Israel PM says pilot of rerouted flight tried to crash flydubai plane

TABUK, (Saudi Arabia): Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that the pilot of a Tel Aviv-bound flydubai flight had tried to crash the plane and kill its passengers, after the aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

Passengers gave a similar account of the incident on board, describing a fight for control after the plane suddenly plummeted, losing around 17,000 feet of altitude in the span of a minute, according to the Flightradar24 website.

Flydubai said all the passengers — of whom 166 out of 174 were Israeli, according to media reports — were safe, adding that reasons for the altercation were unknown.

A passenger told AFP that the group had departed again for Tel Aviv after a wait in Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk.

“During the flight, as they approached the country, one of the pilots stabbed the other pilot, and apparently tried to crash the plane with everyone on board,” Netanyahu said in a video message.