“According to the preliminary information in our possession, the terrorist had one intention: to crash the plane with all of its passengers,” Katz said.
By United with Israel Staff
A potential aviation disaster was narrowly averted Wednesday morning after an Israel-bound Flydubai flight plunged thousands of feet and diverted to Saudi Arabia following a violent incident in the cockpit, with Israel now publicly describing the incident as an attempted jihadist terror attack aimed at crashing the plane.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday afternoon that preliminary information obtained by Israel indicated the attacker intended to bring down the aircraft with everyone aboard.
“The serious incident on the Flydubai plane was an attempted jihadist terror attack, which was thwarted only thanks to the heroism of several Israeli passengers who broke into the cockpit, overpowered the terrorist and, with their own hands, returned control of the aircraft to an additional flight crew that was present,” Katz said.
“According to the preliminary information in our possession, the terrorist had one intention: to crash the plane with all of its passengers,” he added.
Flydubai Flight FZ1073 was traveling from Dubai to Ben Gurion Airport with numerous Israelis aboard when it transmitted emergency signals, including one indicating possible unlawful interference, triggering initial fears that the aircraft had been hijacked.
Israel scrambled fighter jets and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held urgent consultations with Katz and senior security officials as authorities initially struggled to determine what was happening aboard the aircraft.
The Boeing 737 ultimately landed safely at Tabuk airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia. Flydubai said all passengers were safe and accounted for.
“Flydubai can confirm that flight FZ 1073 operating from Dubai International (DXB) to Ben Gurion International Airport (TLV) on 30 September experienced an incident while en route. The aircraft has landed safely in Tabuk (TUU) and all passengers are safe and accounted for. The safety and well-being of our passengers and crew remain our highest priority.
“Our teams are working closely with the relevant authorities. Further updates will be issued as additional confirmed details become available.”
Early reports described the incident as a physical altercation between the pilots, and Israeli officials initially said the aircraft had not been hijacked.
As additional information reached Israel, however, the assessment among Israeli security officials reportedly shifted.
Passengers said the co-pilot repeatedly stabbed the captain, leaving blood visible inside the aircraft, according to Israeli media reports. Some passengers who helped bring the situation under control were reportedly later seen with bloodstained shirts.
Dramatic footage from aboard the aircraft showed bloodied passengers and an injured pilot being tended to inside the cockpit.
In another video recorded during the crisis, a bloodied Israeli passenger pleaded for assistance as the aircraft approached its emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
“We’re here during the hijacking of an airplane. At this point we’ve subdued the terrorists, we’re approaching landing. Whoever is hearing me, we need help,” the passenger said.
“We’re landing in Tabuk, apparently in Saudi Arabia. An unknown, unfamiliar area. On the plane, everybody is safe and sound, other than the pilot. We need help.”
Flight data also showed the aircraft undergoing a dramatic descent during the incident. Israeli reports said that at approximately 8:22 a.m., around an hour and 20 minutes after departure from Dubai, the aircraft dropped from its cruising altitude of approximately 34,000 feet to below 20,000 feet within minutes.
It subsequently continued toward Tabuk at a relatively low altitude before landing.
Israeli officials said an additional team of pilots happened to be aboard the flight as passengers as part of a routine arrangement. According to information relayed to Israel, those pilots were able to intervene, take control of the aircraft and stabilize it.
That detail is now viewed by Israeli officials as potentially crucial to preventing a catastrophe.
“This was the great luck of this flight,” a senior Israeli official was quoted as saying, adding that without the additional pilots, Israel could have been facing an incident reminiscent of “September 2001 or July 1976,” an apparent reference to the September 11 attacks and the 1976 hijacking of an Air France flight to Entebbe.
Israeli reports identified the pilot accused of carrying out the dangerous descent as an Omani citizen and the other pilot as Emirati. Those details have not yet been independently confirmed.
Following consultations involving the heads of the IDF, Shin Bet and Mossad, Israeli officials increasingly assessed the incident as a possible terrorist attack rather than simply an altercation between crew members.
Katz’s statement later Wednesday marked the clearest public declaration by a senior Israeli official that authorities believe the incident was an attempted terror attack.
Katz also connected the incident to recent security warnings issued by himself and Netanyahu.
“When the prime minister and I issue security warnings and alerts based on intelligence, everyone, both our enemies abroad and uninformed former officials at home, would do well to listen and take them seriously,” Katz said.
“Every warning has several addresses and purposes,” he continued. “Most importantly, the warnings never come at the expense of the proactive and offensive activity that we are leading together with the IDF against every threat, nor are they a substitute for it.”
Israel was also working Wednesday to return the stranded passengers from Saudi Arabia, with Flydubai arranging an aircraft to bring them home.
The operation is particularly unusual because Israel and Saudi Arabia do not maintain formal diplomatic relations, despite years of behind-the-scenes contacts between the two countries.
The incident began with what appeared to be an aviation emergency but rapidly escalated into a major national security event in Israel as authorities received the aircraft’s distress signals and temporarily lost contact with it.
For several tense minutes Wednesday morning, Israeli officials were confronting the possibility that a commercial airliner carrying numerous Israelis had been seized in midair.
While the passengers are now safe on the ground in Saudi Arabia, the investigation into precisely what unfolded inside the cockpit remains ongoing. Katz said Israel’s preliminary information indicates that the alleged attacker’s objective was to crash the aircraft with everyone aboard.