From cockpit fight to emergency landing: What happened aboard Flydubai flight

Report by Bassam Abou Zeid, English adaptation by Karine Keuchkerian

An Israeli plumber helped save the lives of passengers aboard a Flydubai flight traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday.

This is the prevailing account of the incident so far, details of which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu first heard at Ben Gurion Airport when he met the plumber and listened to his account.

According to the plumber’s account, a fight broke out between the pilot, who is Indian, and his Omani co-pilot. Despite being injured, the pilot managed to open the cockpit door, allowing the plumber and other passengers to restrain the co-pilot.

The plumber said he initially took control of the aircraft, adjusted its course, and stopped its rapid descent before reserve pilots aboard the flight took over and landed the plane at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia.

Netanyahu relayed this account to U.S. President Donald Trump, who later spoke about the incident to visitors at the White House and to the media.

Officially, there are still no details on the findings of the investigations by either the UAE or Saudi Arabia. The UAE said only that a security incident had occurred aboard the flight and that an investigation was underway.

Israel, meanwhile, said through Netanyahu that the co-pilot attacked the pilot with an axe.

The Flydubai incident comes as Netanyahu is campaigning to remain at the helm of the Israeli government. In an interview with Fox News, attention was drawn to Netanyahu’s history with aircraft hijackings and the possibility of the incident being used for political purposes.

The interview recalled that Netanyahu’s brother, Yonatan, was killed during the Entebbe hostage-rescue operation in July 1976. It also revealed that Netanyahu himself was injured during the 1972 operation to rescue passengers aboard a Sabena flight that had departed from Brussels and landed in Israel.

As for the investigation, a clearer picture of what actually happened aboard the flight is expected to emerge in the coming days. 

Cockpit recordings, testimonies from passengers who intervened, and questioning of the pilot and co-pilot are expected to help answer key questions, including whether Saudi Arabia will hand the pilot and co-pilot over to the UAE and how the co-pilot managed to bring a sharp object onto the aircraft.

Israel is reviewing the security procedures in place on flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv and will send Israeli aircraft to bring back thousands of Israelis currently in the UAE.

In Israel, the passengers who intervened to help save the aircraft have already begun to be described as heroes. Among them was a doctor who provided first aid to the injured pilot.

That same pilot had spoken in an interview about a year ago about the importance of having a doctor on every aircraft.

The Flydubai incident could prompt a number of countries, both in the region and beyond, to reconsider airport security measures, particularly those involving flight crews.