A FlyDubai pilot has been arrested following an in-flight altercation on the flight deck which saw at least one pilot stabbed and the aircraft drop 17,000 feet in just over 100 seconds.
The flight, FZ1073, was operating from Dubai to Tel Aviv when the co-pilot reportedly tried to take control of the aircraft in what Israel’s defence minister called “a jihadist attack”.
During the struggle the pilot was stabbed before the co-pilot was overpowered and restrained by another crew onboard.
The Boeing 737 Max8 descended rapidly during the incident losing almost half of its cruising altitude in under 2 minutes leading to speculation that the co-pilot was attempting top deliberately crash the aircraft.
Following the incident the flight diverted to Saudi Arabia where the co-pilot, reportedly an Omani national, was taken into custody.
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