An Israeli passenger who helped subdue a suspected attacker aboard a Flydubai flight bound for Israel described the dramatic struggle in a video posted to social media Wednesday, as Israeli security officials continued investigating what they believe was an attempted terrorist attack in which the co-pilot allegedly tried to crash the aircraft.
The passenger, his face bloodied, recorded himself while the aircraft was still in the air and preparing for an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
Passenger who helped subdue the suspected attacker aboard the Flydubai flight recounts the struggle while still in the air
Injured pilot receives treatment near the cockpit after the confrontation aboard the Flydubai flight
(Video: from social media)
Passengers on board flydubai panicking as aircraft loses altitude
(Video: from social media)
“We are in the middle of a plane hijacking,” he said. “At the moment, we have subdued the terrorists and we are preparing to land. Anyone who can hear me, we need help. We are landing in Tabuk, apparently somewhere in Saudi Arabia, an unfamiliar and unknown area.”
“Everyone on the plane is safe and well except for the pilot. We need help,” he added.
Other footage from aboard the aircraft showed the injured pilots receiving medical treatment near the cockpit.
Zvika Manes, CEO of Bank Leumi underwriting company Barak Capital Underwriting, was among the passengers who helped subdue the alleged attacker, according to ynet's sister publication Calcalist.
Manes confirmed his involvement to the financial newspaper, describing the incident as extraordinarily traumatic.
“My wife was standing near the cockpit because my daughter was in the bathroom. Suddenly, she heard screams coming from the cockpit,” Manes said. “She shouted to a relief pilot from Fiji who was sitting there, ‘Get in quickly, see what’s happening.’ He called for help, and two others and I entered the cockpit and subdued the terrorist. I’m covered in blood. It was insane.”
Another passenger described the struggle in a video posted to social media while the aircraft was still airborne.
“We’re on the flight from Dubai. We took control of the situation here. There was an attacker with a knife who stabbed one of the pilots,” he said. “A few of us just jumped in and pulled him out of the cockpit. Everything is OK now. We’re apparently landing in Saudi Arabia.”
He said one pilot was seriously wounded and another appeared to have been injured but remained capable of landing the aircraft.
“The terrorist has been neutralized,” he said. “There is a pilot here who is seriously wounded and apparently another pilot inside who is injured, but he is managing to land the plane. There are two crew members inside the cockpit. We made sure they locked the door.”
One of the passengers who helped subdue the attacker
(Photo: from social media)
“I love you, and everything is OK,” he added.
Israeli security agencies continued Wednesday to investigate the events aboard Flydubai Flight FZ1073, which was carrying 174 passengers, including 27 children, to Ben Gurion Airport.
According to the emerging Israeli assessment, the co-pilot suspected of trying to crash the aircraft in what authorities believe was an attempted terrorist attack is an Omani national. The captain, an Indian national, fought with him in an effort to prevent the aircraft from crashing, according to Israeli officials.
Officials at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia, where the aircraft landed after the incident, said both pilots were hospitalized and receiving treatment.
Minute by minute
The flight took off from Dubai at 6:05 a.m. for what was expected to be a routine journey of about three hours and 15 minutes. At 8:21 a.m., the aircraft began making unusual altitude movements, losing more than 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds.
At 8:31 a.m., the aircraft briefly transmitted squawk code 7700, the international transponder code for a general emergency. Seven minutes later, at 8:38 a.m., code 7500 was activated, signaling unlawful interference with an aircraft and commonly associated with a hijacking.
Two Israeli Air Force fighter jets were scrambled as the IDF sought to determine what was happening aboard the plane. Senior military officials held situation assessments, including IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the Air Force commander and the heads of the Operations and Military Intelligence directorates.
At 9:20 a.m., Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz convened an urgent security consultation. At 9:35 a.m., Israeli authorities received a report that the aircraft was heading for an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia accompanied by fighter jets.
Passengers sing 'Od Avinu Chai' as aircraft lands safely in Saudi Arabia
(Video: from social media)
Ten minutes later, at 9:45 a.m., the aircraft landed at Tabuk airport. Israeli authorities then began preparations to bring the passengers home while security agencies launched a more extensive investigation. Passenger accounts began emerging describing large amounts of blood inside the cockpit.
The Mossad is now handling Israel’s coordination with Saudi Arabia over the incident, while Israeli authorities work to obtain the necessary approvals for an IDF aircraft to be dispatched.
Flydubai officially confirmed that the distress signal was triggered by a violent incident aboard the aircraft involving the pilots. The airline opened an investigation and notified Israeli authorities.
Flight-tracking data from Flightradar24 documented the aircraft’s extraordinary descent, showing it dropping rapidly from about 34,000 feet to 14,000 feet. At one point, the service displayed an instantaneous descent rate of about 30,976 feet per minute.