Flydubai Flight Narrows Disaster as Passengers Subdue Stabbing Co-Pilot
A flydubai flight from Kathmandu to Israel narrowly avoided disaster after the co-pilot stabbed the captain mid-air. Passengers subdued the attacker, and the aircraft made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
Ofer Dobrovsky was returning to Israel from a trip to Kathmandu, sitting in seat 8C at the front of the aircraft. He fell asleep, only to wake up to moments of sheer terror during an attempted hijacking and crash of a flydubai flight. In an interview with the YouTube channel "Captain Steve," Dobrovsky recounted the neutralization of the co-pilot, an emergency "sliding" landing in Saudi Arabia, how his wife calmed anxious passengers, and how he purchased SIM cards for numerous Israelis so they could contact their loved ones back home.
"Everything was normal until that moment," Dobrovsky recalled. "Luckily, the woman in the seat in front of me (Tali Mans - ynet) went to the restroom at the front of the plane, heard shouting, and told a flight attendant, 'What is going on? We have to check.' They opened the cockpit door and saw blood everywhere. She started screaming. That startled everyone, especially her husband, who ran to her. People around me rushed forward, and I joined in to help. We immediately realized the co-pilot had stabbed the captain."
Neutralizing the Co-Pilot and Mid-Air Chaos
The show's host, Steve Scheibner, known on YouTube as "Captain Steve," previously served as a U.S. Navy pilot and American Airlines captain. He explained during the program that in Boeing aircraft, it is easy to open the cockpit door from the inside, and much harder to open it from the outside—though not impossible.
Dobrovsky described how passengers pulled the captain out of the cockpit and subdued the co-pilot. "He was a big guy; three people managed to overpower him. At first, someone tied his hands with headphones, and then the flight crew brought plastic handcuffs and restrained him. After about 30 seconds, the plane began to dive downward."
Captain Steve believes that although it is currently impossible to know for certain, the co-pilot managed to damage the flight controls in a way that disengaged the autopilot, leading to the sharp descent. According to flight data, the aircraft plunged sharply by about 5,500 meters in roughly 30 seconds.
Landing in Saudi Arabia and Passenger Solidarity
Following the regaining of control over the cockpit, Scheibner noted that Israeli fighter jets were scrambled after the hijacking alarm code was entered into the aircraft. He added that the replacement flight crew on board was likely not permitted to land in Israel for understandable reasons, and after what appeared to be communication with the fighter jets, they diverted to Saudi Arabia.
According to Dobrovsky, the ordeal did not end after the struggle and the stabilization of the aircraft. "We had about another hour of flight, and we feared that someone from the flight crew might be collaborating with the co-pilot. We, the passengers, secured the cockpit and stationed a guard over the flight attendants. Someone escorted them everywhere. It wasn't based on concrete suspicion, but it's better to be safe than sorry."
"Some of the passengers went into a panic," Dobrovsky continued. "My wife is a psychiatrist, and she went over, along with a few other people, and calmed them down. So by the time we landed in Saudi Arabia, everyone was tense—but calm."
He mentioned that he managed to press his phone against the window and, via GPS data, realized they were heading toward Saudi Arabia. "I wondered why it was taking us so long to land," he said. "The captain was severely injured, but we circled in the air several times. At the time, we didn't realize the rear wing had been damaged. The landing was surprisingly smooth. I praised the replacement pilot for that afterward. He told me, 'Thank Boeing for that, the nose gear did the job it was supposed to do.'"
Safe Return Efforts
"At the airport, ambulances, fire trucks, and soldiers were waiting for us—because it turns out the location also serves the military," Dobrovsky added. "They put us in an isolated area and took care of us. They brought us food and water. Everyone was really nice."
Due to the unexpected landing destination, the Israeli passengers could not use their mobile phones to call home. "I spoke to someone and asked them to open a hotspot so I could order a SIM card. I ordered one for myself and bought SIM cards for another 20 people so they could talk to their loved ones."
According to Dobrovsky, it remained unclear to the Israelis how they would return home from Saudi Arabia. "Flydubai had a backup crew that was told to fly to Saudi Arabia—without being given information about what had happened. They landed and asked us to board the plane, which looked exactly like the previous one, and asked us to sit in the exact same seats. People were very stressed about that."
He stated that he spoke to the new pilots and told them what happened. "I think for them it was just as stressful, thinking a colleague could have stabbed them. They were very patient with the passengers, spoke with them, and asked them to board, but without applying pressure. I spoke to people and told them the crew was great. What is amazing in this whole story is that everyone on the plane contributed something to the situation," Dobrovsky concluded.
