FlyDubai flight makes emergency landing after cockpit altercation

A FlyDubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after a cockpit altercation in which the co-pilot allegedly assaulted the captain, according to a preliminary investigation account reported in the supplied material. UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash described the alleged attack as a terrorist act and praised Captain Smit Machchhar, while the motive remains unknown. The aircraft, identified as a Boeing 737 carrying 174 passengers, landed at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Airport. The account said the plane had lost significant altitude before it was diverted. Details of the aircraft’s course and the sequence of events have not been independently established in the supplied information. The preliminary Saudi investigation account said an altercation broke out in the cockpit and that the co-pilot assaulted Machchhar. It also said the captain was stabbed and both pilots were injured. The account did not establish what prompted the confrontation or confirm that the co-pilot intended to crash the aircraft. Investigators were seeking information from the plane’s voice and data recorders to determine what happened during the flight.