Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video statement Wednesday afternoon revealing new details about the attempted hijacking of a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv earlier in the day.
Netanyahu opened by calling the incident a "security event" — language that reinforces suspicions this was a terror attack rather than a mental-health episode.
"This morning there was an extremely serious security incident on a flight from Dubai to Israel. Nearly all the passengers on the flight were Israelis. During the flight, as they approached the country, one of the pilots stabbed the other pilot, and apparently he tried to crash the plane with everyone on board," the Prime Minister said.
Netanyahu said he had spoken with one of the Israeli passengers, who described the moments the plane went into a dive. "He told me the plane went into freefall and began to plunge. He told me that in an unusual way, he managed to break into the cockpit with one of the crew members, and together they neutralized the stabbing pilot while he was trying to sabotage the plane's systems."
The Prime Minister confirmed that "another flight crew that was on the plane entered the cockpit and managed to stabilize the aircraft." It remains unclear why a backup flight crew was aboard the plane.
"I salute these heroes who showed resourcefulness and extraordinary courage. They saved many lives; they prevented a major disaster. The plane landed safely at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia. All passengers are out of danger," Netanyahu said.
"The stabbing pilot has been arrested and is being interrogated at this hour by the Saudi authorities."
"We are maintaining continuous contact with the relevant authorities to ensure the continued safety of the passengers and to ensure their safe return home."
"We have instructed the security systems to prepare for additional potential threats. We are holding ongoing situation assessments and will update you according to developments," Netanyahu concluded.
