One pilot of Israel-bound flight stabbed the other and tried to crash plane

{"text":[[{"start":9,"text":"One pilot of a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv stabbed the other and attempted to crash the aircraft in an extraordinary brawl that sent the jet plunging 20,000 feet in a matter of minutes."}],[{"start":20.8,"text":"Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the pilot of the Flydubai flight, which was carrying more than 150 passengers on Wednesday morning, attacked the other and “apparently tried to crash the plane”."}],[{"start":33.1,"text":"According to air-tracking service Flightradar24, the Flydubai aircraft stabilised after falling steeply and issued an extremely rare “unlawful interference” code that can be used to indicate a hijacking."}],[{"start":44.95,"text":"Witnesses described chaotic scenes in which passengers entered the cockpit and helped to end the fracas between the pilots."}],[{"start":52.85,"text":"“It was very stressful,” one passenger told Israel’s Channel 12. “Screaming started on the plane, screams from passengers who realised what was happening. And then the plane started to rock from side to side.”"}],[{"start":66.45,"text":"“We realised that the pilots had simply lost control because one of the pilots was stabbed,” the witness said. “There were people with bloodstained shirts.”"}],[{"start":75.55,"text":"Flydubai said the crew had “successfully secured” the plane after an “altercation” and “diverted and landed the aircraft safely” in the north-western Saudi city of Tabuk."}],[{"start":85.85,"text":"The reason for the pilot’s actions was not immediately clear. An Israeli official said the pilot was an Omani national and described the incident as a planned “9/11-style” attack. "}],[{"start":97.25,"text":"Flydubai said: “At this early stage, the underlying reasons and motives behind this event are unknown . . . We urge all parties to refrain from premature speculation while authorities gather the facts.”"}],[{"start":109.65,"text":"Late on Wednesday Flydubai said it had suspended all flights to and from Israel. "}],[{"start":115.80000000000001,"text":"“This temporary suspension will allow the relevant authorities to continue their work and establish all the facts surrounding the incident,” the airline said, adding that it was “fully committed to supporting” the investigation and would “review the suspension as more information becomes available”."}],[{"start":131.35000000000002,"text":"Yasmin Abukasi, the mother of a Flydubai passenger, told Reuters that her daughter had heard a pilot screaming for help."}],[{"start":139.50000000000003,"text":"“After a few minutes, two other pilots took the control,” she said, recalling what her daughter had told her. She added that a few Israelis then “ran away to the guy, he took a knife and try to kill the pilot. They take his hand and put him on the floor. There was a lot of blood around.”"}],[{"start":155.65000000000003,"text":"Cluster2, which operates Tabuk airport, said the captain and first officer had “sustained injuries and were immediately transferred to hospital”."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":163.55000000000004,"text":"Flightradar24 data showed that the early-morning flight had proceeded normally for more than two hours before climbing and falling sharply multiple times, from about 34,000ft to 15,000ft, over Saudi airspace."}],[{"start":177.95000000000005,"text":"It issued a 7700 “general emergency” alert — often used for engine failure or a medical emergency — to air traffic control, before changing its code to the 7500 “unlawful interference”, a rare signal that can indicate a hijacking."}],[{"start":192.80000000000004,"text":"Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir held consultations with senior officers as fighter jets were scrambled to intercept any incoming potential aerial threat, said a second Israeli official."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":203.70000000000005,"text":"The flight landed safely, with all passengers accounted for. They were later returned to Tel Aviv on a separate Flydubai aircraft, landing at about 6.30pm local time."}],[{"start":215.60000000000005,"text":"Far-right ministers in Netanyahu’s government had earlier called for Israel to respond aggressively to the incident. National security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Israel’s security doctrine should be taken to the “next level”, with finance minister Bezalel Smotrich saying anyone who “tried to crash a plane . . . must pay”."}],[{"start":234.15000000000006,"text":"Netanyahu flew to the United Arab Emirates on Sunday for an unannounced visit with its president, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan."}],[{"start":242.90000000000006,"text":"The UAE and Israel normalised relations through US mediation in 2020, in what widely came to be seen as the signature foreign policy achievement of US President Donald Trump’s first term in office."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":255.90000000000006,"text":"More than two dozen flights operate daily between the two countries despite three years of regional war since Hamas’s October 7 2023 attack and Israel’s offensive in Gaza."}],[{"start":267.6500000000001,"text":"The US’s Abraham Accords helped the UAE and Israel expand business ties, boost trade and jump-start tourism. Bilateral trade reached $3.2bn in 2024, according to Israeli data, with locals estimating that about 6,000 Israelis permanently reside in the country."}],[{"start":287.0000000000001,"text":"Additional reporting by Nicolas Parasie and Chloe Cornish in Dubai, Mehul Srivastava in London and James Shotter in Jerusalem"}],[{"start":301.2000000000001,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1790824500_2458.mp3"}