A Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv narrowly avoided catastrophe on Wednesday after one of the pilots allegedly stabbed his colleague and attempted to bring down the aircraft, forcing the Boeing 737 into a steep descent before an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
The pilot who was stabbed has been identified as Indian national Smit Machchhar. The incident took place aboard Flydubai flight FZ1073, which was carrying passengers to Tel Aviv. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a video message after the incident, said the pilot who injured the other wanted to crash the airliner.
Following the incident, the airline said the aircraft was secured by on-duty Flydubai crew members travelling on the flight, who diverted the aircraft and landed safely at Tabuk Airport.
Both the pilots were taken to hospital after landing in Tabuk. Machchhar, who hails from Mumbai, underwent surgery and is now in stable condition, sources told HT.
Flight diversion sparked initial hijack scare
Initially, when Flightradar24 showed that the flight had been diverted, the incident was seen as a possible hijacking. But shortly, a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said that it was not a hijacking.
{{/usCountry}}Initially, when Flightradar24 showed that the flight had been diverted, the incident was seen as a possible hijacking. But shortly, a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said that it was not a hijacking.
{{/usCountry}}A flydubai Boeing 737 MAX flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv declared an emergency and turned back over northern Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. Following this emergency, Hebrew media reported that Israeli Air Force fighter jets had been scrambled toward the plane over concerns of a hijacking.
However, a spokesperson for Netanyahu has now denied the hijacking scare. An official comment from the Israeli Air Force is regarding the scrambling of jets.
Deep Dive
What triggered the emergency alarm on the flydubai flight to Tel Aviv?
How did Israeli authorities respond to the emergency signal from the flydubai flight?
Why did the flydubai flight temporarily switch to the squawk code for hijacking?
As per local reports, the flight was carrying a total of 174 passengers, including 27 children.
Fight between pilots triggered emergency alarm
After the scare due to the emergency landing, Hebrew media outlet Ynet stated that airline confirmed the hijacking signal was triggered due to an altercation between the two pilots.
The incident took place after the aircraft briefly transmitted a code indicating possible unlawful interference while flying towards Israel.
Taking this code into account, Israeli authorities scrambled fighter jets and convened an emergency meeting, as per the Times of Israel.
As per Ynet, Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz also convened an urgent security consultation, as the Israel Police Operations Division ordered the establishment of a joint command centre with other security agencies. Police Commissioner Danny Levy also held a situation assessment, telling reporters they were prepared for "every scenario."
However, the incident was later determined to have been a false alarm due to the physical altercation between the two pilots. Machchhar was the pilot in command of the flight and was allegedly attacked by the co-pilot, who reportedly intended to crash the plane.