Israel hijacking latest: Pilot ‘used axe’ to attack co-pilot before passengers used toilet raises alarm

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the pilot accused of disturbing his Indian co-pilot and hijacking a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv had undergone “Islamist radical indoctrination”.

The plane fell 17,000 ft in less than two minutes before the passengers and crew overpowered the attacker and helped it land safely in Saudi Arabia.

Netanyahu said it appeared “very likely” that the attacker, believed to be an Omani national, “came down the plane” before he was stopped.

However, a motive has not been established, with UAE authorities investigating whether the incident was linked to “terrorist activity or purpose”.

Netanyahu also told Fox News that the attacker was “calling the aircrew ‘kill me, kill me’, so it’s clear that he was suicidal – that’s not a question”.

The head of Israel’s security agency raised security concerns about flights from the UAE for months before a pilot tried to hijack a Flydubai passenger plane traveling to Tel Aviv, according to a report.

David Zini, the director of Israel’s Shin Bet, reportedly clashed with Israeli airlines over restrictions on flights to the United Arab Emirates, with the agency saying security measures at Emirati airports were insufficient, according to Israel’s N12 News.

Israeli authorities were concerned about possible rocket attacks or attacks on an airport, the outlet reported on Thursday. A scenario like Wednesday’s flight attempt was “not raised in a discussion”, they said.

A passenger who helped save a flight carrying more than 170 people to Tel Aviv from crashing says he knew how to stabilize a nose-diving plane after watching an aircrash TV show.

Yaniv Hayun, 50, is hailed as a hero in Israel after he and three other Israeli passengers managed to subdue the co-pilot of Flydubai flight FZ1073, who stabbed his captain, before pulling up on the jet’s rudder to correct it.

He told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who met him at the airport, that the stabbed pilot probably managed to open the cockpit door before collapsing.

“One (pilot) was down and one was at the controls, and another person came in with me, I grabbed the attacker and put him in a chokehold and pulled him out,” he told Netanyahu, in a video of their meeting distributed by Netanyahu’s office.

He and several other people subdued the co-pilot and then he went back to pull up the plane’s unmanned rudder controls, Hayun said, his shirt still bloody from the fight.

Asked how he knew what to do in the moments before another pilot on board, whom other passengers identified as a British man named James, took control, Hayun said: “I’m looking at the air crash investigation, Mr Prime Minister.”

Four Americans were aboard the Israel-bound plane that a pilot allegedly tried to hijack on Wednesday, according to reports.

The four passengers on the Flydubai flight were US-Israeli dual citizens, US officials told CNN and NewsNation.

The co-pilot who allegedly tried to hijack a flight to Israel on Wednesday attacked his fellow pilot with an axe, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed as questions arose about the attacker’s motives and background.

“Ass [the plane] Israel arrived, one of the co-pilots stabbed or hit with an ax, the other pilot, an Indian pilot,” the Israeli prime minister told CBS News on Wednesday, hours after the attack.

“The pilot who was hit, bleeding profusely, fighting for his life, managed to open the door of the pilot,” said Captain Smit Machchhar, who was seriously injured in the attack, as a hero.

It remains unclear how the pilot gained access to a weapon and some analysts have suggested that it was the emergency ax in the cockpit in case of emergency.

The co-pilot of a passenger jet who stabbed the captain in an apparent attempt to crash the plane as it flew to Israel had undergone radical Islamist indoctrination and was clearly suicidal, Israel’s prime minister said Thursday.

Disaster was averted on Wednesday’s Flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv after the injured captain managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers to subdue the attacker.

A reserve crew on board landed the plane, which had more than 170 people on board, at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia.

“We know that he has undergone radical Islamist indoctrination. That seems to be something we gather from his personal information,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with Fox News.

Two Israeli security officials said Israel’s initial assessment was that the co-pilot, identified by Israel as an Omani national, was likely acting alone, although the investigation was still ongoing.

Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry, which is investigating the FlyDubai incident, released a statement that preliminary investigations show that the plane’s co-pilot assaulted the captain.

The statement which the ministry says “comes from an official source” says that the incident “led to several injuries for both”.

It says both men were both treated in hospital for injuries and left for Abu Dhabi this morning after receiving medical clearance.

The statement added: “The Kingdom manages emergency situations in accordance with its international and humanitarian obligations, as well as the regulations and directives adopted by the relevant authorities.”

A pilot on an Israel-bound flight stabbed another pilot and may have deliberately tried to crash the plane before passengers regained control and the plane landed safely in Saudi Arabia.

Flydubai flight FZ1073 was traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday when it suddenly dropped 14,000ft in less than 30 seconds before issuing an emergency signal and changing course over Jordan.

Israeli officials said the co-pilot of the Boeing 737 plane had stabbed the captain in a possible attempted “terrorist attack” with about 150 Israeli passengers on board.

Here’s what we know—and what we don’t: