An Israel-bound Flydubai pilot was described as a “terrorist” by Israel’s national security minister on Wednesday after an alleged attempt to crash the aircraft carrying around 180 people triggered a dramatic mid-air struggle, emergency signals and the scrambling of Israeli fighter jets before the plane landed safely in Saudi Arabia.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said one pilot stabbed the other and “apparently tried to crash” the aircraft, which was flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv, while passengers and crew members intervened to overpower the attacker. The flight, FZ1073, eventually made an emergency landing at Tabuk in northern Saudi Arabia.
