Israel PM hails Indian pilot of rerouted flight for averting disaster
Summary
An Indian pilot helped stop a suspected attempted crash on a Dubai-Tel Aviv flydubai flight after a co-pilot allegedly attacked him and tried to bring down the plane. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the pilot and passengers for preventing a catastrophe, while the airline suspended flights to Israel pending an investigation.
Key Points
- Passengers overpowered a co-pilot after the plane suddenly plunged and lost around 17,000 feet in about a minute.
- Israeli officials and Benjamin Netanyahu described the incident as an attempted terrorist attack and praised the people who stopped it.
- The wounded pilot was identified as Indian national Smit Machchhar, who is being treated in Saudi Arabia.
- flydubai suspended flights to Israel while authorities investigated the incident.
