Photos of passengers returning to Tel Aviv after attack aboard FlyDubai flight

Passengers on a plane from Dubai to Tel Aviv say they wrestled with a pilot who stabbed the other pilot as the plane dove sharply before making an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. It was not clear what had motivated the attack. Aviation experts are marveling that the plane didn’t crash. The passengers arrived in Israel on another FlyDubai flight on Wednesday evening. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greeted one of the responders, who still wore a bloodied shirt. Netanyahu said Saudi Arabia arrested a pilot, who has not been identified. Shaken passengers described believing they were going to die.

The Israeli prime minister says one pilot stabbed another and attempted to crash a flight from the United Arab Emirates to Israel. Passengers, many of whom are Israelis, feared for their lives as the FlyDubai aircraft lost half its altitude in about a minute. Israel scrambled fighter jets out of concern for a possible hijacking. A passenger and a crew member entered into the cockpit after the stabbed pilot opened its door. Other crew members gained control of the aircraft, which landed safely in Saudi Arabia. The terrifying incident on Wednesday occurred just days before the anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that launched the war in Gaza.