2026-09-30 13:24:42Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

A FlyDubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was diverted and made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia this Wednesday, after a fight between the pilot and co-pilot, causing a distress signal to be activated.

An Israeli passenger on board a FlyDubai flight told The Jerusalem Post that one pilot stabbed another and tried to force him out of the cockpit as the plane began to descend.

Israeli officials later told The Post that the growing assessment within Israel was that the co-pilot attempted to hijack the plane with the intention of crashing it into the ground.

The passenger said the Israelis sitting near the front rushed to the cockpit and fought the attacker as the plane plunged. Two other pilots sitting in the back initially appeared shocked. "I yelled at them to get out and take control of the plane," the passenger said.

According to the passenger, the group managed to get the attacker out of the cockpit and get the other two pilots in. One took control of the plane, while the other took longer to recover from the impact.

The passenger described the injured pilot as being in critical condition and said an Israeli dentist on board treated him and saved his life.

Initially, the plane disappeared from flight tracking systems, raising concerns that it might have been hijacked. However, after a few tense moments, the circumstances of the incident became clearer and the plane made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

The pilot's motive has not been officially clarified. One of the passengers said that Israeli passengers on the plane were the ones who separated the pilot and co-pilot after the two became involved in a violent fight.


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