A Flydubai flight carrying 174 people from Dubai to Tel Aviv was forced to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after the copilot stabbed the captain and attempted to take control of the aircraft.
asserted
copilot → carry → aircraft
The wounded captain managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and other crew members to restrain the attacker.
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passengers → wound → attacker
Other Flydubai crew members aboard the plane then helped stabilize the aircraft and land it safely in Tabuk.
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members → help → Tabuk
The incident has prompted investigations involving Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates, hoping to uncover the key questions surrounding the suspect’s identity, motive, and how a weapon entered the cockpit.
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weapon → prompt → cockpit
The flight nearly ended in disaster
Flydubai flight FZ1073 departed Dubai International Airport for Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv on Wednesday morning.
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FZ1073 → end → morning
About two and a half hours into the flight, the aircraft issued a distress call at 8:44 a.m. local time.
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aircraft → issue → a.m.
The Boeing 737 rapidly lost altitude, dropping from about 33,000 feet to 17,000 feet in roughly a minute.
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Boeing → lose → minute
Flight-tracking data showed the aircraft then descended toward Saudi Arabia and circled near the Jordanian border before landing at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Tabuk at about 9:45 a.m.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News’s Fox and Friends that the copilot attacked Indian Capt. Smit Machchhar, stabbing or striking him with what Netanyahu described as either a knife or an axe.
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Netanyahu → track → knife
The weapon has not been verified as of Thursday morning.
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weapon → verify → morning
Machchhar, despite suffering severe injuries and significant blood loss, managed to open the cockpit door.
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Machchhar → suffer → door
A passenger and a crew member then entered the cockpit and helped restrain the copilot.
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passenger → enter → copilot
Netanyahu said a passenger told him the aircraft had entered a sharp descent and that the copilot appeared to be attempting to sabotage the plane’s systems.
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copilot → say → systems
The attacker was eventually restrained using improvised measures.
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attacker → restrain → measures
Netanyahu said passengers initially used the cord from cockpit earphones to tie his hands before securing him with plastic restraints.
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passengers → say → restraints
Other Flydubai crew members who were traveling on the aircraft then entered the cockpit and helped stabilize the plane.
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who → travel → plane
Flydubai said the aircraft was “successfully secured” by its crew members, who diverted the plane and landed it safely in Tabuk.
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who → say → Tabuk
The aircraft sustained damage, including to its rudder, but no passengers were killed.
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passengers → sustain → rudder
The captain and copilot were taken to a Saudi hospital.
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captain → take → hospital
What happened to the passengers and captain?
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What → happen → passengers
Machchhar underwent surgery after the emergency landing and was later reported to be in stable condition.
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Machchhar → undergo → condition
The passengers remained in Saudi Arabia for several hours as officials worked out how they would return to Israel.
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they → remain → Israel
The passengers eventually boarded another Flydubai aircraft and flew from Tabuk to Israel, arriving at Ben Gurion Airport shortly before 7 p.m. local time.
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passengers → board → p.m.
Machchhar and the passengers who intervened praised Israeli and Indian officials.
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who → intervene → officials
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Machchhar a hero, saying he showed courage while seriously injured and helped prevent a major tragedy.
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he → call → tragedy
One of the passengers who intervened was later identified as Israeli plumber Yaniv Hayoun.
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who → intervene → Hayoun
Netanyahu said Hayoun rushed into the cockpit after the aircraft began plummeting toward the ground.
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aircraft → say → ground
Who is the alleged attacker?
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attacker → allege → ?
Relatively little is publicly known about the copilot.
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little → know → copilot
Israeli officials have identified him as an Omani national.
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officials → identify → national
The attacker reportedly worked for Flydubai for about eight months before Wednesday’s incident, according to Netanyahu.
uncertain
attacker → work → Netanyahu
Saudi authorities arrested him after the aircraft landed in Tabuk and began questioning him.
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aircraft → arrest → him
Netanyahu has said investigators believe the suspect may have undergone Islamist radicalization.
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suspect → say → radicalization
He also said the attacker called out for authorities to “kill” him after being restrained, which Netanyahu interpreted as evidence that he intended to die in a suicide attack.
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he → say → attack
Those claims have not established a motive, however.
uncertain
claims → establish → motive
The UAE’s attorney general has ordered an investigation into whether the incident was connected to terrorist activity, whether it involved prior planning or direction, and what motivated the attack.
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what → order → attack
There has also been no public confirmation that the suspect was acting on behalf of a terrorist organization.
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suspect → act → organization
How did the attacker get a weapon into the cockpit?
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attacker → get → cockpit
One of the central questions investigators are examining is how the copilot obtained the weapon allegedly used against Machchhar.
uncertain
copilot → examine → Machchhar
Netanyahu told Fox News there are at least two possibilities in an interview Thursday morning.
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Netanyahu → tell → interview
The suspect may have brought a knife or axe into the aircraft.
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suspect → bring → aircraft
…and 19 more, not listed.
The Aporia
