An Israeli passenger who helped subdue the suspected attacker aboard Flydubai Flight FZ1073 said Wednesday that passengers restrained him using cables from the headphones distributed during the flight, offering new details of the struggle inside the aircraft.
Zvika Manes, CEO of Bank Leumi underwriting company Barak Capital Underwriting and one of the passengers who helped overpower the suspect, told Kan 11 that three passengers restrained the pilot using the cables from the aircraft’s multimedia headphones.
Netanyahu: Passenger broke into Flydubai cockpit as pilot tried to sabotage aircraft
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According to Manes, passengers first realized something was wrong when his wife went toward the restroom with their daughter and heard a confrontation coming from the cockpit.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also provided new details Wednesday after speaking with one of the Israeli passengers involved in the incident.
“During the flight, as they approached Israel, one of the pilots stabbed the other pilot and apparently tried to crash the plane with everyone aboard,” Netanyahu said.
He said the passenger described the aircraft entering a spin and beginning to plunge.
“He told me that, somehow, he managed to break into the cockpit with one of the crew members, and together they subdued the stabbing pilot while he was trying to sabotage the aircraft’s systems,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu said another member of the flight crew then entered the cockpit and managed to stabilize the aircraft.
“I salute these heroes, who showed extraordinary resourcefulness and courage,” he said. “They saved many lives. They prevented a major disaster.”
The incident occurred aboard Flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv. Israeli security officials have increasingly been investigating the episode as a suspected terrorist attack after the aircraft plunged sharply, transmitted emergency and hijacking codes and diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
Passenger testimony from aboard the aircraft has described Israelis entering the cockpit during the violent confrontation and helping overpower the suspected attacker.
Manes previously told ynet’s sister publication Calcalist that his wife was near the cockpit when she heard screams and called for help. He said a relief pilot and several passengers then entered the cockpit and subdued the suspect.
Netanyahu said Wednesday that the suspected attacker had been arrested and was being questioned by Saudi authorities.
“The stabbing pilot has been arrested and is currently being interrogated by the Saudi authorities,” he said. “We are maintaining continuous contact with the relevant authorities to ensure the passengers remain safe and are returned home securely.”