174 Passengers Subdued a Co-Pilot Who Tried to Crash the Plane
The Israeli Prime Minister's Office and local media reported that on the 30th of last month, an Omani co-pilot aboard flydubai Flight FZ1073, which was traveling from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Tel Aviv, Israel, attempted to crash the aircraft but was subdued by passengers, resulting in the survival of all 174 people on board. At the time, the co-pilot stabbed the captain with a sharp object and deliberately put the plane into a steep dive while it was under his control. Passengers who entered through the cockpit door after the captain opened it restrained the co-pilot with headphone cables. Dr. Shota Musayev, who treated the captain, explained, "The passengers used headphone cables early on to tie him up to make sure he couldn't cause any more trouble."
Yaniv Hayun, a passenger who helped subdue the co-pilot, said, "He (the co-pilot) shouted in English, 'Kill me, kill me.'" He added, "That meant he had failed in his mission and would rather choose death."
Relief pilots on standby then took over the aircraft and made an emergency landing at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia. After saving the plane, the passengers met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday (local time) to describe what had happened, and the Israeli Prime Minister's Office released footage of the meeting.
Prime Minister Netanyahu said the co-pilot was arrested by Saudi authorities immediately after landing and is under investigation. In an interview with Fox News, Netanyahu claimed the co-pilot had been brainwashed by radical Islamic ideology. The co-pilot's specific identity and motive have not yet been disclosed, and authorities in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Israel are investigating his motive and whether any group was behind the act.
Israel's Channel 12 reported on Monday (local time) that Israeli security authorities failed to properly enforce a provision of the Abraham Accords that prohibits pilots from countries without diplomatic relations with Israel from operating flights to the country. The Abraham Accords, signed in 2020 when Israel and the UAE normalized diplomatic relations, stipulate that pilots from non-diplomatic countries may not operate passenger flights to Israel. Despite this, Channel 12 reported that Israel's domestic intelligence agency, Shin Bet, merely asked flydubai to exclude pilots from countries without diplomatic ties with Israel, without directly verifying the backgrounds of the airline's pilots.
