TEL AVIV — A flydubai pilot has been arrested in Saudi Arabia after allegedly stabbing a fellow pilot and apparently attempting to crash an Israel-bound passenger aircraft, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday.
Flight FZ1073 was travelling from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates to Tel Aviv when a violent altercation broke out in the cockpit. The aircraft, carrying more than 170 Israelis, subsequently made an emergency landing in Tabuk, north-western Saudi Arabia.
According to Netanyahu, one pilot attacked the other with a knife as the aircraft approached Israel.
He said the plane then went into a dangerous descent before a passenger and a crew member managed to enter the cockpit and overpower the alleged attacker.
Another flight crew aboard the aircraft subsequently took control and stabilised the plane before it was diverted to Saudi Arabia, Netanyahu said. The prime minister praised the passengers and crew members who intervened, saying their actions had prevented a major disaster.
Flight-tracking data showed that the aircraft was flying at around 33,000 feet before rapidly descending to approximately 17,000 feet in about a minute. It later circled near the Jordanian border before heading towards Tabuk.
The sudden loss of altitude and emergency signals initially raised fears of a possible hijacking. Israel scrambled military aircraft in response to the incident, according to officials familiar with the situation.
Saudi airport authorities said the aircraft's captain and first officer suffered injuries and were taken to hospital for treatment. No injuries among the passengers were reported.
Netanyahu said Saudi authorities arrested the pilot suspected of carrying out the attack and were questioning him. Reuters, citing an Israeli official, reported that the alleged attacker was an Omani national.
Flydubai confirmed that an altercation had occurred on the flight deck. The airline said its crew secured the aircraft and diverted it safely to Tabuk, while stressing that the circumstances behind the incident remained unknown and were subject to investigation. It urged against speculation before investigators establish the facts.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz described the incident as an attempted terrorist attack.
However, the motive has not been independently established, and flydubai said the underlying reasons for the confrontation were still unknown.
The passengers were later transferred from Saudi Arabia and flown to Israel.
Israeli authorities said the incident would be investigated jointly by the country's transport and defence establishments, while Saudi authorities are also investigating what happened aboard the aircraft.
