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Passenger footage shows moment FlyDubai plane plunges thousands of feet after ‘co-pilot tried to do 9-11'
A passenger shared terrifying footage of the moment a FlyDubai plane plunged thousands of feet after the co-pilot "tried to do 9-11".
The FlyDubai Boeing 737 Max 8 plane was flying from the United Arab Emirates to Tel Aviv, Israel, on Wednesday (September 30) when it suddenly lost altitude and made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
A video shared on X appears to show panicked passengers moving through the shaking cabin as the aircraft dives, while people speaking Hebrew can be heard crying and screaming.
According to The New York Post, FlightAware data reported that the plane, which is the low-cost sister carrier of Emirates Airlines, dropped from approximately 34,000 feet to around 15,400 feet in just 12 minutes.
Israeli officials have alleged that one of the pilots stabbed the other several times before trying to seize control of the plane.
"One pilot stabbed the other and tried to do 9/11," an official told Channel 12.
Passengers described screams before the plane began to dive
Passenger Dalia Shpigel told Israeli newspaper Haaretz that the aircraft lost control and began to "dive" about an hour before it was due to land, BBC News cited.
She told the outlet that "suddenly there were terrible screams throughout the plane" before "three to five guys burst into the cockpit" and subdued the attacker and began treating the injured pilot.
"We realized that the situation was stabilising and continued the flight. Gradually, information began to emerge about what had happened in the cockpit," Shpigel said.
She said the "young men" then took charge and began tending to passengers as the plane altered its course to land in Saudi Arabia.
"Right now, we're all here in the terminal, and medical teams are examining us," she added.
Other videos show the passengers and crew members covered in blood.
"We’re here during the hijacking of an airplane. At this point, we’ve subdued the terrorists," one passenger said while blood ran down his head.
"We were either going to crash or be murdered," another told I24 News. "It was like a terrorist attack in mid-air."
Passengers rushed to the cockpit
One traveller, identified as Meital, said a crew member "tried to crash the plane" before cabin crew and people onboard intervened.
"Someone shouted ‘stabbing’ and my husband understood what was happening and rushed to the front of the plane," she said. "Along with other Israelis they neutralized the terrorist."
She said there was a "lot of blood".
A clip has since surfaced showing one passenger with a head wound and another whose white T-shirt was covered in blood.
The plane made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, a civilian and military base in the kingdom. The aircraft's rudder was damaged during the rapid descent.
Arik Zer, a former Shin Bet head of flight security, said the damage could not have been caused by an external object.
A spokesperson for FlyDubai issued a statement about the incident, saying: "Our teams are working closely with the relevant authorities. Further updates will be issued as additional confirmed details become available,” the spokesperson said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the situation is under control, with officials working to arrange alternative flights for the passengers.
Netanyahu also revealed that "the pilot who carried out the stabbing was arrested and is currently being questioned by the Saudi authorities".