7500, which indicates a possible hijacking of the aircraft.

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Condition of the crew and passengers

A Saudi aviation operator said that the captain and co-pilot were injured and taken to hospital. Israeli officials identified the co-pilot as the suspected attacker. One of them told CNN that he was allegedly an Omani citizen, while authorities have not officially disclosed his identity.

Relatives of passengers waiting at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv said that most people had already boarded another Flydubai aircraft sent to Tabuk. According to them, three families refused to take that flight and insisted on returning with an Israeli carrier. An Israeli official said that Saudi Arabia did not allow Israel to send a military or civilian aircraft to pick up the passengers.