&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Flydubai hijacking scare: Pilot altercation, two signals, steep plunge, stabbing claims - What we know")
A Flydubai aircraft travelling from Dubai to Israel had a major scare when one of the pilots tried to hijack the flight with the intention of crashing it, an Israeli official said. He attacked the other pilot, after which the plane started dipping steeply. Squawk code 7700, a general international emergency signal, was initially transmitted before switching to 7500, which signals hijacking and unlawful interference. The plane later went back to the original distress code.
Following the mayhem on board, the Boeing 737 MAX made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. The Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post a "major disaster was narrowly avoided" as passengers managed to subdue the pilot. The scale of the incident reportedly led Israel to scramble warplanes. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz met urgently to discuss the situation. The Israeli airspace was also temporarily closed.
Reports on the pilot altercation
A terror angle is also being probed. The Jerusalem Post reported, citing Hebrew media, that the copilot was Omani and is being investigated by Saudi authorities. He allegedly stabbed the captain, who was an Emirati, and attempted to crash the plane.
According to Israeli media, the two pilots had an altercation in the cockpit which turned violent. Israel's i24NEWS initially reported that the main pilot was Russian and the co-pilot was from Ukraine. However, later reports claim that the captain is Emirati, while the co-pilot is from Oman. The off-duty pilots who subdued the pilot are said to be Russian and Ukrainian and landed the plane safely in Saudi Arabia.
Reports claim that a stabbing incident occurred between the pilots, although this angle is still being examined. Passengers told Israeli media that one of the pilots had been stabbed with a pocket knife. Authorities are also investigating whether the pilot attempted to crash the plane, as claimed in some reports.
What passengers on board Flydubai said
Meanwhile, a photo on social media shows a passenger's white shirt drenched in blood. Passengers told Israel's Channel 12 that they heard those seated towards the front screaming. "Screams began on the plane… by passengers who realised what was happening," a woman told the outlet. The plane started dipping steeply. "We were either going to crash or be murdered. It was like a terrorist attack in mid-air," one passenger said.
Graphic image. Viewer discretion advised
Photo of a passenger reportedly from the Flydubai flight
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Another passenger said, "We heard screams on the plane. Then they opened the cockpit, and we saw blood, and someone had stabbed the pilot with a pocketknife." She said the crew and other passengers restrained an attacker, adding they thought they "weren’t going to make it out alive."
"We understand that one of the pilots was stabbed and seriously wounded, and they lost control of the plane. It started to dive quickly. It was very scary," a woman named Noam said.
Hijack emergency code was briefly transmitted over Saudi Arabia
After the squawk code 7700, the plane made a U-turn over the Jordan-Saudi Arabia border. Over Saudi Arabia, it issued a code 7500, meaning a hijacking or unlawful interference. This triggered a hijacking scare on the ground. The plane dropped from 34,000 to around 17,000 feet in under a minute after being in the air for two hours and fifteen minutes.
It recovered to 21,650 feet, but again dropped sharply to under 14,000 feet. The Times of Israel reported that the plane remained at around 15,000 feet for the next hour, at which point it was likely being controlled by hand rather than autopilot. Authorities also lost contact with the plane. Fearing a hijacking, Israel scrambled warplanes, an official told the outlet. The Boeing 737 MAX with 180 passengers onboard finally landed in Tabuk, a civilian and military base in Saudi Arabia.
