Passengers speak out after pilot stabbed co-pilot mid-flight, dropping plane 17,000ft in minutes

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed that one pilot stabbed another on the FZ1073 Flydubai plane that was forced to make a landing hundreds of miles away from its original destination in Tel Aviv. 

In a statement on Wednesday afternoon, the Prime Minister said: “During the flight, as they were approaching Israel, one of the pilots stabbed the other pilot and, apparently, tried to crash the plane with its passengers on board.

“I spoke with one of the Israeli passengers. He told me that the plane went into a spin and began to descend. He told me that, somehow, he managed to break into the cockpit with one of the crew members and, together, they overpowered the pilot who had carried out the stabbing while he was attempting to sabotage the aircraft’s systems.

“Another air crew who was on the plane entered the cockpit and managed to stabilise the aircraft. I salute these heroes who demonstrated extraordinary resourcefulness and courage. They saved many lives and prevented a major disaster.”

He confirmed that the plane landed safely at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia, and that all of the passengers are safe and “out of danger.” 

“The pilot who carried out the stabbing was arrested and is currently being questioned by the Saudi authorities,” he added. 

Passengers who were on FZ1073 have spoken out 

After leaving Dubai, FZ1073 travelled at roughly 34,000 feet before the “fight” broke out, forcing the plane to descend 17,000 feet in just two minutes. 

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Yasmin Abukasis was waiting at the airport for her daughter Miriam at the time, and she echoed her daughter’s words to the Israeli press, stating: “The plane start to lose control. So all the people, they scream, they think they are going.”

“We understood the pilots lost control,” another female passenger told another outlet, saying one pilot had to be pulled off the other. 

Someone else said that passengers helped to take control of the situation, with a dentist providing life-saving measures to the injured pilot. There were reportedly two other pilots onboard, so “I shouted at them to run and take control of the plane.”

Passenger Zvika Manes described the chaos as “traumatic”, saying she heard “shouting” and “screams” from the front of the plane. 

“I’m covered in blood. It was crazy,” he said. 

Details about the flight are still emerging, and a lot of misinformation is already spreading online. At the time of writing, it was not confirmed to be a terrorist incident, despite what some have claimed. 

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Featured image credit: ABIR SULTAN/EPA/Shutterstock