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FlyDubai co-pilot attacked captain with cockpit axe, UAE says

The UAE says a FlyDubai co-pilot attacked the captain with a cockpit axe mid-flight, causing the plane to plummet 17,000 feet before passengers helped subdue him and the plane made an emergency…

UAE authorities described the incident, which saw the plane plummet 17,000ft mid-flight, as a "terrorist attack". | ITV National News

The Long Sip
What happened

A FlyDubai co-pilot attacked the captain with the cockpit crash axe on a Dubai-to-Israel flight, causing the plane to drop from 33,000 to 17,000 feet in about a minute.

The detail

Passengers, including four Israeli nationals, rushed the cockpit and helped stabilise the plane after the bloodied captain opened the cockpit door, and the flight made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

What it means

UAE authorities have described the incident as a terrorist attack, and the co-pilot, named by sources as Omani national Hamam al-Hammami, was arrested after landing.

Full story at ITVX

What readers are saying

rangir
It is lucky the captain managed to get the cockpit door open for the passengers to help, otherwise this would have ended very differently. Those people who stepped up to restrain the attacker saved every life on board.
alan80
Terrifying situation for everyone on that flight.
terryt
The fact that the rudder was torn away during the descent shows how much stress the plane was under. It is a miracle the captain and passengers were able to level it out and land safely in Saudi Arabia after that much structural damage.
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