On September 30th, a commercial flight from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to Tel Aviv, Israel, experienced a critical incident. During the flight, the two pilots engaged in a violent physical altercation. The aircraft made an emergency landing at an airport in Saudi Arabia.
According to the British 'Daily Mail', the pilot suspected of attempted hijacking is reported to be a religious extremist from Oman. Israel is investigating why this individual was able to obtain a flying license.
According to reports, at the time of the incident, he violently attacked his colleague and attempted to take control of the aircraft, causing it to crash. However, he was eventually subdued by passengers and crew members.
The plane plummeted 14,000 feet (about 4,267 meters) in just 29 seconds. The severely injured captain, Smitty Machikhar, was covered in blood and collapsed on the floor of the cabin.
The tail of the aircraft is damaged.
A pilot colleague said that the attacker is believed to be of Omani nationality and belongs to religious extremists.
Israeli Channel 16 news anchor and international news editor Joseph Israil spoke in Hebrew, saying that he interviewed a unnamed colleague of the attacker.
According to Israil's account, the involved pilot had 'very strange behavior, especially in terms of his religious practices, which didn't fit in with the environment at Dubai Airways. For example, he prayed frequently and refused to shake hands with women.'
Israil said that this source was “full of regret” over this matter, and referred to Dubai Airways as having “betrayed Israel”.
Sources told Israil: “The facts are clear. We hired a terrorist, and it almost resulted in the deaths of 180 people. Usually, only citizens of the UAE fly on flights to Israel. It’s unclear why he was able to board this flight.”
According to reports, it is an Omani pilot who attempted to hijack a plane.
Given that Oman has no diplomatic relations with Israel, and the control over foreign crew members entering Israeli airspace is very strict, Israel is currently investigating how the suspect was allowed to fly this flight to Tel Aviv.
Dubai Air has now suspended all flights to and from Israel, and is investigating the incident.
On the afternoon of the 30th, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the attackers had been captured. He also added that the suspect “is currently being interrogated by Saudi authorities.” Their identity, criminal intentions, and motives have not yet been confirmed.
