A disaster narrowly averted: the Flydubai flight to Tel Aviv

Yesterday I was at a very well attended conference in Jerusalem when a Home Front Command app alert warned us of a rocket attack in southern Israel. It was a false alarm. Thankfully, because here in Israel life is starting to return to normal now that Iran and Yemen appear to have been crippled by the Israeli Air Force (and perhaps by covert ground operations as well).

Today, however, this country at war was hit again. Israel escaped a major disaster after the co-pilot of a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv (I live in the suburb of Yafo) tried to seize the aircraft and crash it.

That makes you wake up differently after getting home from Jerusalem at 2 a.m.

Israeli authorities call it a "terror incident". Here are the key details of how the people on board escaped disaster.

The attack in the cockpit

Midway through the flight, over Jordanian airspace, the co-pilot (reportedly an Omani national) suddenly attacked the captain and stabbed him several times. The attacker tried to force the captain out of the cockpit and sent the Boeing 737 MAX 8 into a steep dive.

Passengers step in

The Israeli press is currently covering this extensively.

About one and a half to two hours after departure, over north-western Saudi Arabia near the Jordanian border, the aircraft descended abruptly from around 34,000 feet to roughly 15,000–17,000 feet, partly within a minute (according to tracking data). It first squawked transponder code 7700 (general emergency), then 7500 (unlawful interference / possible hijacking), before switching back to 7700. It diverted and landed safely at Tabuk (Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz) Airport in Saudi Arabia. All passengers are unharmed.

1. Testimonies of Israeli 'heroes' on board

The press is focusing on the passengers who stormed the cockpit. One of the most quoted accounts is that of Tzvika Manes, CEO of Bank Leumi's Israeli investment arm (Barak Capital Underwriting). He told the business site Calcalist: "My wife was standing by the cockpit because our daughter was in the toilet. Suddenly she heard screaming from the cockpit. She immediately called to a standby pilot sitting nearby: 'Go in quickly, see what's happening!'" Manes describes how he then ran into the cockpit with two other men: "We overpowered the attacker. I'm covered in blood. It was insane."

Other outlets, including i24NEWS, broadcast an emotional phone interview with a passenger named Miriam: "The pilot had been stabbed, we saw blood everywhere. We thought we wouldn't get out of this alive."

2. Political anger and the Omani nationality

According to Israeli security sources speaking to The Jerusalem Post, the co-pilot is an Omani national. That has caused a political storm: under the security arrangements between Israel and Flydubai, pilots flying to Tel Aviv must come from countries that have normalised relations with Israel. Oman has not.

Israel responded immediately: fighter jets were scrambled, Prime Minister Netanyahu convened an emergency meeting and the military leadership met. The jets turned back before reaching Saudi airspace.

Initial reports spoke of a fight between the pilots. Later reports from Israeli security sources, media and passengers point to a more serious scenario: the co-pilot allegedly stabbed the Emirati captain with a knife and tried to bring the plane down. Passengers and crew overpowered the attacker; two off-duty pilots on board helped land the aircraft safely. Both pilots were injured and are in hospital in Saudi Arabia.

Israeli officials are treating it as a possible terror attack. Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir spoke of a terrorist who wanted to crash the plane. Flydubai confirms an incident on the flight deck, a safe landing in Tabuk and that all passengers are safe; the airline says the reasons and motives are still unknown and subject to a formal investigation.

Current situation

All passengers are safe. Flydubai sent a replacement aircraft to bring them to Tel Aviv. The incident is still developing; details may change as the official investigations in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Israel progress.