Flydubai flight lands in Saudi Arabia after cockpit assault

A Flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, after Saudi authorities said a preliminary investigation indicated the Omani copilot assaulted the captain, forcing the diversion. Investigators have not established the copilot’s motive or whether anyone else was involved. The flight was traveling from the United Arab Emirates to Israel on September 30. Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry said the captain and copilot received hospital treatment and were medically cleared to leave. Flydubai temporarily suspended flights to and from Israel while authorities worked to establish the facts, the airline said. Passengers intervened during the incident. Yaniv Hayun said he pulled the copilot away from the aircraft controls and briefly pulled the controls back as the plane was descending. The Saudi statement said the captain was assaulted; details about the sequence of events and the aircraft’s descent have varied among accounts. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the copilot had undergone Islamist radical indoctrination and appeared suicidal, and that he likely intended to crash the aircraft.