developing· Security· Updated
Passenger Rushes Cockpit on Arkia Flight from Tbilisi to Tel Aviv
A young passenger on an Arkia Airlines flight from Tbilisi to Tel Aviv on Sunday, November 8, 2026, attempted to breach the cockpit about an hour after takeoff. The man, who was in his early twenties and traveling with his parents, ran to the cockpit door, banged on it, and shouted that the plane was in danger, lacked pilots, and had no functioning engines.
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What happened
- 01A passenger in his early twenties attempted to breach the cockpit on an Arkia flight from Tbilisi to Tel Aviv on Sunday, November 8, 2026.
- 02The passenger banged on the cockpit door and shouted that the plane had no pilots or engines and needed to be saved.
- 03Former Rishon LeZion deputy mayor Maxim Babitsky and other passengers helped the flight crew and the man's family restrain him.
- 04The disruptive passenger was held in the rear of the aircraft cabin until the flight landed at Ben Gurion Airport.
- 05Police officers boarded the plane upon arrival in Israel and took the passenger into custody for questioning.
- 06Arkia Airlines confirmed the incident and stated that flight safety was never compromised during the flight.
- 07An Arkia source attributed the passenger's disruptive behavior during the flight to a psychotic episode.
Flight attendants and the passenger's relatives tried to calm him without success. Other passengers, including Maxim Babitsky, the former deputy mayor of Rishon LeZion, intervened to restrain the man. He was then moved to the rear of the cabin and held there until the aircraft landed.
The pilot reported the incident to Israeli air traffic controllers. Upon landing at Ben Gurion Airport, police officers boarded the plane and took the passenger into custody for questioning. Arkia Airlines confirmed the incident, stating that flight safety was never compromised and that the crew handled the situation according to protocol with the assistance of the passenger's family. An Arkia source attributed the passenger's behavior to a psychotic episode.
Summarized by baba from the reports of 3 newsrooms. Updated
Latest report: Mignews. Read Mignews’s originalThe coverage
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