🔻A summary of what we know so far about Flydubai’s flight to Tel Aviv

🔻A summary of what we know so far about Flydubai’s flight to Tel Aviv

On Wednesday, a routine flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv could have ended in a deadly disaster after an incident that Israeli officials described as a terrorist attack.

What we know so far about the incident:

Benjamin Netanyahu said, at the start of the investigations and interrogations, that the pilot who had been detained in Saudi Arabia would then be extradited to the United Arab Emirates, which was the origin of the Flydubai flight.

On Wednesday, the Flydubai airline said flight FZ 1073 encountered a “incident” about two and a half hours after the start of the flight.

Hours later, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, said that one of the pilots attacked the other with a knife with the aim of bringing the plane down. Flight data also shows that the aircraft had lost about 17,000 feet in altitude within two minutes.

After the incident began, the crew and passengers were able to enter the cockpit, restrain the attacker, and return control of the aircraft to a stable state. The aircraft then landed in Saudi Arabia safely and in an emergency.

The Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia identified the injured pilot as Sumit Machchhar. He is being treated in a hospital in Tabuk, where the aircraft landed. Netanyahu called him a “true hero” and praised his “extraordinary courage.”

The identity of the other pilot has not been publicly announced yet, but Netanyahu said that his government would also participate in the investigations related to the pilot’s motives, which are still unknown.

After the airline dispatched a replacement flight to complete the route, Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv saw scenes of emotional reunions and joy from the families of the passengers.

Israeli officials said that after Netanyahu’s order to “increase security measures” on incoming flights, security checks on pilots entering Israel would be increased.

The incident also led to an unusually rare cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Israel. Although the two countries do not have official diplomatic relations, the Saudi medical team treated injured passengers whose destination was Israel—an action that one of Israel’s ministers thanked Saudi Arabia for.

Donald Trump, too, in a phone conversation with Benjamin Netanyahu, called the flight’s co-pilot a “hero.”