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TEL AVIV — A pilot stabbed his co-pilot aboard a plane headed to Israel on Wednesday and may have tried to crash the aircraft with 174 people onboard, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
Passengers lived through scenes of terror as the Flydubai flight approaching Tel Aviv shook violently and abruptly plummeted. The flight had originated in Dubai.
“I thought it was a plane malfunction, but then I started hearing screaming about the stabbings,” Aviatar Alevi, a 17-year-old student, told NBC News. “Then I understood the weight of the actual situation.”
Alevi said he thought he was going to die as he felt the plane rapidly descend, with “screaming, people running, panicking, blood.”
Another passenger, Motti Cohen Or, 70, told NBC News that he heard a woman shouting that “someone is stabbing someone in the cockpit” before the aircraft dived “toward the ground.”
Flight data indicates the Boeing 737, flight number FZ 1073, plunged by 14,125 feet in just 29 seconds, according to Flightradar24.
The midair incident led to a diversion and an emergency landing at Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport, known as Tabuk Airport. A rescue flight later brought passengers to Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport.
At Ben Gurion, Netanyahu personally thanked a passenger still wearing a bloodied T-shirt, who told cameras he was among those to enter the cockpit and subdue the attacking pilot. Netanyahu’s office named the man as Yaniv Hayun.
Israeli officials also praised the stabbed pilot, identified as Indian national Captain Smit Machchhar, for his actions in opening the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to rush in, secure the cockpit and prevent the plane from crashing.
“He saved the lives of 174 people, including Israeli citizens and other nationals,” Netanyahu said in an X post. “I wish Captain Machchhar a speedy and full recovery. He is a true hero.”
Video from onboard appeared to show two people lying on the floor, visibly bloodied as others crowd around them.
Machchhar is in stable condition in a hospital in Saudi Arabia, according to the Indian embassy in Riyadh.
Four U.S. citizens, who are dual nationals, were on the flight, per two U.S. officials.
Prime minister’s spokesperson Doron Spielman said that “there is a strong opinion” that the incident was a terror attack, “but we can’t be sure until we debrief everybody.”
No country or terror organization has claimed the incident.
The pilot who committed the stabbing, who is in custody in Saudi Arabia, is believed to be a citizen of Oman, an Israeli official tells NBC News.
An investigation by Saudi authorities is ongoing, David Mencer, a spokesperson for the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, said.
The aircraft was “successfully secured” and landed by on-duty crew traveling onboard, Flydubai said.
“At this early stage, the underlying reasons and motives behind this event are unknown and remain subject to a formal investigation,” the airline said, adding: “We urge all parties to refrain from premature speculation while authorities gather the facts.”
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz meanwhile told Israeli media the incident “was a jihadist terrorist attack attempt,” without saying how he reached that conclusion.
After hours on the ground in Saudi Arabia, the diverted passengers were brought back to Ben Gurion Airport, where they were greeted by well-wishers waving Israeli flags and reunited with family members.
Some of those returning waved to the cameras and discussed their experiences, while exhausted parents carried their young children through the terminal.
Peleg Itali, 17, said there was a family with small children near him on the flight.
“The mother doesn’t even know what to tell them,” he said. “No one knows everything, because no one knew what was going on.”
At least one person, a passenger in his 50s, was taken to a the hospital with a “chest injury,” said Aryeh Myers, a paramedic with Magen David Adom, Israel’s national emergency agency. Myers described the person’s health condition as “mild.”
Earlier, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee expressed relief in a post on X that the incident didn’t turn out to be “more serious.”
“This had everyone in the Middle East (esp Israel) on FULL ALERT this morning,” he said. “Having pilots inflight detouring to ‘fist city’ not your ordinary experience.”
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told reporters that domestically, the TSA will continue to be “at high alert,” adding: “We have no credible threats to us right now that would coordinate what took place over there.”
The incident comes at a time of high tensions in Israel ahead of next month’s parliamentary election, a key test for Netanyahu as he faces discontent over Gaza and Iran. The leader has made national security a core part of his platform ahead of the vote on October 27, while also facing pressure from hardliners who favor a more aggressive stance in the West Bank.
Matt Bradley and Yarden Segev reported from Tel Aviv. Chantal Da Silva and Raf Sanchez reported from London. Nicole Acevedo reported from New York.
Matt Bradley is an international correspondent for NBC News based in Israel.
Yarden Segev is a news coordinator for NBC News based in Israel.
Chantal Da Silva reports on world news for NBC News Digital and is based in London.
Raf Sanchez is a foreign correspondent for NBC News.
Nicole Acevedo is a news reporter for NBC News.
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