File photo: Flydubai flight passenger Tzvika Manes
Tzika Manes told Israel’s Channel 12, as reported by The Times of Israel , that the incident began when his wife was accompanying their young daughter to the bathroom at the front of the aircraft. Manes said it took around 20 to 25 minutes for the three Israeli passengers to subdue the alleged attacker. The plane later returned to Israel with around 180 passengers, most of them Israelis.
The Times of Israel reported that Yaniv later told Netanyahu he had entered the cockpit and found the alleged attacker at the controls. The aircraft had transmitted emergency signals and sharply lost altitude before landing safely.
Manes said the pilot then fell through the cockpit door while the co-pilot was stabbing him. Manes said he pulled his daughter out of the bathroom before moving towards the attacker. He said he grabbed the man and pulled him away before returning to the cockpit when he realised the aircraft was tilting sharply. Yaniv said he pulled the controls and managed to level the aircraft somewhat before another pilot took over. A doctor travelling on the flight separately helped stabilise the injured pilot, Manes said. He described the experience as a “horror film”, saying there were moments when he believed he would not survive. Manes also recalled his daughters screaming, “We don’t want to die,” as the plane nosedived, describing it as “something traumatic for any father to hear. “It was a very difficult scenario… but because we’re Israelis, so we responded quickly,” he told Channel 12, according to The Times of Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said one pilot stabbed the other and apparently tried to crash the aircraft, while passengers and crew members intervened to prevent the plane from being brought down. The captain and first officer were injured and taken to hospital, according to the Tabuk airport authorities cited by news agency AP. Flydubai confirmed that an “altercation occurred in the flight deck” and said the aircraft was secured by the on-duty crew before being diverted and landed safely.
An Israeli passenger who helped restrain the flydubai co-pilot accused of trying to take control of the aircraft and crash it has recounted how he and two other passengers intervened as the plane began to nosedive. She heard screams and sounds of a struggle coming from the cockpit and alerted a flydubai flight attendant. As the struggle continued, the aircraft began to lose altitude dramatically, causing passengers to be thrown around the cabin. Two other Israeli passengers joined him in trying to subdue the alleged attacker. One of them, identified as Yaniv, managed to take hold of the aircraft’s controls and pull the plane back upwards as it began to nosedive. They used corded headphones to tie him up. The flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was diverted to Tabuk in Saudi Arabia after the altercation in the cockpit. Netanyahu praised the passengers and crew members who intervened, saying their actions “saved many lives and prevented a major disaster. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.