Israeli Official: Flydubai Pilot Attempted '9/11-Style' Hijacking

An Israeli official revealed that the co-pilot of a Flydubai flight bound for Israel stabbed the captain and attempted to hijack the aircraft, an incident Israeli authorities are investigating as a potential terror attack. The co-pilot, reportedly from a Gulf state, allegedly attacked the captain mid-flight with a knife, attempting to seize control of the plane. While Israeli security agencies are exploring the possibility of a terrorist motive, they have not definitively ruled out a mental health issue on the part of the pilot. Passengers and crew members intervened, managing to open the cockpit door and subdue the assailant, thereby preventing a catastrophic crash.

A senior Israeli official involved in the investigation stated that the situation was dire, with the plane beginning to dive. He credited an additional team of pilots, traveling as passengers, with helping to stabilize the aircraft and prevent a disaster reminiscent of September 11, 2001, or July 1976. The incident began around 9:00 AM when Israel received a signal of the hijacking, prompting the scramble of Israeli Air Force jets and emergency high-level meetings. The aircraft briefly disappeared from tracking systems around 9:30 AM, heightening fears, before reappearing and eventually landing safely in Saudi Arabia around 10:00 AM.

Flydubai confirmed the incident stemmed from an altercation between crew members. The suspect co-pilot is under investigation, and Israeli officials increasingly believe he intended to crash the plane with everyone on board.