A senior UAE official has called the attempted hijacking of the FlyDubai flight to Israel an “act of terrorism”.
Anwar Gargash, an adviser to UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed, also praised the Indian pilot who was stabbed, saying he “embodied the meaning of courage”.
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he → call → courage
He wrote on X: “The Indian pilot at "Flydubai," Smit Mathur, deserves every bit of appreciation, for he embodied the meaning of courage and responsibility in the face of a dangerous terrorist act and a potential disaster.”
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he → write → act
It comes as Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that Israel was looking into whether the co-pilot had acted under anyone's direction, warning in a video statement released by his office that whoever was involved would pay a "heavy price".
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involved → come → price
New footage shows chaotic scenes aboard a FlyDubai flight to Israel as passengers wrestled a man who attacked his co-pilot with an axe.
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who → show → axe
Terrified people on the flight are seen speaking in a mixture of Hebrew and English as they call for a doctor and a pilot.
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they → see → doctor
Others shout “take him out” and “he tried to crash the plane” in the video shared by Israel’s Channel 12 news.
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he → shout → news
'I realized that if I didn’t get up passengers would lose their lives'
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passengers → realize → lives
The airline captain who helped thwart an apparent attempt to crash a FlyDubai flight told how he fought for his life in the minutes after his co-pilot stabbed him and the plane began a potentially deadly descent.
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plane → thwart → descent
He told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a video call broadcast live on television news channels that he knew he had to get back on his feet to save the passengers aboard the aircraft.
“I had so many wounds.
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I → tell → wounds
I had fallen down,” he said from the hospital, his head bandaged and tubes in his nose, before breaking down as he recalled the attack.
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he → fall → attack
Flydubai pilot reveals desperate attempts to unlock cockpit door
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pilot → reveal → door
The Indian airline captain who was stabbed while foiling an alleged attempt by his co-pilot to crash a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv has recalled the moment he managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers to enter and restrain the attacker.
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passengers → stab → attacker
In a video call to the Indian prime minister while recovering in an Abu Dhabi hospital, Capt. Smit Machchhar said he knew he had to get back up to save the passengers aboard the aircraft.
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he → recover → aircraft
"When I was on the ground, I realised that the aircraft is going down.
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aircraft → realise → ground
And I told myself, 'This is the last push, Smit.
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This → tell → myself
I was still getting hit, but I opened the door,” Mr Machchhar said.
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Machchhar → hit → door
Passenger recalls FlyDubai plane's sudden descent
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Passenger → recall → descent
Passenger Adam Polo, who was on the FlyDubai plane with his family told CNN the sudden descent felt “like a normal air pocket”.
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descent → tell → pocket
But soon “the electricity, all of the multimedia system and the air conditioning in the airplane stopped working”, he said.
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he → stop → airplane
“People that were standing in the aisle or just going to the toilet, they fell, anyone that wasn’t sitting fell.
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that → stand → toilet
So it was like the craziest roller coaster that you ever did, but multiplied by a thousand,” he told the news outlet.
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he → do → outlet
What happened on the hijacked Israel flight and who was behind it?
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who → happen → it
The Flydubai flight FZ1073 incident has heightened security fears in Israel weeks before Israelis vote in the first election since the Hamas-led October 7 attack, with security a defining issue.
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security → heighten → attack
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday named the pilot who was attacked as Captain Smit Machchhar, and praised him as a "true hero" for fighting back against the attacker and opening the cockpit door.
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who → name → door
Flight FZ1073 took off from Dubai International Airport shortly after 3am UTC on Wednesday morning and was heading for Israel when it signalled an emergency code two hours into its journey, according to tracking website FlightRadar24.
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it → take → FlightRadar24
Oman barred FlyDubai co-pilot from flying over extremism concerns
The FlyDubai co-pilot who stabbed a plane's captain in an apparent attempt to crash a flight with 182 people on board was barred from flying in his native Oman over security concerns, according to reports.
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who → bar → reports
Though the pilot – an Omani national – was banned by his country, he was still hired by FlyDubai, according to the Wall Street Journal.
However, the nature of his radicalisation has not been shared.
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nature → ban → radicalisation
Flydubai suspends flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv
Flydubai has suspended flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv while authorities investigate the cockpit attack.
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authorities → suspend → attack
The suspension has left passengers stranded and Israeli airlines El Al, Israir and Arkia are planning rescue flights from Dubai to bring travellers back on Friday.
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airlines → leave → Friday
Israel’s transportation ministry has also made an urgent request to Etihad Airways to increase flights between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv.
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ministry → make → Dhabi
In-flight attack on FlyDubai pilot puts aviation security measures under fresh scrutiny
Israel has some of the world’s most stringent air travel security measures.
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Israel → put → measures
The United Arab Emirates proudly adheres to international aviation safety standards.
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Emirates → adhere → standards
Yet those safeguards failed to prevent a flight between the countries from taking a dangerous plunge during an alleged attack in the cockpit.
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safeguards → fail → cockpit
The copilot allegedly stabbed the captain in the cockpit before passengers intervened aboard FlyDubai Flight FZ1073 after taking off from Dubai, UAE, with 174 people flying to Tel Aviv, Israel, on Wednesday.
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people → stab → Wednesday
The airplane made a safe emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday and the incident is under investigation by Saudi, Emirati and Israeli authorities, with the United States and Oman assisting efforts to determine a motive.
How a six-year-old girl helped avert Israel flight disaster after pilot stabbed
A six-year-old girl played a crucial role in preventing a major disaster when a co-pilot attacked a flight captain on board a FlyDubai flight to Tel Aviv on Wednesday.
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pilot → make → Wednesday
Nina Manes happened to ask her mother Tali to take her to the lavatory on board the flight just as the man, who is an Omani national but has not been named, attacked Indian Cpt Smit Machchhar by stabbing him repeatedly.
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who → happen → him
How the FlyDubai hijacking could help Netanyahu stay in power
The motives for an alleged hijacker to try and plunge a plane bound for Israel are vivid - and they are opaque.
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they → help → Israel
But whether the attempt on Flight FZ1073 was in revenge for the thousands killed by Israel’s forces in Gaza or the consequences of a psychotic breakdown, only one person benefits.
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person → kill → breakdown
Sam Kiley reports:
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Kiley → report → ?
Air travel expert gives verdict on three key issues of the Flydubai plane hijacking
The alleged hijacking of an Israel-bound flight has raised questions over how secure the vetting process is for one of aviation’s most skilled jobs.
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process → give → jobs
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
