flydubai pilot detained in Saudi Arabia after cockpit incident — France 24

In Saudi Arabia, the pilot of a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was detained after an incident in the cockpit. During the flight, he stabbed another pilot and allegedly attempted to crash the plane, France 24 reports. Passengers and crew members stopped him.

The Boeing 737 made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, where the pilot was detained. Before that, the aircraft descended sharply, prompting Israel to scramble fighter jets over concerns about a possible hijacking.

Incidents involving pilots

France 24 also recalls an incident on a Horizon Air flight in the United States: an off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot attempted to shut down the aircraft's engines while sitting in the extra seat in the cockpit. The plane, which was flying from Everett to San Francisco, was diverted to Portland and landed safely; there were more than 80 people on board.

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In the Germanwings case, co-pilot Andreas Lubitz locked the captain out of the cockpit and deliberately steered the plane into the French Alps. All 150 people on board were killed in the crash.

Hijackings and crashes

Ethiopian Airlines co-pilot Hailemedhin Abera Tegegn hijacked an aircraft on a route from Addis Ababa to Milan and diverted it to Geneva. He surrendered to local police and requested political asylum. None of the 193 passengers was injured.

France 24 also mentions the crash of an EgyptAir flight over the Atlantic Ocean, in which 217 passengers and crew members were killed. U.S. investigators concluded that the co-pilot deliberately caused the plane to crash, while the Egyptian side attributed the tragedy to a technical malfunction.