'Thought they were going to die': Passenger's mother says pilot tried to kill co-pilot on Flydubai flight

One of the pilots aboard a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv allegedly tried to kill his co-pilot with a knife before the aircraft made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, the mother of a passenger told AFP.Yasmin Abukasis, whose daughter Miryam was travelling on flight FZ1073 to attend a service for her brother, who was killed in the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, said her daughter described a terrifying scene inside the aircraft after it landed safely in Tabuk."She said one pilot tried to kill the other pilot with a knife. They heard shouting, 'Help, help!' And one woman with three children went to the (cockpit) and saw a lot of blood," Abukasis told AFP while waiting at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv.She said her daughter had called her after landing and told her that everyone "thought they were going to die".The incident reportedly triggered a security alert after the aircraft transmitted emergency signals, prompting Israel to scramble fighter jets amid fears of a possible hijacking. Israeli authorities later dismissed the hijacking hypothesis.What happened aboard Flydubai flight?Flight FZ1073, travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv, was diverted to Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia after an onboard "incident", Flydubai confirmed.The airline said in a statement that the aircraft had landed safely and all passengers were "safe and accounted for".Several Israeli media outlets reported that a physical altercation had broken out between the two pilots inside the cockpit. Passengers reportedly intervened to separate them, with Israeli media publishing photographs of a passenger wearing a bloodied T-shirt.Channel 12 reported that authorities were investigating whether one of the pilots had attempted suicide by trying to crash the aircraft, with the other pilot intervening to prevent it.These reports could not be independently verified. Neither Flydubai nor authorities in the countries involved have provided details about the incident.According to Flightradar data, the aircraft experienced a sudden loss of altitude, dropping from nearly 34,000 feet at 05:21 GMT to below 17,000 feet a minute later.Israel's Kan public broadcaster and Channel 12 reported that fighter jets were scrambled following concerns about a possible hijacking. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said he had held consultations and was monitoring developments."The incident is under control, and all measures are currently being deployed in order to return the Israeli passengers safely to Israel," the statement said.The Israeli military told AFP that it was "checking" the reports.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.