Dentist, Off-Roster Pilots, Bravery: What Saved 180 Aboard flydubai Plane

At about 8:20 am, flydubai flight FZ1073 began to fall. It lost 17,400 feet in just under two minutes. That is more than six times the height of the Burj Khalifa, and it happened over a plane carrying about 180 people. For a few frightening minutes, passengers thought they would not reach the ground alive.

Yasmin Abukasis, whose daughter Miryam was on board, told AFP that her daughter said everyone "thought they were going to die". The plane instead levelled off and landed safely in Tabuk, north-western Saudi Arabia.

A dentist, relief pilots and alert passengers: that is what stood between a violent cockpit clash and a far worse outcome on Wednesday.

Flydubai said the flight "experienced an incident while en route" and that all passengers were safe and accounted for.

According to accounts from those on board, a few things went in the passengers' favour. Two relief pilots were sitting at the back of the plane. Passengers near the front helped move the attacker away from the cockpit. A dentist is said to have treated the injured pilot.

Much remains unclear, including what caused the clash and what the motive was. Neither the airline nor the authorities have explained exactly what happened. Israeli authorities are investigating several lines of inquiry, and a terror attack has not been ruled out.

What Passengers Say Happened In The Cockpit

A witness told the Jerusalem Post that one pilot was stabbed by another, and that passengers near the front of the plane helped force the attacker out of the cockpit. Miryam's mother described what her daughter told her.

"She said one pilot tried to kill the other pilot with a knife. They heard shouting, 'Help, help!' And one woman with three children went to the (cockpit) and saw a lot of blood," she told AFP.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a video statement, said a passenger had managed to break into the cockpit together with a member of the crew, and that the two had managed to “neutralise” the pilot while he tried to sabotage the plane's systems. Another crew member managed to stabilise the plane, the Israeli prime minister said in a video statement.

Videos on social media that appear to come from the cabin show a wounded man and others covered in blood. In one minute-long clip, a traveller tells the pilot, "You saved the plane". Another man, with a head injury, says in Hebrew, "They attacked us on this plane. They tried to murder the pilot. We overpowered him." A third voice adds, "We are standing here. No one passes the pilot's door." One passenger is also seen pointing to the man he calls the "one who stabbed" the other pilot.

The same witness said two other pilots were on board, seated at the back. They were relief pilots who were due to operate a later flight. "I shouted at them to run and take control of the plane," the passenger told the Jerusalem Post. Another report says some off-duty pilots among the 180 passengers eventually stepped in and landed the plane in Tabuk.

Read | 'Pilot Stabbed': What Happened Inside flydubai Flight Before 'Hijack' Signal

A Dentist Helps The Injured Pilot

The witness also said the injured pilot was given life-saving care by a dentist who was on the flight. Both the pilot and co-pilot were later taken to hospital in Saudi Arabia, and passengers were treated in the airport terminal.

Flightradar24 said the plane first sent an emergency signal, then a signal for unlawful interference, and then an emergency signal again. The flight descended about 17,400 feet in roughly two minutes before the first emergency signal was transmitted.

The flight sent distress signals and reversed course near the Saudi-Jordanian border, about two hours and 15 minutes into the trip. The Israeli air force briefly scrambled fighter jets but turned them back before they reached Saudi airspace, the military said.

Timeline Of Flight FZ1073

6:05 am: FZ1073 takes off from Dubai
8:20 am: The plane begins losing altitude. It descends 17,400 feet in just under two minutes.
8:31 am: The flight squawks code 7700, the International Civil Aviation Organisation code for an emergency
8:35 am: The flight squawks code 7500, which signals a hijacking
8:41 am: The plane turns around and enters Jordanian airspace
8:46 am: The plane re-enters Saudi airspace
9:54 am: FZ1073 touches down at Tabuk Airport

Statements from Tabuk's Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport said the airport received a distress call at 8:44 a.m. local time and declared a state of emergency. In its statement, the airport gave the landing time as 9:45 am local time and said the plane landed safely just over an hour after the call. The captain and co-pilot were taken to hospital, and coordination was underway to arrange a replacement aircraft.

Read | "He Attacked Us, We Overpowered Him": Video Emerges From flydubai Plane

Israeli authorities were investigating whether it was an attempted attack on Israelis, among other angles. Two far-right ministers have called it a foiled terrorist attack. National security minister Itamar Ben Gvir said a "terrorist" wanted to crash the aircraft and kill the Israelis on board.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held consultations and was "monitoring developments", his office said. "The incident is under control, and all measures are currently being deployed in order to return the Israeli passengers safely to Israel," it added. Israeli officials said the plane carried between 160 and 180 passengers.

“The attacking pilot has been arrested and is currently being questioned by the Saudi authorities,” said the Israeli prime minister.

Flydubai was the first low-cost carrier to begin commercial flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv, after Israel and the United Arab Emirates normalised relations under the Abraham Accords in 2020.