How Israel's 9/11 was averted: The drama on the Flydubai flight that ended with an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia | Minute by minute
Flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Israel with 174 passengers turned into a drama when the Omani pilot stabbed the Indian pilot and tried to crash the plane. Israeli passengers broke into the cockpit and neutralized him, another pilot crew took over the controls. The plane made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia without casualties.
Flydubai flight FZ1073, which took off from Dubai to Israel at 06:05 with 174 passengers (including 22 children), turned into a life-and-death drama. At 08:22, the plane plunged 4,300 meters in 29 seconds without warning. The Omani pilot stabbed the Indian pilot in an attempt to crash the plane near the Jordanian border. An Israeli passenger saw the stabbing and screamed for help; Israeli passengers broke into the cockpit, subdued the attacker in hand-to-hand combat, and tied him with headphones. Another pilot crew on board took over the controls. Distress signals 7700 and 7500 were received, and contact was lost for long minutes. In Israel, an emergency meeting was convened as the plane signaled a direction toward Yemen. At 09:38, contact was reestablished, and the plane landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, without casualties.