Attempted terror attack: 2 pilots in fight, plane plunges until passengers step in

By WND Staff

In what is being described as a terror attack prevented by the intervention of passengers on a jet airplane, one of the two pilots allegedly stabbed the other, and the plane plunged thousands of feet until passengers stepped in.

“Passengers have said they believe the pilot was attempting to crash the Flydubai Flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv today after allegedly stabbing the co-pilot,” reported the Daily Mail.

Israeli officials were put on high alert and one told the Jerusalem Post it was a “major disaster narrowly avoided.”

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Reports varied on which pilot attacked the other, with Fox News explaining “the co-pilot was believed to have stabbed the captain before cabin crew entered the cockpit and took control of the plane.”

The IDF, Mossad and Shin Bet were concluding that the incident was intended as an act of terror.

A passenger told Fox News that accounts of what happened remained conflicting, but said passengers understood that the “co-pilot had stabbed the captain and then collapsed onto the controls,” Fox reported.

“There are many different accounts, but apparently the co-pilot stabbed the captain and collapsed onto the controls, shutting down the entire instrument panel. We began plunging downward for several minutes. Everyone on the plane was screaming, the overhead compartments opened, and the power went out. We were sure we were going to die. It was very scary,” a passenger said.

The aircraft made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia and Tabuk airport officials said both pilots were hospitalized with injuries, the report said.

“A regional official briefed on the incident said an altercation broke out in the cockpit and apparently involved the pilots, though it was not immediately clear what sparked the confrontation. Israeli media, citing security officials, also reported that a dispute between the two pilots was behind the emergency,” Fox reported.

Israel scrambled fighter jets as the situation developed, on concerns the jet, carrying about 100 Israelis, could have been hijacked.

Tracking information revealed the aircraft transmitted an emergency alert. Reports conflicted but there apparently were off-duty pilots traveling as passengers who stepped in to help.

The Daily Mail said, “Dramatic footage filmed by passengers moments after the alleged attack shows a crewmember covered in blood on the floor of the aircraft, outside the cockpit, as passengers tend to him. A second crewmember is seen beside him, seemingly unconscious and covered in blood.”

A passenger confirmed the passenger pilots stabilized the jet and landed it.

“Photographs from the flight show one passenger with a white shirt, which is covered in blood. Another recorded a video with blood over his face, emerging from a gash that stretches from his forehead down to his nose,” the Mail reported.

Some reports said it was the pilot who tried to crash the plane, causing it to lose about 16,000 feet in altitude, within a minute or so, before being stabilized.

The report continued:

One passenger, speaking to Channel 12, said her husband helped to “neutralise the terrorist”. The woman, Meital, says a member of the flight crew in the cockpit “tried to crash the plane” and was subdued by passengers. She said: “Someone shouted ‘stabbing’ and my husband immediately understood what was happening and rushed to the front of the plane, and along with other Israelis they neutralised the terrorist. There were stabbings and a lot of blood. We’re very emotional and under terrible stress, it’s very difficult for me to talk.”

 

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