Flydubai suspends Dubai–Tel Aviv flights during investigation

A passenger said one of the pilots on an Israel-bound flight diverted that day attacked his co-pilot and tried to crash the aircraft, intending to kill everyone aboard.

Passenger Miryam Shira Ohayon described the aircraft as largely out of control when a stabbing occurred over Jordan. She said the incident happened on a flydubai flight traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv.

Speaking to reporters through a speakerphone held by her mother at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, the passenger alleged that the co-pilot tried to kill the pilot and carry out a suicide attack.

She said the aircraft appeared close to crashing before several people took control of the co-pilot and subdued him. Her account credited their intervention with preventing the crash she feared.

The passenger also said a doctor provided first aid and that people treated both pilots. She described fear of a crash as the main concern during the incident.

UAE investigators said on October 3 that their investigation into the Flydubai flight had determined that the co-pilot intended to carry out a terrorist act. They said he used the cockpit's emergency axe to attack the pilot.

The captain was assaulted during the flight but managed to open the cockpit door. That allowed passengers and crew to overpower the attacker, with the aircraft making an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia after the intervention.

Passengers described rushing toward the cockpit and a struggle for control after the aircraft plunged. Flight-tracking website Flightradar24 recorded a loss of around 17,000 feet of altitude over the course of a minute.

The findings emerged as a first flight carrying Israelis home from the United Arab Emirates landed in Tel Aviv. Israel's airport authority website showed the arrival after services had been suspended following the attack.

The co-pilot remains in custody in the UAE.

The United Arab Emirates prosecutor general said the co-pilot of a Flydubai aircraft traveling to Israel attacked the pilot with a crash axe. He said the attack was an attempt to take control of the aircraft.

The flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was carrying more than 170 people when it plunged some 17,000 feet, two and a half hours into the journey. Passengers then overpowered the attacker and took control of the plane.

Capt. Smit Machchhar said he was lying injured on the floor when he realized the aircraft was sinking and he needed to act. He described making one last push to open the cockpit door from inside, allowing passengers to enter.

A crash axe is usually kept in the cockpit for use in emergencies.

The UAE attorney general said investigations were continuing to establish the full circumstances and motives of the incident.