The Telegraph: Israeli intelligence services believe Flydubai co-pilot tried to steer the plane into a skyscraper in Tel Aviv

The Telegraph, citing three informed sources, writes that in Israel this is being viewed as a scenario similar to the September 11 attacks: according to one of the sources, the co-pilot was supposed to kill the captain and crash the plane in Israeli territory together with the passengers, most of whom were Israelis.

During the incident, the co-pilot struck the captain several times with a penknife, after which the plane abruptly lost altitude. In 37 seconds it descended by about 4,600 meters and issued a signal of “unlawful interference”, which is usually used in hijacking cases.

Passenger Yaniv Hayun told The Telegraph that he burst into the cockpit and saw the co-pilot at the controls of the plane. According to him, he used a hold on the attacker, pulled him out, and for a short time took control of the airliner himself, after which two other pilots on board took over the controls and landed the plane in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

After landing, Saudi Arabian authorities arrested the co-pilot; according to the publication, he is allegedly a citizen of Oman, but his identity, motives, and intentions have not been officially confirmed. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that a conspiracy is being investigated to “crash the plane with everyone on board”, but did not call the incident a terrorist attack, while Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz described it as an “attempted jihadist attack”. Flydubai said that the motive for the incident is under investigation and that it is too early to draw conclusions.

Sources

• Material: ru.themoscowtimes.com