Flydubai says plane bound for Tel Aviv lands in Saudi after ‘incident’
“She said one pilot tried to kill the other pilot with a knife. And one woman with three children went to the (cockpit) and saw a lot of blood,” Abukasis told AFP while waiting at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv. Flight FZ1073, travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv, was diverted to Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia after an onboard “incident”, Flydubai confirmed. “The incident is under control, and all measures are currently being deployed in order to return the Israeli passengers safely to Israel,” the statement said.
They heard shouting, ‘Help, help! The incident reportedly triggered a security alert after the aircraft transmitted emergency signals, prompting Israel to scramble fighter jets amid fears of a possible hijacking. Israeli authorities later dismissed the hijacking hypothesis. These reports could not be independently verified. Neither Flydubai nor authorities in the countries involved have provided details about the incident.
One of the pilots aboard a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv allegedly tried to kill his co-pilot with a knife before the aircraft made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, the mother of a passenger told AFP.