When flydubai FZ1073 descended abruptly from an altitude above 30,000 feet this Wednesday, passenger Almog Italie said the sensation was of an “intense turbulence” before understanding that a life-or-death struggle had unfolded in the cockpit.
Italie described passengers running to the front of the aircraft and the confusion in front of the cockpit, where, according to Israeli authorities, the co-pilot stabbed the captain in an attempt to make the aircraft, which was flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv with more than 170 Israelis aboard, crash.
“The plane fell for about 20, 30 seconds, then stabilized, then began to fall again, stabilized again, and then we saw that there were people in the front, right in front of the cockpit,” he told Reuters. “Crew members and passengers in the front of the plane took control and restrained the two pilots.”
Doron Spielman, a spokesman for the office of the Israeli prime minister, said that the injured, bloodied captain, lying on the floor, used “the last remnants of energy” to open the latch of the cockpit door.
“At that moment, some of the passengers who realized that something was happening ran forward and entered the cockpit. They saw the injured pilot on the floor, and the other… the aggressor pilot was in front of the control panel, striking it,” he said.
One passenger restrained the aggressor, he said.
A video filmed on board and verified by Reuters captured what happened next.
In it, two injured men are seen lying on the floor, both bloodied. A voice speaking in Hebrew, off-camera, says that one of them is the pilot “they tried to assassinate.” An off-camera voice identifies the other as the aggressor. He appears lying on his side, with three stripes on the shoulder of the uniform, indicating that he is the co-pilot.
“We were attacked now, on this plane; they tried to assassinate the pilot, and we took control of the crew,” says a man in a black shirt with blood on his face.
Another man says: “We are here, no one will pass through the pilot’s door.”
RESERVE CREW
A reserve crew from Flydubai that was onboard took control of the plane and landed it safely at Tabuk Airport (TUU), said a Flydubai spokesman.
A recording of the flight published on the flight-tracking site Flightradar24 showed the plane at an altitude of 34,000 feet heading west over Saudi Arabia when it descended more than 14,000 feet in 30 seconds, before changing course to the northwest. It briefly crossed the border with Jordan, then returned to Saudi airspace and flew to Tabuk.
Israel’s Defense Minister, Israel Katz, said the attack attempt “was thwarted solely thanks to the heroism of several Israeli passengers who rushed the cockpit, overpowered the terrorist and with their own hands returned the aircraft’s control to the additional crew aboard.”
“According to our preliminary information, the terrorist had a single objective: to crash the plane,” he said in a statement.
Flydubai said in a statement that the reasons behind the incident remain unknown and warned against “premature speculation.”
Italie said that the reserve crew “took control of the aircraft and stabilized it.”
“It was quite frightening, but not for long. The majority of passengers stayed calm and supported each other. And when we landed in Saudi Arabia, we were greeted very warmly, with a large medical team, food and everything we needed, and now we are awaiting the flight back to Tel Aviv,” he said.
