What transpired aboard the Flydubai flight that was rerouted from Dubai to Tel Aviv?

One of the two pilots on the aircraft tried to stab the other in the cockpit on Wednesday, causing a flight from the United Arab Emirates to Israel to be diverted to Saudi Arabia. On Thursday, Hamad Saif al-Shamsi, the Attorney General of the United Arab Emirates, requested an investigation into the event.

According to his office, the investigation team would “collect information and evidence to determine the truth of the incident, its circumstances, details, and motives, and to verify the extent of its connection to any terrorist activity or purpose, or the existence of prior planning or direction for it”.

In response to a question about whether he believed Iran was responsible for the event, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that it was too early to identify the cause of the incident, which happened aboard a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv. Israel would “potentially” take part in the investigation into the incident, Netanyahu continued.

Israel deployed warplanes when Flydubai flight FZ1073 was diverted while traveling through Jordanian airspace from Dubai to Tel Aviv, according to the news agency. Israeli officials stated that after the copilot’s attempt to crash the plane was thwarted, the passengers aboard the flight safely arrived in Israel on Wednesday.

He started the fight by stabbing the pilot, causing the aircraft to plummet almost 14,000 feet (4,267 meters) in less than 30 seconds. Netanyahu had earlier said that one of the pilots had attempted to crash the aircraft after stabbing the other. Following the event, he continued, Israel was being ready for more “possible threats.”

According to a statement from Tabuk airport, which was broadcast by Saudi state-run Al Ekhbariya TV, the plane’s captain and first officer were sent to the hospital after suffering injuries. The injured captain was subsequently recognized as Indian national Smit Machchhar by the Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia.

Footage from the airplane shows an injured pilot, Machchhar, lying on the cabin floor with stab wounds, while a passenger suffers a bloody head injury. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Indian Prime Minister Modi hailed Machchhar as a hero for saving 174 lives after he opened the cockpit door, enabling others to subdue the copilot. Passengers described distressing moments as the plane rapidly descended before stabilizing. Some passengers, realizing the situation was dire, broke into the cockpit to overpower the copilot.

The motive of the apparent attack was not immediately clear. Netanyahu said Saudi authorities were interrogating the pilot accused of carrying out the attack.

“We’ll get to the root of this attacker, whether he had accomplices, whether Iran was behind it. I think we’ll find out very soon,” the Israeli PM said on Wednesday.

Israel Katz, Israel’s defense minister, described the incident as a “attempted jihadist terror attack” and stated that preliminary information suggested the attacker intended to crash the plane and kill everyone on board.

The assailant is an Omani national, according to an Israeli official who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Israel maintains a policy of sporadic communication through unofficial channels rather than formal diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia or Oman. Muscat has decided against normalizing relations with Israel on Palestinian rights, in contrast to other nations in the area. Israel’s support of a Palestinian state is a must for Saudi Arabia to normalize its relations with Israel.

According to a spokesman for the prime minister’s office, Netanyahu has instructed authorities to “scale up” security on both Israeli and non-Israeli carriers. Netanyahu’s political allies, according to opposition leader Yair Lapid, tried to disguise the episode as the realization of earlier warnings about a potential attack on Israel ahead of its October 27 legislative election.