Flydubai Flight FZ1073 Incident Live Updates: Saudi Arabian authorities have handed over the flydubai co-pilot accused of stabbing the Indian captain during a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv as investigators try to establish the motive behind the midair assault.
The co-pilot, an Omani national, had stabbed Captain Smit Machchhar during a flight on Wednesday morning. Machchhar , who is currently stable, has now been taken to Dubai. The president was asked by reporters at the White House whether he had been briefed about any links between the pilot behind the attack and Tehran. “They know what happened. They’ll be hit very hard.
Hearing noises, passengers and crew rushed into the cockpit and overpowered the co-pilot as the Boeing 737 plunged nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds. A second pair of flydubai pilots aboard the flight — which was carrying over 170 passengers and crew — then landed the jet safely in Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk.
US President Donald Trump has said that if Iran would be struck “very hard” if it is linked to the copilot who tried to crash the Israel-bound flight. He said, “We’re working on it right now. “I would say the answer, based on what I’m hearing, is yes, but we’re working on it right now,” he said, without elaborating about why he suspects Iran might be involved. Asked if the US would retaliate against Tehran if it was behind the attack, Trump said, “Oh they’ll be hit, very hard, don’t worry. “You just ask them,” he added. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the co-pilot had undergone “Islamist radical indoctrination”. “We know that he underwent Islamist radical indoctrination,” he told a news channel without elaborating, adding that the co-pilot was being interrogated. He said “the attacker, he calls out to the aircrew, ‘Kill me, kill me'”, making it “clear he was suicidal”.
flydubai Flight FZ1073 Incident Live: Inside Boeing Flight’s 4-Hour Ordeal
The co-pilot, an Omani national, had stabbed Captain Smit Machchhar during a flight on Wednesday morning. It lasts for nearly an hour. Saudi Arabian authorities have handed over the flydubai co-pilot accused of stabbing the Indian captain during a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv as investigators try to establish the motive behind the midair assault.
Here is a timeline of the four hours flydubai flight FZ1073 was in the air as a wounded captain fought off his copilot: 03:05 – Takeoff from Dubai airport. Flight had 182 people on board, most of them Israelis, heading to Tel Aviv. 05:21:09 – The first sign of descent from 34,000 feet. 05:22:40 – The aircraft drops by more than half its height, down to 16,600 feet, the sharpest drop in altitude recorded by data tracking platforms. Three seconds later, it ascends to 21,725 feet. 05:24:29 – Another significant drop to 15,000 feet, the lowest point of the aircraft’s journey, which it maintains until it safely lands more than an hour later. 05:28 – First distress signal, Squawk 7700, a code for general emergency, while flying along the Saudi-Jordanian border. 05:42 – Aircraft turns west, briefly entering Jordanian airspace. It is then flying at 15,000 feet. 05:46 – Aircraft makes a 180-degree turn and heads southwest to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. 06:58 – Aircraft approaches and lands in Tabuk airport. Hearing noises, passengers and crew rushed into the cockpit and overpowered the co-pilot as the Boeing 737 plunged nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds. A second pair of flydubai pilots aboard the flight — which was carrying over 170 passengers and crew — then landed the jet safely in Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk.
05:35 – Changes distress signal to 7500 for “unlawful interference,” indicating something more serious like a hijacking attempt or an attack. 06:28 – Squawk code 7700 for general emergency is sent again, ending the “unlawful interference” alert code.
