Here is what we know so far about Flydubai Flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Israel:
1- The plane was carrying Israelis. No reports say whether they were ordinary Israeli citizens or Israeli army personnel vacationing in the UAE.
Israeli army personnel have previously posted about vacations in the UAE following their service in Gaza (photo 1)
2- The Flydubai pilot was an Indian Hindu named Smit Machchhar. Initial Hebrew media reports described him as Emirati citizen.
3- The co-pilot is Omani. He allegedly stabbed the pilot and attempted to dive and crash the plane, resulting in a fight between the 2 pilots. Smit eventually managed to unlock the cockpit door.
4- Passengers intervened and subdued the Omani co-pilot, while additional pilots aboard the flight took control of the plane and landed it safely at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia.
5- The Israeli passengers received care from a Saudi crew after landing in Saudi Arabia.
6- The Emirati based Indian pilot, Smit Machchhar, was hospitalized after suffering stab wounds, but his condition has not been officially disclosed.
The Omani co-pilot was arrested, and Saudi authorities are interrogating him. Mossad is reportedly involved in the broader investigation, but there is no confirmation that Mossad interrogated him in Saudi Arabia. (Hebrew media)
7- Israeli media initially reported that El Al was planning to evacuate the Israeli passengers from Saudi Arabia to Israel, which would have marked the first overt El Al flight between the 2 countries. However, reportedly Flydubai later sent a replacement aircraft that evacuated the Israeli passengers from Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, directly to Israel.
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