Passengers Intervene to Save Aircraft After First Officer Attacks Pilot
Passengers overpowered the copilot after he stabbed the captain and tried to seize control of the aircraft, officials said.
- On Wednesday, passengers subdued a Flydubai co-pilot after he stabbed the captain during a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, forcing an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia where the attacker was arrested.
- Investigators are examining how the co-pilot obtained the weapon, as authorities have not confirmed whether it was a knife or another object; aviation security experts emphasized airlines are responsible for vetting cockpit crews.
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the captain, saying, "Despite being stabbed and seriously injured, he fought back," as passengers intervened to assist the injured crew member.
- Following the attack, Israel plans to increase security checks for pilots operating flights into the country, and Flydubai suspended its flights to and from Israel during the investigation.
- Authorities are reviewing whether existing crew-security procedures were followed to prevent future cockpit attacks, with the incident occurring amid heightened regional security concerns for Israel.
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62 Articles
A plane with over 150 passengers on board, flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv, was diverted to Saudi Arabia yesterday after a report of "unlawful interference". It later emerged that one of the pilots had stabbed the other with a knife and tried to crash the plane, BTA reported. United Kingdom One of the pilots on a Flydubai flight to Israel has stabbed the other and tried to crash the plane, the British newspaper "Financial Times" headlined. Israeli…
They experienced fear of their lives after the first pilot stabbed the pilot, but the cold blood of some passengers prevented a disaster.
Three passengers rushed into the cockpit and overpowered the co-pilot. A fourth fought to save the badly injured captain.
An Israeli passenger has recounted the eyewitness account of the violent attack on a Flydubai flight to Tel Aviv. Yaniv Hayoun, an Israeli passenger who helped the injured Indian pilot, Captain Smit Machhar, has given an eyewitness account of the incident. Hayoun said he told the injured pilot, "You will not die today."
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