The flydubai incident in which a plane travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv diverted and made a safe emergency landing in Saudi Arabia was a “terrorist” attack, claims Israel.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel's security minister, said that “terrorist” wanted to crash Flydubai's FZ1073 plane to kill Israelis, according to AFP.
However, initially, Doron Spielman, who is a spokesperson for the Israeli prime minister's office, had told Reuters that the incident was not believed to have been a hijacking and described it as a “different incident”.
Also Read | ‘Heard screams, saw blood, someone stabbed pilot’: Passengers recall flydubai flight horror
Deep Dive
What caused the emergency landing of flydubai flight FZ1073 in Saudi Arabia?
What emergency signals were transmitted during the flydubai flight incident?
Why did authorities initially think the flydubai flight was hijacked?
Earlier, two Israeli officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to brief reporters, said Israel's current assessment was that the incident was an attempted “terror attack” and was not related to any mental health issue involving either of the pilots.
What happened?
Flydubai flight FZ1073, travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv, diverted to Saudi Arabia while flying over Jordanian airspace. The aircraft transmitted a general emergency signal, followed by another emergency signal indicating possible unlawful interference, according to flight-tracking website Flightradar24.
{{/usCountry}}Flydubai flight FZ1073, travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv, diverted to Saudi Arabia while flying over Jordanian airspace. The aircraft transmitted a general emergency signal, followed by another emergency signal indicating possible unlawful interference, according to flight-tracking website Flightradar24.
{{/usCountry}}The Boeing 737, which Israeli media reported was carrying around 150 Israeli passengers, then transmitted the initial general emergency signal again before eventually landing at Tabuk airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia, according to Flightradar24.
Also Read | A flight to Israel, 174 passengers, and an emergency alarm: How hijacking scare briefly gripped West Asia
The incident reportedly saw the aircraft descend from an altitude of around 34,000 feet to approximately 16,600 feet over northwestern Saudi Arabia in just over two minutes.
Initially, the incident was seen as a hijacking attempt but later a spokesperson from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office stated that there was no hijack scare.
Passenger says it was a ‘suicide attack’
A passenger on the plane spoke to reporters on speakerphone, with her mother holding the phone, and said that the co-pilot had tried to kill the pilot and carry out a suicide attack.
“The co-pilot tried to murder the pilot and basically carry out a suicide attack on the plane,” Miryam Shira Ohayon told reporters via speakerphone, with the phone held by her mother, who was waiting at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, according to AFP. Miryam was travelling to Israel to attend a memorial service for her brother, who was killed in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, her mother, Yasmin Abukasis, said.
“It was really on the way to crashing, and it was simply the resourcefulness of many people who took control of the co-pilot and neutralised him,” Miryam said.