Netanyahu: Flydubai pilot detained in Saudi Arabia

Saudi authorities have detained a pilot of a Flydubai plane who stabbed another pilot, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

“During a flight approaching Israel, one of the pilots stabbed another pilot and apparently attempted to crash a plane carrying passengers,” Netanyahu said in a video message.

The plane gave a distress call and landed in Saudi Arabia. According to Prime Minister Netanyahu, the attacker managed to neutralize one of the passengers.

Netanyahu called the attacker a “jihadist” and called on Israel’s security services to prepare for a possible repeat of such incidents.

Flydubai's Boeing 737 plane, en route from Dubai to Tel Aviv, gave a distress call on the morning of September 30. There were 174 passengers on board, including 27 children. According to the airline Flydubai, between the pilots there was a fight, because of which one of them lost consciousness. After that, a member of the flight crew managed to stabilize the aircraft. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz called the incident an attempted terrorist attack.