The reason behind the altercation between the two pilots aboard the flydubai flight travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv, that was diverted to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, is "unknown”, the airline said on Wednesday.
An altercation broke out in the aircraft's flight deck, following which, the flight made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia's Tabuk airport. The airline said that all passengers and crew members were safe and accounted for.
flydubai flight FZ1073, operating from Dubai International Airport to Ben Gurion International Airport, was diverted to Tabuk Airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia after the incident, an airline spokesperson said in a statement.
Deep Dive
What triggered the emergency landing of flydubai flight FZ1073 in Saudi Arabia?
What claims did Israeli officials make regarding the incident on the flydubai flight?
How did passengers and crew respond during the altercation on the flydubai flight?
“The aircraft was successfully secured by on-duty flydubai crew travelling on the flight, who diverted and landed the aircraft safely at Tabuk Airport,” the spokesperson said.
The airline added that it deployed two replacement aircraft to Tabuk to relieve the passengers and crew and that the incident had no impact on other scheduled operations across its network.
The circumstances surrounding the altercation were not immediately clear. The airline said the underlying reasons and motives remained unknown and were subject to a formal investigation, urging people to refrain from “premature speculation” while authorities gather the facts.
{{/usCountry}}The circumstances surrounding the altercation were not immediately clear. The airline said the underlying reasons and motives remained unknown and were subject to a formal investigation, urging people to refrain from “premature speculation” while authorities gather the facts.
{{/usCountry}}The incident came after the aircraft transmitted emergency signals while en route to Tel Aviv. According to flight-tracking website Flightradar24, the Boeing 737 initially transmitted the 7700 code used to indicate a general emergency and later briefly transmitted 7500, the international transponder code for unlawful interference. The aircraft subsequently diverted towards Tabuk.
Israeli officials and media reported that the emergency signals followed a physical confrontation between the two pilots, which led to one of the pilots getting stabbed. The pilot who got stabbed is an Indian national, identified as Smit Machchhar, according to people aware of the matter. Machchhar was previously employed by SpiceJet.
According to reports, one pilot was stabbed by the other and that passengers and crew members intervened to secure the cockpit. However, these details have not been independently confirmed by flydubai, which has only confirmed that an altercation occurred in the flight deck.
Israel claims ‘jihadist terror attack’
The airline's statement comes as Israeli leaders have claimed that the pilot who allegedly attacked the co-pilot was a "jihadist" and tried to crash the flight.
"During the flight, as they approached the country, one of the pilots stabbed the other pilot, and apparently tried to crash the plane with everyone on board," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video message.
He added that he spoke to an Israeli passenger who broke into the cockpit and confronted the pilot who was trying to bring down the aircraft.
"Another air crew member who was on the plane entered the cockpit and managed to stabilise the aircraft," the Israeli PM said.
"I salute these heroes, who showed extraordinary resourcefulness and courage. They saved many lives; they prevented a major disaster," he added.
Israel's defence minister Israel Katz called the incident "an attempted jihadist terror attack".
"The serious incident on the flydubai plane was an attempted jihadist terror attack, which was thwarted only thanks to the heroism of several Israeli passengers who broke into the cockpit, overpowered the terrorist, and with their own hands returned control of the aircraft to an additional flight crew that was present there," he said in a statement. However, he did not provide any source for assigning a motive to the pilot.