Israeli sources told MBN on Wednesday that Mossad operatives are now in Saudi Arabia, taking part in an investigation into a flydubai aircraft that made an emergency landing in the kingdom Wednesday morning, after the co-pilot allegedly stabbed the captain mid-flight, in what Isreal has called an attempted “terrorist attack”.
Saudi Arabia, which has no diplomatic relations with Israel, has not yet announced the participation of any foreign parties in the investigation.
As of publication, the Saudi Embassy in Washington had not responded to an MBN request for comment, while former Mossad chief Danny Yatom told MBN that Israeli investigators and Mossad personnel had already traveled to Saudi Arabia. Yatom said cooperation between all countries involved could help determine who was behind the attack and could lead to closer security coordination.
According to the Associated Press, flight FZ1073 departed Dubai for Tel Aviv on Wednesday, carrying 170 mostly Israeli passengers at 8:22 a.m., after which the aircraft abruptly changed course over Saudi territory.
Flight-tracking data shows the Boeing 737 Max 8 dropped from 34,000 to about 16,000 feet in less than two minutes. The cockpit transmitted a general emergency signal, followed minutes later by another, indicating a suspected hijacking. The aircraft briefly entered Jordanian airspace before turning back and landing in Saudi Arabia.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited an Israeli passenger as saying the co-pilot’s attack was an attempt to “bring the plane down”, until passengers and a crew member, forced their way into the unlocked cockpit when the aircraft “entered a spiral descent and began dropping sharply,” finding the co-pilot “trying to sabotage the aircraft’s systems.”
The group managed to subdue the assailant, and two off-duty flydubai pilots onboard took control of the aircraft and landed safely at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia, where the alleged attacker was identified as an Omani national and arrested. Netanyahu described the incident as “extremely serious”.
Footage from inside the aircraft showed the injured pilot bleeding – X Post – an Indian national identified by Netanyahu as Smit Machchhar.
The UAE General Civil Aviation Authority said its investigation teams were coordinating with relevant parties, while flydubai said it was too early to assign cause or motive, stressing that the incident was the subject of an official investigation, and flights to and from Israel have been suspended during the investigation.
In his comments to MBN, the former Mossad chief said all possibilities remained open regarding the motive, including Iranian involvement, but stopping short of assigning responsibility to Tehran.
Iran’s Fars News Agency reported Israel was attempting to implicate Iran in the incident.
Citing two security sources, Reuters reported Wednesday that Saudi Arabia had rejected an Israeli request to allow its aircraft to repatriate Israeli passengers.
Representatives from flydubai and Tabuk airport said all passengers and crew had boarded a replacement flight and landed at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, and in a video statement issued by his office, Netanyahu said that all passengers are safe.
Adapted and translated from the original Arabic.
