Pilot detained after alleged cockpit attack on Dubai-Tel Aviv flight
A pilot on a Boeing 737 travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv allegedly stabbed the other pilot and tried to bring down the aircraft before passengers and crew subdued him. The plane made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, while Israel scrambled fighter jets after the aircraft began an abrupt descent.
A pilot on a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv allegedly stabbed the other pilot and attempted to crash the aircraft before passengers and crew subdued him, according to the supplied report. The Boeing 737 made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, where the unnamed pilot was detained. The aircraft’s sudden descent prompted Israel to scramble fighter jets over concerns about a possible hijacking.
The incident is the latest example cited in a review of attempted hijackings or crashes involving pilots and other crew members. The supplied material does not provide details about the airline, the number of people on board, the condition of the pilots or the suspect’s possible motive. Several earlier cases involved cockpit attacks or the alleged deliberate control of aircraft toward danger.
In 2015, the co-pilot of a Germanwings flight locked the captain out of the cockpit and deliberately crashed in the French Alps, killing all 150 people aboard. A Mozambique Airlines pilot also deliberately brought down a passenger aircraft in Namibia, killing all 33 people on board, according to authorities at the time. In another case, an Ethiopian Airlines co-pilot diverted a flight to Geneva and surrendered to police; no passengers were harmed.
The material also lists the 2023 case of an off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot who allegedly tried to shut down the engines of a Horizon Air aircraft while travelling in an extra cockpit seat. The plane was diverted safely to Portland. Other examples include the 2001 attempt by a FedEx flight engineer to seize a cargo aircraft and a 1989 Japan Airlines crash that investigators said followed a cockpit struggle.
The causes of some other crashes remain disputed, including the 1999 EgyptAir disaster, for which US investigators and Egyptian authorities reached different conclusions. The current incident involved an emergency landing rather than a reported crash. Further details about the investigation and any charges were not included in the source material.
This independently written report is based on information supplied by the named publisher. Vertrix News has not independently verified the source report.