Katz says 'jihadist' pilot tried to crash flight from Dubai

Israeli leaders said on Wednesday that a "jihadist" pilot had aimed to crash a flydubai plane with mostly Israeli passengers, who overpowered him and prevented a "major disaster".

"During the flight, as they approached the country, one of the pilots stabbed the other pilot, and apparently tried to crash the plane with everyone on board," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video message.

He said he spoke to an Israeli passenger who broke into the cockpit as the plane started to plummet and fought the pilot who was trying to bring down the aircraft.

"Another air crew member who was on the plane entered the cockpit and managed to stabilize the aircraft," Netanyahu said.

"I salute these heroes, who showed extraordinary resourcefulness and courage. They saved many lives; they prevented a major disaster."

Defense Minister Israel Katz described the incident as "an attempted jihadist terror attack" that was "thwarted only thanks to the heroism of several Israeli passengers."

Katz did not identify his source for assigning a motive to the pilot, whose identity has not been revealed, though Israeli reports have said he is Omani.

Netanyahu said the pilot who allegedly stabbed his colleague "has been arrested and is currently being interrogated by the Saudi authorities".

"I have instructed the security services to prepare for additional potential threats. We are conducting ongoing situation assessments," Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu a day earlier had warned of potential attacks ahead of Israel's October 27 election, leading opposition chief Yair Lapid to accuse him of fear-mongering.

Katz took a veiled swipe at Lapid, saying the government's security warnings should be taken seriously by "both our enemies outside and former insiders who are not up to date."

Katz also noted that the security warnings issued by him and Netanyahu had been “based on intelligence.”

Katz added that the government’s security warnings were not a substitute for military action.

“Every warning has several addresses and purposes,” he said. “Most importantly, the warnings never come at the expense of the proactive and offensive activity we are leading together with the IDF (Israeli army) against every threat, and they are no substitute for it,” he added.

Flydubai, however, cautioned against reaching conclusions about the motive while the investigation is still underway.

“At this early stage, the causes and motives behind the incident are unknown and remain subject to an official investigation,” the airline said. “We urge all parties to refrain from premature speculation while the authorities gather the facts.”

The airline’s position leaves a clear gap between Israel’s current assessment of the incident and flydubai’s official account. Israeli officials have increasingly described the episode as an attempted terrorist attack, while the carrier says investigators have yet to establish its cause or motive.

Israeli Transportation Minister Miri Regev has asked Netanyahu to immediately suspend Flydubai flights to Israel until the circumstances of the incident are clarified.

Regev said the airline had violated the aviation agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, which she said allows only pilots from countries maintaining diplomatic relations with Israel to land in Israel.

An Israeli official said the Omani pilot suspected in the incident had never previously landed in Israel.

A Transportation Ministry official called the episode a “mega-event,” saying: “We came very close to a major disaster that was prevented.”

Regev is also demanding that Israeli airlines be permitted to resume flights to Dubai with Israeli security screening. Israeli carriers are currently unable to operate the route because of a dispute over security arrangements.