"A Brawl Between Pilots from Russia and Ukraine"... "The Co-Pilot Tried to Crash the Plane"

[Financial News] On the 30th (local time), a flydubai passenger plane bound for Israel sent a hijacking signal, turned toward Saudi Arabia, and made an emergency landing. The situation grew tense, with Israeli fighter jets scrambled after the aircraft was believed to have been hijacked. Reports have since emerged that the incident was caused by a brawl between pilots from Russia and Ukraine.
According to Israel's Channel 12, flydubai officially confirmed that the unusual hijacking scare was caused by a physical altercation between pilots on board. The airline specifically said the incident stemmed from a brawl between a Ukrainian pilot and a Russian pilot.
The circumstances surrounding the dispute between the pilots, however, remain unknown. Authorities are currently investigating that aspect.
Photos of a passenger waiting inside the plane after it made an emergency landing at a Saudi airport, with blood on his clothes, have been posted on social media.

Passengers testified that they were terrified, saying the co-pilot had attacked the captain with a weapon.
One passenger on the flight said, "There was a moment when I was certain it was the end. I heard shouting and screaming, and when the cockpit door opened, I saw blood everywhere inside. I learned that someone on board had stabbed a pilot with a pocketknife."
The passenger said that immediately after the incident, Israeli passengers and crew members succeeded in subduing the person who had attacked the captain.
He added, "As the incident unfolded, we prayed and shouted, 'Shema Yisrael' ('Hear, O Israel'). The plane made an emergency landing, and it was only after we landed that we truly realized what we had been through."
Israeli authorities initially regarded the incident as a clear terrorist attack, based on their initial assessment of the situation and passengers' accounts.
The co-pilot reportedly began stabbing the captain repeatedly, prompting crew members and passengers who broke through the cockpit door to move in and subdue him.



A senior Israeli official explained, "We prevented a massive disaster. The co-pilot is currently under investigation, and there are growing indications that he took control of the plane and tried to crash it with the passengers on board."
Another passenger, Noah, said, "It was extremely tense. I learned that the captain had been stabbed with a knife, and the plane immediately began plunging," adding, "Only the Israeli passengers stepped in, and there are also people in the cabin wearing shirts stained with blood."
He continued, "The plane lurched from side to side and made a steep descent after one of the pilots was stabbed with a weapon and lost control, and it was terrifying," claiming that passengers remained on board even after landing in Saudi Arabia and that a large number of Saudi troops had been deployed at the scene.
The passengers' families also endured agonizing moments on the ground.
After hearing that the plane that had sent a hijacking signal had landed in Saudi Arabia, Ophir Spiegel checked the flight number and discovered that his mother was aboard.
He said, "The agonizing seconds dragged on because no one gave us a clear explanation of what was happening."
The flydubai passenger plane in question sent a hijacking signal that morning. This caused a major commotion, with Israeli airspace immediately closed and Israeli Air Force fighter jets scrambled.
The closure of Israeli airspace was lifted after the passenger plane landed safely in Saudi Arabia.

[email protected] Lee Seok-woo, International Affairs Specialist Reporter