What is known about the stabbing on a flight bound for Israel that they describe as an "attempted terrorist attack"

Video title, Footage from inside the plane where a pilot was stabbed Author, Henry Moore Author's title, BBC News Published 6 minutes ago Reading time: 6 min A flight from the United Arab Emirates bound for Israel was diverted to Saudi Arabia this Wednesday after one pilot stabbed the other and "apparently attempted to crash the plane," according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The pilot was arrested and is being interrogated by Saudi authorities, Netanyahu reported. Both the captain and the first officer of the plane were injured and taken to a hospital, reported the company that owns the Saudi airport. The pilot who was the victim of the attack was later identified by Israeli officials as Smit Machchhar, an Indian citizen. Meanwhile, the airline Flydubai confirmed that all passengers are safe. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz described the incident as an "attempted jihadist terrorist attack." The BBC has not yet received official statements from the police, emergency services, or investigators about the possible motive for the attack. This is what we know. Skip Most read and continue readingMost readEnd of Most read What happened to the flight? Flydubai flight FZ1073 took off from Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates at 03:05 GMT (07:05 local time) bound for Ben-Gurion Airport in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv. The flight was carrying at least 150 people and, according to Netanyahu, "almost all" of the passengers were Israeli. Data from the Flightrader24 website shows a rapid descent of the plane over Saudi Arabia approximately two and a half hours after takeoff. The plane lost more than 17,000 feet (5,000 m) of altitude in less than two minutes, around 05:21 GMT. Minutes later, the plane emitted a signal with the emergency code 7700, before changing it to code 7500 to report a hijacking. At 05:40, the plane, which had briefly entered Jordanian airspace, re-entered Saudi Arabia, where it subsequently began its manual descent to land. Less than an hour later, the plane emitted code 7700 again. Initial reports from local media cited Israeli officials claiming that a fight had broken out between two pilots. However, in statements made after the incident, Netanyahu confirmed later reports indicating that one pilot had stabbed the other before "apparently attempting to crash" the plane. According to his account, an Israeli passenger told him that "the plane turned and began to descend" before that person and a crew member burst into the cockpit and subdued the "pilot who had carried out the stabbing." According to location data, the plane was diverted to Tabuk airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia and landed at 06:58. What have passengers said? Passenger Yaniv Hayun, whom Netanyahu later greeted and described as a hero, stated in a video released by the prime minister's office that he and other passengers tried to open the cockpit door, but that the stabbed pilot was very close to it. Before the pilot collapsed, the injured man managed to open the door, Hayun said. According to his account, inside the cockpit, the attacker was "trying to destroy the instruments to disable the plane." Hayun then described how he immobilized the attacker with a chokehold and removed him from the cockpit before other passengers helped restrain him. He added that he "took the controls" of the plane, explaining to Netanyahu that he knew how to do it because he watches the Canadian documentary series "Air Crash Investigation." "The plane started to stabilize a bit more and then [another] pilot told me he would take control from that point on." Image source, Reuters Image caption, Yaniv Hayun was greeted with jubilation upon arriving at Tel Aviv airport. Zvika Meness, another passenger, told Israeli public broadcaster Kan News that he and other passengers tied up the attacker "with their own plastic straps and headphone cables." "There are children and families here who have been through a very serious and highly traumatic event," he added. Yasmin Abukasis told the Reuters news agency that her daughter, who was traveling on the flight, told her that a man armed with a knife had forced one of the pilots to the ground, and that there was blood everywhere. "The plane started to lose control. Then everyone was screaming, they thought they were going to fall," Abukasis told the AP. From Ben Gurion airport, she said her daughter called her to say she had heard screams as a pilot called for help, and added that two other pilots took control of the plane while the other passengers ran toward a man carrying a knife. Image source, Reuters Image caption, Many families waited for their loved ones at Ben Gurion airport. Almog Itali, who was also on board the flight, told the media that one of the pilots who landed the aircraft was British. The other pilot was European, Itali added, although he did not specify his nationality. One passenger described the "very stressful" moment when people realized the plane was descending. "We understood that the pilots had lost control," she told the Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom. "There are people here with shirts covered in blood," she said, adding: "We are fine now and we want to go home." What has the response been so far? Shortly after the incident, the Israeli and Saudi air forces deployed fighter jets, while Netanyahu held urgent consultations. In later statements on Wednesday, Netanyahu described the situation as a "very serious security incident." He added that Israeli security forces are "maintaining close contact with the relevant authorities to ensure the continued safety of the passengers." "I pay tribute to these heroes who demonstrated extraordinary adaptability and courage," he added. "They saved many lives and averted a great catastrophe." Image source, X/Netanyahu Image caption, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shared images of his greeting to Yaniv Hayun. For its part, the airline Flydubai stated that "an altercation occurred in the cockpit" and that the flight was "successfully secured by the on-duty Flydubai crew, who diverted and landed the aircraft safely at Tabuk airport." The company reported that two replacement aircraft were sent to Tabuk to relieve the passengers and crew, and that the incident had no impact on other scheduled operations. The repatriation flight with passengers on board departed from Tabuk at 17:40 local time (14:40 GMT) and arrived in Tel Aviv at around 18:40 local time (15:40 GMT). The spokesperson added: "Our immediate priority is to ensure the safety, health and well-being of all passengers and crew members involved in this incident, as well as to support the official investigation." This article was originally written in English and we used an artificial intelligence tool to translate it. A BBC journalist reviewed the text before publication. More information about how we use AI. Download the new BBC World Service app. Choose BBC News Mundo and receive news alerts, documentaries and analysis, all in one place. Important: the new app is not available in the UK or the United States. You can also follow us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, X, Facebook and on our WhatsApp channel. And don't forget to subscribe here to our newsletter to receive a special selection of our best content every Friday.